Trades

Sheet Metal Workers

Sheet metal workers are responsible to design, lay out, measure, fabricate, assemble, or repair sheet metal products. They work with tools such as power shears, press brakes, drill presses, and even computerized cutting equipment, and materials like black iron, galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, nickel, and tin, but also use other alloys and metal substitutes. Some people working in this trade choose to specialize in areas such as installation, shop manufacturing, or servicing and maintenance. Generally, sheet metal workers perform a number of tasks in the course of their work, such as reading engineering and architectural drawings, developing patterns for sheet metal using computer-assisted design and drafting software, operating metalworking machines and cutting equipment, fitting and joining sheet metal parts, grinding off and buffing seams, joints and other rough surfaces, and conducting quality inspections. Sheet metal workers work indoors and outdoors, seasonally, both on construction sites and in shops, at heights, and independently or in a team. They are required to lift heavy materials and stay in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time. Persons suited for this trade are safety aware, have physical stamina, agility, coordination, reading comprehension skills, math skills, and technology skills. With experience, a sheet metal worker can become a specialist in design or layout work, or in estimating costs, or advance to supervisory roles or start their own business.

Sheeter Deckers

Sheeter and Deckers are involved in the application of specialised sheeting, cladding, insulation and decking products on construction projects. Siding typically appears as part of the outer shell of a building, while decking usually takes the form of sheets of metal placed on the beams that make up the building skeleton. A deck provides the structural support for a roofing system. Sheeter and Decking work requires strength, flexibility and a great deal of skill. The work is performed year-round, often in extreme weather conditions. Sheeter and Deckers work on elevated platforms and swing stages and are required to lift and install panels that are often large and heavy.

Roofer

A roofer is a skilled tradesperson who installs a waterproof membrane on a building that has either a flat or sloped deck consisting of wood, steel or concrete. The most commonly used roofing product is a layer of asphalt paper embedded in hot asphalt up to four times over a layer or layers of rigid board insulation, which in turn is covered with a ballast called pea gravel that is also embedded in hot asphalt. It is also common to use a single-ply rubber membrane that is laid over rigid board insulation or to use rolls of modified bitumen paper that is applied by using a propane torch and melting the product over a flat surface. Most crews in the ICI roofing industry consist of five to eight workers with a foreman, two journeymen and the rest of the crew consisting of material handlers and apprentices. Roofers use many types of roofing equipment to perform their work, including overhead hoists, bobcats, asphalt kettles and conveyor belts. Strength, agility and a willingness to work in extreme weather conditions are the characteristics of the average roofer. Knowledge of the various types of roofing systems is also essential to a successful career in roofing.