Robert Mahoney, Owner, B & Z Custom Sheet Metal Inc.
Originally, sheet metal workers were called “smiths” and there were different kinds of smiths – most likely, the first were the gold and silversmiths who date back several thousand years. Paul Revere is probably the most famous silversmith. When copper and bronze came along, workers were called coppersmiths. A lot of these became armorers and worked for kings and rulers to make swords and armor for the armies of the time. Blacksmiths came along when iron was discovered. They worked with forges to make tools and other implements such as horseshoes, nails, door hinges and other items made of iron and steel. Sheet metal workers came to be known as whitesmiths since they worked with white metals like tin and zinc. They made pots and pans and different items that are used in homes and buildings, roofing, air ducts and certain types of siding.
Metal roofing has been around for a very long time. Sheet metal was developed during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). A manufacturer named Robert Morris created it in Trenton, New Jersey, where he created the first sheet metal roof for his own Philadelphia mansion. Sheet metal roofing became popular in the 19th Century and metal roofing was specifically used on buildings whose roofs had a gentle incline. At the time, with domed or gently inclined roofs, tile and clay would not maintain the roof shape.
As technology advanced, fabrication and installation has become easier and far more productive. Over the past 40 years that I have been working in the roofing industry, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. These days, it seems like everyone is in such a great hurry to get it done that quality and attention to detail is a distant second. Soldering that certain detail to make it watertight, has now been replaced with caulking.
“Back in the day” we used to make and take, meaning we installed everything we fabricated. Handmade double lock standing seam metal panels that were once installed with hand tools, are now created with machines and equipment that do both. Ornate cornice moldings and radius copings, which were once created by a coppersmith, now have been replaced with Styrofoam covered with stucco and paint. Residential bay windows that were once made of copper are now replaced with shingles. While I have
great respect for the advancements in technology and recognize the need to adapt, I truly miss the artistry involved in laying out and fabricating a custom-made leader head that shows the craftsmanship of the work.
I have worked on many different projects over the years, crafting items from cupulas to barrel vaulted dormers to church steeples and spires. I did not learn how to make these during my four years of trade school while becoming a certified sheet metal
journeyman; I learned that skill on the job. I have yet to see an apprenticeship program that offered a curriculum in architectural sheet metal design. Most programs focus on HVAC duct work, most of which is designed by CAD drawings and produced with laser assisted equipment that the sheet metal worker then assembles.
The term “Tin Knocker” was mainly used to describe a sheet metal worker or metal duct installer. It was also used as a slang term in construction if one were a non-union worker on a union job. We were also called scab and rats.
Sheet metal craftsmen were also responsible for the complete set up of our jobs. Sometimes, before the roofers can do their work, we are installing gutters and edge metals and, after they are finished, we install simple coping systems or ornate copper hip and ridge cap. We are kind of seen as the necessary evil on the job because we gave the roof the finishing touches that it needed. We are sometimes considered to be the “prima donna of roofing” because we don’t want our work to get tarred up in the installation process. Sheet metal workers are the last trade that can take a flat sheet of metal and lay it out, form it and put it together from scratch. The items that sheet metal workers install are some of the most visible and distinctive enhancements to a home. I have worked on many high-profile jobs in my time and let my work speak for itself.
Safety is of great importance and the number one priority. Whether it is working off the edge of a five-story building or on a 9:12 pitched roof tied-off and installing gutter and edge metal, to setting up scaffolding or in a man lift 125-feet in the air, you had
better know what you are doing. I’ve seen many men, including myself, get severely cut while handling metal or struggling to handle a 30-foot long metal panel and not letting it become airborne. I have fallen off a metal roof, where I was the first one on the roof to tie-off the safety lines for my crew, only to catch a slick of dew on a panel in the early morning. Down I went in an instant sliding 20 feet on the panel and dropping another 20 feet into a parking lot and blowing out my knee. Safety is critical especially when working with metal.
The sheet metal trade has changed so much through the years with new machines and computers, but we still need to keep up our skills because sometimes we need to modify things in the field. Ironically, with all the changes and improvements, you can look at some sheet metal tools used a hundred years ago, and they have changed very little. The pride and the skill that a true sheet metal worker takes in his or her work is what makes them true craftsmen in their trade. The future of sheet metal is wide open for
the ones that want to be true craftsmen in a trade that offers great opportunities. Long live the tin knocker!
Robert “Bob” Mahoney is owner of B & Z Custom Sheet Metal Inc., Orlando, where his company is celebrating 20 years in business. Prior to owning his own company, he worked for Hammock Brothers Roofing, with friend and mentor, Joel Hammock, CPRC. Bob served as FRSA President in 2011, is a Life Member and the recipient of the 2007 President’s Award. Information for this article was gathered from SMART – the sheet metal, air, rail, and transportation workers union.
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