Illinois Residential, Commercial and Industrial Roofing Contractor

Key Concepts

OSHA standards and recordkeeping. Construction employers follow 29 CFR 1926 (Construction), 29 CFR 1910 (General Industry) and 29 CFR 1904 (Recording and Reporting). Every covered employer with more than 10 employees must keep OSHA Form 300 (injury/illness log), Form 300A (annual summary) and Form 301 (individual incident report). Form 300A must be posted by February 1 and kept posted until at least April 30 of the year following the year covered. Construction site operations lasting more than one year keep a separate OSHA 300 log. A recordable hearing loss is a standard threshold shift — an average change of 10 decibels across frequency ranges (29 CFR 1904).

Inspections, rights, penalties. Programmed inspections target establishments with high injury rates; unprogrammed inspections respond to fatalities, catastrophes and complaints. An employee alleging retaliation must notify OSHA within 30 days of learning of the discriminatory action. Under OSH Act Section 5(b), each employee must comply with standards, rules, regulations and orders applicable to his or her own actions and conduct; Section 5(a) places the hazard-free workplace duty on the employer.

Key Concepts

Roof decks - Asphalt shingle and slate roof systems may be applied only over continuous wood panels or closely spaced wood planks/boards; spaced or "skipped" planks are not an adequate substrate (NRCA Steep Slope, Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems, Chapter 2—Roof Decks; Slate Systems, Chapter 2). - Asphalt shingles: minimum four-ply, nominal ¾-inch plywood (actual 23/32) at 24-inch rafter spacing; four-ply, nominal ⅝-inch at 16-inch spacing (Section 2.1—Wood Panels). For slate, NRCA recommends four-ply nominal ⅝-inch (actual 19/32) at 16 inches and five-ply nominal ¾-inch at 24 inches, and does not recommend OSB as a slate substrate (Slate Systems, Section 2.1). - Wood boards: nominal 6-inch widths are suggested to prevent excessive movement and splitting; widths typically run 4–12 inches (Section 2.2—Wood Planks and Wood Boards). Roofing Handbook, Ch. 2 likewise caps recommended board width at 1 x 6. - APA minimum plywood grade: C-D Interior-and-Exterior Glue; index not less than 32/16 (unsanded) or Group 1 (sanded) for sheathing under a built-up roof (Roofing Construction & Estimating, Ch. 2). - OSB: the SOURCE states both a 7/16-inch nominal minimum (Ch. 2—Roof Sheathing, Decking and Loading) and a ½-inch nominal minimum (Ch. 2, p. 31). Know both citations. - Slope minimums: asphalt shingles and slate — NRCA 4:12 (Section 2—Roof Decks); metal shingles — IBC/IRC 3:12, NRCA recommended 4:12 (Metal Shingle Systems, Ch. 1).

Key Concepts

Asphalt shingle standards and ratings - ASTM D3462, "Standard Specification for Asphalt Shingles Made from Glass Felt and Surfaced with Mineral Granules," addresses tear strength, fastener pull-through resistance and pliability. NRCA recommends designers specify fiberglass-reinforced asphalt shingles complying with it. (Section 4.1—Asphalt Shingle Standards) - ASTM D3161 (fan-induced wind test): Class A passes at 60 mph, Class D at 90 mph, Class F at 110 mph. (Section 4.1—Wind Resistance) - ASTM D7158 is a test-plus-calculation procedure based on ASCE 7-22 building environment factors: Class D up to 90 mph, Class G up to 120 mph, Class H up to 150 mph basic wind speed. (Section 4.2—Wind Resistance) - UL 2218 impact resistance: Class 1 (least) through Class 4 (greatest). (Section 4.1—Impact Resistance Rating) - Mineral granules protect asphalt from UV, improve fire resistance, provide color, and add weight for wind resistance — they are not a vapor retarder. The self-sealing strip secures the shingle's leading edge for wind resistance. (Section 4.1—Asphalt Shingle Materials) - Laminated shingles are also called "dimensional" or "architectural." (Section 4—Asphalt Shingles)

