Roofing

Overview

Roofing is the branch of construction concerned with everything between the top of the wall and the sky. It is unforgiving: there are no hidden errors. The roof either keeps water out, or the interior finds out.^[1]

Burbridge's intersection with roofing comes primarily through solar installation — every panel is a penetration, and every penetration is a future leak if flashed poorly. This has made Burbridge an extremely particular flasher.

Principles

• Water goes downhill. Design for the downhill.
• Flash before you shingle. Out of order is out of sequence is a leak.
• Overlap, don't butt. Every seam is a vote against you.
• Nails, not staples, for shingles. And the right length. Every time.
• Walk gently. Your boot is a punch. The shingle is softer than it looks.
• It's hot up there. Drink water.

Software Parallel

Roofing is the discipline where Aggressive Craftsmanship most resembles production operations. Both involve layers. Both fail at seams. Both are thankless when done well — the sign you did it right is that no one mentions it. Both reveal their failures in a slow, humiliating drip.

"A roof that works is a roof nobody talks about." — Burbridge, paraphrasing every roofer ever

References