The term “roofing supplies” covers a wide range of materials and items used for the construction and maintenance of a roof. This includes not only shingles but molding, lumber, pipes and vents, roofing cements, ladders and all the handy tools including roofing nails.

Starting at the top, let’s consider the roofing material. This is generally the roof as people see it and includes wood shingles, ceramic tiles, asbestos shingles, metal roofing sheets and tiles, rubber roofing sheets and shingles and more. The roofing material should be chosen based on location, so that the roof will withstand the local elements and issues that impact a roof.

Lumber is used in a roof primarily as the support structure or frame. This generally consists of a triangular truss and a lattice of beams. The roof itself is then laid over the frame. Lumber is used for other elements including the cornice, part of the frame that overhangs the wall, the fascia, or underside of the cornice, the eave, which allows water to drip away from the roof, and the soffit, or underside of the eave.

Pipes and vents stick up from the roof. They help the house breathe and are also the way out for smoke from a fireplace or cooking hood, as well as for hot air from the attic. The bottoms of pipes and vents are commonly sealed with a boot, or metal strip, including a lead based or plastic sealant. These pipes and vents have one way rubber sealed shields so that the air or smoke can escape, but water doesn’t drip into the pipe or vent.

Roofing tools include the ladder to climb up to the roof, as well as other tools used for maintenance, installation and removal. These include mundane items such as a broom and bucket to hold waste shingles, a slater’s hammer that includes a hammer as well as an ax and blade, a slate cutter to saw through shingles, seaming pliers to grab shingles, and a hip runner to install the ridge cap, the portion of the roof that caps the seams.

When it comes to roofing nails they must be long enough to extend through the shingles and make it about 3/8 inch below the bottom of the shingle. Anything that interferes with the nails biting into the wood could cause the nail to spring out of the shingle and eventually the loss of shingles. This includes shingles with ridges, some under shingle materials, and of course nails that aren’t long enough for the roofing material. A good roofer can drive a roofing nail with one solid hit. A homeowner doing it themselves will find that they can drive the nails with one hit after only a few minutes.

Roofing supplies aren’t as simple as they first seem. But with a little planning, you’ll have everything needed for a quality roof.

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