The best roofers have the best roofing — and obviously, it’s metal. The best roofers also have the best tools, to help safely and correctly install the best roofing.
We invited readers of Metal Roofing Magazine and subscribers to our digital newsletter, Roofer Express, to tell us about the tools they can’t live without; the tools that make their jobsites more efficient and ultimately, more profitable.
So take a look. Maybe you’ll find something that will help you and your jobsite efficiency.
Ladder Ridge Anchor from Level-Rite LLC
“In 11-plus years of installing metal roofs, the Ladder Ridge Anchor was certainly one of the best tools I had ever discovered. Contractors are always on the lookout for products that allow them to do their jobs faster and safer without compromising quality. For those of us who spend their time working at heights on slippery surfaces, this is even more true.
“The Ladder Ridge Anchor transformed the way we installed high slope metal roofing. We obviously continued to use safety lines, but gone were the days of relying solely on the rope, slipping and sliding, and straddling the peak while installing the ridge cap.
“Additionally, we suddenly had a stable platform to work from when doing detailed flashing work around chimneys, skylights, dormer sidewalls and Metalbestos chimneys. If it didn’t pay for itself in one day, then it was definitely paid for on the second day. A great product invented, manufactured and supported here in the USA. Thanks Level-Rite!”
— David Mackey, Mackey Metal Roofing, Champlain, N.Y.
Wuko Bender from NA Bocker
“When I first saw that thing I wondered, ‘Where would we ever use that?’ I bought one and took it back to the shop and once we got over the hilarity of it, everybody wanted one. We’ve got one in every truck.
“It saves us a lot of trips back to the shop. If you’re two feet short of gravel stop, you can go back to the truck, make that piece and finish the job. We’ve had jobs where we made the flashing over the windows.
“Not to long ago, a customer insisted on stainless steel gutters with no joints and they were 40- or 50-foot runs. We laid it out in the shop and got our Wuko Benders to work on it. We transported the gutters to the job and installed them. They’re pretty tough little machines; we’ve got every size they make. They paid for themselves — again — on a recent copper job.”
— Bill Laney, Murr-Laney, Inc., Pineville, N.C.
Metal roofing bracket from Metal Plus
“As soon as I saw the Ultimate Brackets, I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s exactly what we’re looking for!’ The price didn’t matter. We’ve spent more on rigging something up that probably wasn’t safe than we did on this. It’s a great little tool.
“We have a lot of jobs where we have to get around on metal roofs and this is the best staging system we’ve discovered. We used to spend a couple days rigging up a staging system for a one-day job. There’s no safer way … you’re working in a stable environment and you’re not damaging the roof.”
— Ian Elwell, Elwell Construction, LLC, Cornwall Bridge, Conn.
Snap Table from Swenson Shear
“I subcontract my gutters and my gutter guy didn’t like the way our panels looked at the eaves. He went on the Internet and found the Swenson Shear people (and their Snap Table). What we were doing was cutting into the ribs and using a little brake to bend the panels 90 degrees. Honestly, it took a lot of time, but when he told me about it, I didn’t give it much thought. My son runs our construction crews and about the same time he found it on the Internet and thought that’s just what we’re looking for. He showed it to me and of course, I have to dish out the money so I was a little less resolved to getting one. My brother is a roofer in Tulsa and I called him and talked to him about it. He called me back a day later and said he liked what he saw. I called and ordered two Snap Tables.”
“It didn’t take long at all for my son and another guy on our crew to learn how to run the machine. Now they run nice hemmed edges, cuts in the panel and they’re ready for the next panel about the time it comes off the roll former. Now we even hem our valleys, put a cleat in the valleys and attached the panels in the valleys. Our roofs are fabulous to look at.”
“It paid for itself in the first year we had it. Every once in awhile my sons says maybe it’s time to get another one.”
— John Easter, John Easter Roofing, Inc., McCleary, Wash.
3-Station Roller from Malco
“No matter how hard you try, you’re going to end up with an odd panel. You’re going to have to bend (the side of) the last panel. It happens on every roof. The 3-station roller is very, very useful; we always get a nice 90-degree bend. And the guys use it on any flashing material that needs a bigger bend or a smaller bend. They don’t need the 10-foot brake or even the 4-foot brake. Most of that stuff we roll and it looks better than using the hand tool where you bend it a small section at a time.
“It’s not a cumbersome tool and it’s not expensive. Once you use it a couple times, develop a touch and get the feel, it’s pretty easy to use. I don’t think our guys could live without it now. We couldn’t place the same emphasis on quality and speed without our roller. I see the jobs that don’t use a roller and it sticks out like a sore thumb.”
— Jerry Iselin, Metal Roof Specialties, Tacoma, Wash.
Brake from Van Mark Products
“Am I satisfied with my brakes? Yes, very much so. I’m a Van Mark guy! I’ve got two 14-footers and a 12-footer and those three are on the trailers with the roll formers. Then we’ve got a 10-footer in the shop and another 10-footer we take to jobs that we don’t take a machine to.
“We use it from start to finish on every job. We use them for our drip edge, gable flashing, caps, wall flashings, zees and for all of our starters and finishers. And I get along with them real good. Every once in awhile they’ll need an adjustment, but I can do that myself and if I can’t, I call technical support at Van Mark and they help me out.
“We couldn’t do what we do without our Van Mark brakes.”
— Ken Studer, Ken’s Standing Seam, Tiro, Ohio