7 Roofing Tools Every DIY Roofer Needs (Video + Infographic)

Many homeowners choose to take on their own small roofing projects to save money and take pride in accomplishing such a DIY project. Before beginning any roofing job, you need a standard set of roofing tools to get the job done.

Some roofing projects will require more and some less, but we’ve come up with a good starter kit for the DIY roofer. This kit would work best for anyone building a small dog house, shed, gazebo, or simply taking on simple a few roof repair jobs themselves. Check it out!

Here is What Your Roofing Starter Kit Should Include

1. Good-sized toolbelt: The more you have to walk across the roof or up and down a ladder to grab roofing tools, the longer and more work your project will take. Keep them nice and close to you in your sturdy toolbelt.
2. Work gloves: We recommend kevlar gloves because they are super thick and sturdy, but lightweight so you can easily grip and rip your old shingles off to make room for your new roof. Plus, many of the materials can easily scratch and scrape your hands, and the gloves will make it so much easier to work without worrying about that.
3. Hook blade utility knife: You’ll need to cut through excess shingles and material while you’re up on the roof, and a hook blade will quickly do that for you. A good hook blade should be easy to switch up and down, remove the blade, and have storage for blades right within the knife itself. So even with gloves on, you can quickly and easily use and replace your hook blades.
4. Tin snips: You’ll want tin snips to cut through flashing and drip edge without fail. Being able to do this quickly and precisely will make your roofing job so much easier.
5. Chalk line: A chalk line will ensure that you are installing and cutting your shingles in a straight line. You will especially want to use this to create chalk lines on the edges of your roof to verify that the view from the ground is as straight as it looks up close on the roof.
6. Hammer: You don’t have to go crazy getting a giant heavy hammer because most of its use will be for pulling up nails. Which, to make pulling out nails easier and less work, make sure the claw on the back of the hammer is flatter and not too curved.
7. Tape Measure: If you are a beginner DIY roofer, you definitely want to use your tape measure to ensure proper installation. Eyeballing shingle overhangs and cuts is not a great idea. You don’t want to remove and re-install a piece because you didn’t measure it accurately the first time.

These 7 tools are as basic as it gets for a roofing tool kit. It will get you by, and you’ll be able to remove and replace a couple of shingles, probably, but for larger roofing projects, you’ll need to pull out the big guns, and that list extends below.

• A nail gun for quickly nailing down shingles.
• An air compressor to run your nail gun (or staple gun for underlayment)
• Roofing hammer, which is more specific than the basic ones we mentioned.
• Hammer tacker for tacking down the underlayment.
• Shingle tear-off tool, but doing it by hand can be faster.
• Pry bar for prying back tough to get shingles or flashing.
• Tarps to cover landscaping and cement.
• Caulking gun and caulk for sealing around flashing.
• Reciprocating saw and circular saw to cut pieces, although your hook blade should work up on the roof.
• Sawhorses for using the saws.
• Ladders and extension ladders.
• A ladder hoist.
• Hard hats and safety harnesses, plus other PPE (goggles, gloves, etc.)
• Roofing shoes, which are steel-toed boots with soft soles to walk without slipping.
• Roof brackets or toe boards.
• Rakes, brooms, and magnetic sweepers for clean-up after the project is done.
• Dumpster or flat-bed truck for tossing and disposing of materials (if you’re doing a large roof replacement).

Now you may not need every single one of these tools to get the job done, but these are tools frequently used by contractors on larger, more complex jobs that just make it go that much faster. This is why many contractors can re-roof a house within a day! Thanks, nail guns!

Keep in mind, if you have a metal or speciality roof, repairs and installation will require different tools and some expertise to do it correctly. While these can be done yourself, we would recommend contacting a professional, at least for guidance while you take on this project.

If you’ve gathered your standard roofing tool kit, and you’ve done a project or two and find that it’s as hard of work as they say it is, call us! We are here to help you and make sure you can get your roof replaced safely, securely, and in no time at all. So feel free to contact us here for your customized roofing solution.