Roofers, roof tilers and slaters
Roofers, roof tilers and slaters cover roofs and exterior walls with felting, sheeting, slates, tiles and thatch to provide a waterproof surface.
- Employees (UK)
- 12k
- Median annual pay
- £30,961
- Exposure score ?
- 0.0/10 Minimal 0.8/10 Minimal strict reading, with tools is 0.8/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.0/10
- Wage exposure
- £0 £0
Higher exposure than 6% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Inspect problem roofs to determine the best repair procedures.
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Remove snow, water, or debris from roofs prior to applying roofing materials.
-
Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs.
For this role the labels do not surface obvious candidates, so the work would start with the highest-stakes tasks below and find the AI angle in conversation.
-
Inspect problem roofs to determine the best repair procedures.
-
Remove snow, water, or debris from roofs prior to applying roofing materials.
-
Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Roofers" (47-2181.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 27 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
27 of 27 tasks
Inspect problem roofs to determine the best repair procedures.
Remove snow, water, or debris from roofs prior to applying roofing materials.
Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs.
Estimate materials and labor required to complete roofing jobs.
Cement or nail flashing strips of metal or shingle over joints to make them watertight.
Install partially overlapping layers of material over roof insulation surfaces, using chalk lines, gauges on shingling hatchets, or lines on shingles.
Cut felt, shingles, or strips of flashing to fit angles formed by walls, vents, or intersecting roof surfaces.
Apply plastic coatings, membranes, fiberglass, or felt over sloped roofs before applying shingles.
Install, repair, or replace single-ply roofing systems, using waterproof sheet materials such as modified plastics, elastomeric, or other asphaltic compositions.
Attach roofing paper to roofs in overlapping strips to form bases for other materials.
Cover roofs or exterior walls of structures with slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, gravel, gypsum, or related materials, using brushes, knives, punches, hammers, or other tools.
Waterproof or damp-proof walls, floors, roofs, foundations, or basements by painting or spraying surfaces with waterproof coatings or by attaching waterproofing membranes to surfaces.
Apply reflective roof coatings, such as special paints or single-ply roofing sheets, to existing roofs to reduce solar heat absorption.
Apply alternate layers of hot asphalt or tar and roofing paper to roofs.
Install vapor barriers or layers of insulation on flat roofs.
Cover exposed nailheads with roofing cement or caulking to prevent water leakage or rust.
Smooth rough spots to prepare surfaces for waterproofing, using hammers, chisels, or rubbing bricks.
Glaze top layers to make a smooth finish or embed gravel in the bitumen for rough surfaces.
Mop or pour hot asphalt or tar onto roof bases.
Install attic ventilation systems, such as turbine vents, gable or ridge vents, or conventional or solar-powered exhaust fans.
Install skylights on roofs to increase natural light inside structures or to reduce energy costs.
Spray roofs, sidings, or walls to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof sections of structures, using spray guns, air compressors, or heaters.
Apply gravel or pebbles over top layers of roofs, using rakes or stiff-bristled brooms.
Attach solar panels to existing roofs, according to specifications and without damaging roofing materials or the structural integrity of buildings.
Punch holes in slate, tile, terra cotta, or wooden shingles, using punches and hammers.
Apply modular soil- and plant-containing grids over existing roof membranes to create green roofs.
Install layers of vegetation-based green roofs, including protective membranes, drainage, aeration, water retention and filter layers, soil substrates, irrigation materials, and plants.
Tasks via O*NET "Roofers" (47-2181.00).
What AI can already do
2 of 27 tasks, with tools
Inspect problem roofs to determine the best repair procedures.
Estimate materials and labor required to complete roofing jobs.
What still needs a person
25 of 27 tasks
Remove snow, water, or debris from roofs prior to applying roofing materials.
Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs.
Cement or nail flashing strips of metal or shingle over joints to make them watertight.
Install partially overlapping layers of material over roof insulation surfaces, using chalk lines, gauges on shingling hatchets, or lines on shingles.
Cut felt, shingles, or strips of flashing to fit angles formed by walls, vents, or intersecting roof surfaces.
Apply plastic coatings, membranes, fiberglass, or felt over sloped roofs before applying shingles.
Install, repair, or replace single-ply roofing systems, using waterproof sheet materials such as modified plastics, elastomeric, or other asphaltic compositions.
Attach roofing paper to roofs in overlapping strips to form bases for other materials.
Cover roofs or exterior walls of structures with slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, gravel, gypsum, or related materials, using brushes, knives, punches, hammers, or other tools.
Waterproof or damp-proof walls, floors, roofs, foundations, or basements by painting or spraying surfaces with waterproof coatings or by attaching waterproofing membranes to surfaces.
Apply reflective roof coatings, such as special paints or single-ply roofing sheets, to existing roofs to reduce solar heat absorption.
Apply alternate layers of hot asphalt or tar and roofing paper to roofs.
Install vapor barriers or layers of insulation on flat roofs.
Cover exposed nailheads with roofing cement or caulking to prevent water leakage or rust.
Smooth rough spots to prepare surfaces for waterproofing, using hammers, chisels, or rubbing bricks.
Glaze top layers to make a smooth finish or embed gravel in the bitumen for rough surfaces.
Mop or pour hot asphalt or tar onto roof bases.
Install attic ventilation systems, such as turbine vents, gable or ridge vents, or conventional or solar-powered exhaust fans.
Install skylights on roofs to increase natural light inside structures or to reduce energy costs.
Spray roofs, sidings, or walls to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof sections of structures, using spray guns, air compressors, or heaters.
Apply gravel or pebbles over top layers of roofs, using rakes or stiff-bristled brooms.
Attach solar panels to existing roofs, according to specifications and without damaging roofing materials or the structural integrity of buildings.
Punch holes in slate, tile, terra cotta, or wooden shingles, using punches and hammers.
Apply modular soil- and plant-containing grids over existing roof membranes to create green roofs.
Install layers of vegetation-based green roofs, including protective membranes, drainage, aeration, water retention and filter layers, soil substrates, irrigation materials, and plants.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Skilled trades occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
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Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons