Construction methods, materials and technology have changed greatly in the past 20 years, residential roofing is still as labor-intensive and basic as it was years ago. The good news is you won’t need to spend a bundle of money outfitting your tool chest if you’re a homeowner re-roofing your home or a contractor branching out into a new specialty.

Removal Tools: For the removal of a roof, your best friend will be a long handled, curved near the top, narrow, flat spade with teeth. He is known as a roofing shovel. Roofing shovels are the most popular demolition tool for pulling off an old roof. The teeth pull nails from the roof as you wedge the spade under the shingle and pry it up for removal. Batten lifters and pry bars may also be needed depending on the type of roof you have.

Roofing Hammers: Commercial roofers will abandon their trusty claw hammer for air-powered electric hammers or hammer staplers, tools that rapidly places staples instead of nails to speed up the process of setting shingles. Almost all residential roofers or homeowners prefer a claw hammer for their roofing projects, it provides all the leverage needed to pry off old shingles, and remove stubborn fasteners. Most shingled roofs are attached to the roof using short broad headed roofing nails that can be easily placed or pulled with a claw hammer. A claw hammer is a must for any roofing project.

Screwdrivers: A good screwdriver is essential for working with Tin or Metal Roofs. Both are attached using roofing screws. Most residential roofers and home owners will opt to use a roofing screw gun to save time and effort but it is possible, albeit silly, to drive all screws by hand. The screw gun, very similar to a variable speed electric drill, is a much better choice if faced with a metal or tin roof.

Pliers: Residential roofers may be required to bend sheets of tin. Many use specialized large-nosed flat grips to exert pressure along a seam several inches across. Seaming pliers for roofing have special teeth that are designed grip and hold shingles and other common roofing materials, rather than the standard flat teeth found in general-usage pliers. Pliers such as needle-nose and conventional vise grips also are available for roofers. A pair of thick work gloves is a good idea to protect from blisters and sharp edges when working with pliers.

Cutters and Saws: Residential roofing material must be cut or trimmed to fit the size of your work area, and roofers and homeowners rely on a wide variety of tools to help them achieve this. Shingles may be cut with a utility knife. Air knives are operated from compressors and feature a heated blade that makes cutting plastic laminates easy. A Slater’s hammer, axe and ripper are needed to cut slate roof tiles. A shingle saw should be used to cut shake shingle and is handy on other roofing materials as well. For working with tile, residential roofers use a tile saw to shape their workand achieve a perfect fit.

Visit your local tool or hardware store to find all the roofing tools and accessories you’ll need to do an clean, professional job.

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