WATERLOO --- Aah. Now that's more like it.

Temperatures today will barely clear 70 degrees, a welcome break from an oppressive string of 90-degree days and suffocating humidity.

Fewer people can be more pleased than construction workers who report for duty on high. Because in the roofing businesses, the jobs don't stop no matter how high the mercury rises.

"On the roof, it is 20 degrees hotter than on the ground," said Jeremy Bleeker, CEO of Eastern Iowa Construction. "It's very, very hot for them."

Tuesday, Jess Hall still showed up on the job site wearing shorts and a T-shirt. But even into the afternoon, the shirt was dry even after unloading pallets loaded with bundles of shingles.

"It's been pretty miserable," Hall said.

To combat the extreme conditions, which prompted heat advisories across the state, companies advised crews to start earlier in the day, take breaks in the shade and drink fluids constantly.

"It's water, water, water," Bleeker said.

Hall added the crew he works with also took breaks during the heat of the day. Getting off the roof spares workers and shingles, which move well beyond pliable when superheated by the sun. Construction workers' feet scuff the surface of the shingles, leaving unsightly marks.

"It's a lot easier to scar them when the heat's pounding on them," said Antonio Muniz, co-owner of A&K Construction.

Hall, a recent graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, will work for Eastern Iowa Construction through the summer until beginning a job in the fall. Acclimating to the heat and developing muscles sufficient to swing 80-pound bundles took some doing.

"It's tough until you get used to it," he said.

Cooler temperatures should help workers pick up the pace.

"This is a very physical job," said Chuck Schulte, CEO of Service Roofing. "Heat and humidity --- those conditions are real tough. It slows the pace."

Estimates vary on what conditions are best to work in, but opinions range from 50 degree and mild autumn weather to 85 degree with no humidity. Regardless of the temperature, most roofing crews are able to decide for themselves whether to climb the ladder and get busy.

"We never force them to work," Bleeker said. "If they know it's too hot, they won't start the job for that day."

Owners of the companies will also step in if they feel employees are truly at risk of heat exhaustion.

"We made a couple of short days in the past week where it just got unbearable," Schulte said.

Tuesday's high also only managed the mid-70s. The sudden drop in temperature was attributed in part to 1.5 inches of rain that fell Monday night, clearing the air and ushering in a different weather pattern. Temperatures are expected to slowly climb back to the mid-80s by the end of the week.

Bleeker said many on his crews don't mind the hot weather.

"A lot of these guys got into it because they like the heat," he said. "They live for this."

Courier Regional Editor Dennis Magee contributed to this article.

 

Source:  http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2005/07/27/news/metro/doc42e7abade65e6022613148.txt