We have talked about a lot of aspects of roofing in this blog. We have discussed the kind of nails we like to use. The different kind of shingles and their benefits vs drawbacks. We have talked about the kind of materials that should be used to protect from water damage in valleys. In fact, we have almost covered every aspect of the roofing process except the process of loading your roof.
When I first started roofing as a scrawny seventeen year old the most impressive aspect of roofing, in my young and naive opinion, was how some of the crew members could carry multiple bundles up the ladder at one time. The record for our crew was five bundles at one time. This might not sound impressive until you consider that a bundle of shingles weighs about 55-66 lbs each. In my young and relatively weak state the most I was ever able to carry up the ladder at a time was two bundles. With two ladders the crew we worked on could load a roof in less than an hour and a half from the ground.
Of course, while this method of loading the roof is impressive and can result in feats of human strength and fun competitions between crew members, it is not the most efficient and is definitely not the safest way to be loading your roof with shingles. Most Hamilton roofing companies prefer loading your roof like this when viable. Other companies with less money or with jobs that are not accessible by truck use ladder hoists. Some Hamilton roofing supply companies prefer to use cranes but this method is only really viable if the roof is easily accessible from the road and is generally not quicker than using the conveyer belt method.
Here at Peak Roofing we have used all three methods to get shingles up on the roof. We prefer having the roof loaded by the shingle provider because it limits the risks that our employees have to take and it speeds up the job so that we are finished as quickly as possible while ensuring quality as our number one priority. A good indication that you have picked a roofing company with history in the industry is asking them whether or not they have a ladder hoist. If they do, it means they have done a lot of roofs and realized that there are more efficient ways to load than brute force.
