Study compares labor hours for various low-slope roofing options

A new study commissioned by Certain Teed Corp., “Factors Impacting Low-Slope Roofing Costs: A National Labor Study,” compares the amount of labor needed to complete various low-slope roofing project types.

A bituminous roof with a mechanically attached base and self-adhered cap took the fewest labor hours to install. The most labor-intensive roofing type was bituminous with a hot asphalt mopped base and a hot asphalt mopped cap.

The independent, five-year nationwide study found that the type of roof covering, project parameters, tool management, and crew efficiency are all major factors impacting contractor profits. Poorly managed crews, faulty tools and extreme climates will increase installation time, regardless of product selection, the study says.

The study is intended to help roofing contractors optimize allocation of labor from existing crews. It is also a reference contractors can use to compare their labor costs to a current, comprehensive national average.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.