So you are curious what kind of tools a roofing professional would need. I have a few words on the topic for you to consider.
1. You should contact an attorney and set up a Corporation or an LLC. This is a prerequisite to your business license and you will not be able to set up your business banking account without it. Very important tool.
2. You will need a business license to operate in the State that you are working in. You may have to take a business law test and do a thorough background check as well.
3. You will need Workers Comp. and General Liability Insurance, these are tools to protect you in the unfortunate event there is an accident or property damage including a person who may become injured on your job site.
4. You will need at minimal a 1/2 ton pick up truck with a ladder rack and a tool box to store the following list of tools in.
5. You are going to need a side pouch or side nail bag to keep your hand tools on your side while on the roof.
6. Don’t forget you need a roofing hatchet,claw hammer, utility knife, tape measure, hammer tacker, 1 foot level to determine roof slopes and straight as well as hooked knife blades to cut the shingles.
7. Ladders are an absolute must to get onto the roof to work. They need to be extension type ladders and you’ll need the in the range of 12 feet to 40 feet in length depending on each project.
8. If the roof slope is above a 7:12 slope then it will be best to have roof jacks to set up staging and of course safety harnesses and rope that mount on the ridge, Remember if you fall it could kill you or paralize you.
9. Chalk lines are a roofers best friend. The help keep your rows in line so that it does not look wavy after you lay your shingles.
10. A good pair of snips is a must, this will be required to cut your flashing to the needs of the roof. Also you may want to keep a skill saw in your tool box so that you can cut back for ridge vents or louver vents.
11. If the job is a tear off then you will need brooms, tear off roofing shovels, old tarps for the debris to land on and plywood to guard the home from the shingles hitting the walls doing damage to the siding, stucco, decks and last but not least the owners bushes and shrubbery. Trust me you do not want an angry homeowner if you crush the landscape accents.
12. New or in good shape tarps are always better to keep on the job site just in case a rain pops up on you while the roof deck is exposed to the elements. Better safe than sorry!
Above is a guideline for the tools used in the roofing profession and there are even more tools that you will need if you go into other roof types. I will go into those details in another Article later on. This should give anyone a clear picture of the tools needed in the Roofing profession in general.