How to hire a roofer

How to hire a roofer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step roofer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a roofer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new roofer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a roofer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The roofer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A roofer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, roofers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of roofer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Roofer	Description	Hourly rate
   Roofer	Roofers replace, repair, and install the roofs of buildings using a variety of materials, including shingles, bitumen, and metal.	$13-24
   Commercial Roofer	Commercial roofers work on various materials like metal, wood, shingles, tiles, steel, etc. They inspect the roof of properties to know the best replacement or repair procedure to fix them... Show more	$13-24

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Roofing
   • Asphalt
   • Ladders
   • Shingles
   • TPO
   • Safety Equipment
   • PVC
   • Repair Procedures
   • Caulking
   • EPDM
   • Tape Measure
   • Safety Procedures
   • Nail Guns
   • Roof Systems

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Repair damage structure and replace roofing material IE shingles, EPDM, TPO, metal panels or tile.
   • Work on rubber roofing and PVC roof systems
   • Job descriptions include flash heat welding the EPDM roofing material to ensure no leaks occur.
   • Use hand tools such as shovel, rakes, pruning saws, hedges and brush trimmers.
   • Used tools such as blow torches, hammers, roof rippers, shears and tin snips.
   • Used tools such as hammers, hatchets, roof rippers, shears, tin snips and handsaw.

   More roofer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the roofer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A roofer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a roofer in Tennessee may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level roofer. Additionally, a roofer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average roofer salary

   $38,294yearly

   $18.41 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level roofer salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 2, 2026

   Average roofer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$62,878	$30
   2	New York	$52,525	$25
   3	Illinois	$52,069	$25
   4	Maryland	$49,780	$24
   5	California	$49,590	$24
   6	Washington	$48,823	$23
   7	Minnesota	$48,615	$23
   8	District of Columbia	$47,109	$23
   9	Oregon	$43,357	$21
   10	Colorado	$42,483	$20
   11	Missouri	$41,907	$20
   12	Wisconsin	$41,491	$20
   13	Ohio	$40,970	$20
   14	Pennsylvania	$40,648	$20
   15	Virginia	$40,289	$19
   16	Maine	$39,351	$19
   17	Michigan	$38,495	$19
   18	Arizona	$37,332	$18
   19	Iowa	$37,046	$18
   20	Nebraska	$36,466	$18

   Average roofer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California-Berkeley	$47,897	$23.03
   2	Dartmouth	$47,402	$22.79
   3	Solcius	$44,376	$21.33
   4	Tradesmen International	$39,928	$19.20	75
   5	GPAC	$39,781	$19.13
   6	University of Washington	$39,742	$19.11	1
   7	The Roofing Company	$39,546	$19.01	3
   8	Stellar	$39,163	$18.83
   9	NOVAworks	$38,796	$18.65	2
   10	Black Roofing	$38,523	$18.52
   11	Beldon Roofing Company	$38,318	$18.42
   12	Flynn	$38,080	$18.31	35
   13	CentiMark	$38,015	$18.28	268
   14	Metal Roofing Alliance	$38,013	$18.28
   15	Blue Raven Solar	$37,897	$18.22
   16	Alcal Specialty Contracting, Inc. Corporate Office	$37,762	$18.15
   17	Burns & Scalo Roofing	$37,762	$18.15
   18	Tesla	$37,468	$18.01	10
   19	Empire Roofing	$37,318	$17.94
   20	Dana Incorporated	$37,300	$17.93

4. Writing a roofer job description

   A job description for a roofer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a roofer job description:

   Roofer job description example

   Come work for America's Master Craftsmen in Restoration and Preservation! Western Specialty Contractors is currently looking for self-motivated, top notch individuals to help serve our customers as a Roofing Journeyman at our Peoria branch. If you are a self-motivated individual with great work ethic and the personality to help with customer satisfaction, then we would love to meet you!
   Starting at $34.00/hour +Benefits!
   
   Primary Purpose: Covers roofs with roofing materials, other than sheet metal, such as composition shingles or sheets, wood shingles, or asphalt and gravel, to waterproof roofs, in accordance with generally accepted standards of the craft.
   
   Typical Duties:
   
   Applies appropriate insulation, cuts roofing paper or sheet goods to size using a knife, and nails, staples, cements, or vulcanizes it to roof in overlapping strips to form base for roofing materials
   
   Alines roofing material with edge of roof, and overlaps successive layers, gauging distance of overlap with chalkline, gauge on shingling hatchet, or by lines on shingles
   
   Fastens composition shingles or sheets to roof, with asphalt, cement or nails. Punches holes in slate, tile, terra cotta, or wooden shingles, using punch and hammer
   
   Cuts strips of flashing and fits them into angles formed by walls, vents, and intersecting roof surfaces
   
   When applying asphalt or tar and gravel to roof, mops or pours hot asphalt or tar onto roof base
   
   Applies alternate layers of hot asphalt or tar and roofing paper until roof covering is as specified
   
   Applies gravel or pebbles over top layer, using rake or stiff-bristled broom
   
   May construct and attach prefabricated roof sections to rafters
   May attach shingles to exterior walls and apply roofing paper and tar to shower pans, decks and promenade to waterproof surfaces
   
   May be required to rig mobile and stationary scaffolding on structures in accordance with corporate guidelines.
   
   Requirements
   
   Workers should be able to: Make decisions based on measurable information
   
   Use logical step-by-step procedures in work
   
   Work with different materials using a variety of skills
   
   Work within precise limits or standards of accuracy
   
   Physically, workers must be able to: see well (either naturally or with correction); Lift objects weighing 50 pounds or more; climb and maintain balance on ladders and scaffolds; Abilities to work at heights, at extreme temperatures, and to wear company's safety equipment are essential.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right roofer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with roofers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit roofers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your roofer job on Zippia to find and recruit roofer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as constructionjobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting roofers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new roofer

   Once you've found the roofer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new roofer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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