Key Concepts

Slope and drainage - Most model and local building codes require a minimum ¼:12 roof slope for all low-slope roof assemblies except coal tar, which requires a minimum ⅛:12 (Section 4.15—Tapered Insulation; IBC 2021 as cited in Section 5.1). For SPF, IBC 2021 Section 1507.13.1 requires a design minimum slope of ¼ inch per foot in new construction; waived for reroofing if positive drainage is provided. - Positive drainage criterion: no ponding water 48 hours after a rain event during drying conditions (Section 5.1). - Tapered layout: with preformed tapered boards of one consistent slope, all valley centerlines should be 45 degrees from the direction of slope (Section 4.15—Hips and Valleys).

Rigid board insulation - Minimum 6 inches of offset between board joints in adjacent layers of flat stock continuous rigid board insulation (Page 137; also Chapter 10, Section 10.1). Not necessary to stagger/offset tapered insulation joints. - NRCA design R-value for polyisocyanurate: 5.0 per inch; NRCA does not consider the predicted five-year or 15-year time-weighted LTTR values suitable for design (Page 159). - Cellular glass is noncombustible and may be exposed directly to hot bitumen, torch flame or hot-air welder temperatures (Pages 140–141). EPS, XPS and polyisocyanurate are combustible. - EPS and XPS both have a maximum recommended exposure temperature of 165 F and should not be used directly under exposed dark-colored membranes (Pages 143, 147). - EPS/XPS may…

Note: this brief covers only the business, contract, financial and employment material contained in the source (NASCLA Contractors Guide, 14th Edition). Illinois-specific licensing statute items are not addressed here.

Key Concepts

Business entity structures (Chapter 2) - A sole proprietorship exposes the owner to unlimited personal liability for all actions taken in the name of the business, including all debts (Ch. 2 — Sole Proprietorship). - General partnerships file federal income tax returns on IRS Form 1065; the entity is not taxed, profits and losses pass to the partners (Ch. 2 — General Partnership). - An LLC with more than one owner may elect to be taxed as a partnership or as a corporate entity; a single-owner LLC is taxed as a sole proprietorship (Ch. 2 — LLC). - A corporation continues to exist even if one or more shareholders die — unlimited life of the business (Ch. 2 — Corporations). - A sole proprietorship with no employees that files no excise or pension tax returns does not need an EIN; the owner uses a social security number (Ch. 14 — Employer Identification Number).

Key Concepts

Slope and drainage (membrane systems) - IBC 2021 requires a design minimum slope of ¼:12 for membrane roof systems, except coal tar built-up roof systems, where ⅛:12 is permitted (NRCA Membrane Roof Systems, Ch. 5, p. 186; Section 5.1—Guidelines Applicable to All Membrane Types, Slope and Drainage). - Minimum slope for a polymer-modified bitumen re-cover over an existing bituminous system is positive drainage; codes do not impose minimum design slope on reroofing as long as positive drainage exists (Ch. 1, pp. 17–18 and 47–52).

Built-up roof membranes - ASTM D312 Type III asphalt is generally appropriate for interply moppings where completed membrane slope is 1:12 or less; Type IV is suggested for slopes greater than 1:12 (Ch. 5, p. 192). - EVT = the temperature at which 125 centipoise is attained; bitumen should be applied within 25°F of the EVT (NRCA Membrane Roofing Systems, Ch. 5—Roof Membranes). - When SBS polymer-modified cap sheets are installed in hot asphalt, the EVT range recommendation generally is not applicable — asphalt should be as hot as possible without overheating in the kettle or tanker (Ch. 5, Section 5.3). - Smooth-surfaced BUR life expectancy: 6 years. Mineral-surfaced cap sheets are usually installed on slopes of 1/2 in 12 to 6 in 12 (80-lb sheet), and 3 in 12 to 9 in 12 for 55-lb cap sheet (Built-Up Roofing, Ch. 10). - Nailable deck substrates…