Product Review

In From the Top Plates Up, production roof cutter Will Holladay, author of the classic roof framing manual A Roof Cutter's Secrets (1988, 2002, 2014), and the challenging workbook The Complicated Roof (2009), shares a bucket load of stories as he reflects back over his 42-year career as a hard swinging roof framer. The book goes back to the early 1970s when the author was a jobsite laborer working for a custom builder, and carries all the way through to 2014 when injuries finally got the best of him. It is the love story of a man and a job. The story of a relentless roof-framing junkie who was never happy unless he was up in the air. Interwoven in the book are intriguing stories of lessons learned - many the hard way - aimed specifically at helping the reader avoid the same pitfalls that tripped him up. The book harbors a kaleidoscope of fun and informative topics, including: his favorite tools; swinging a hammer; avoiding jobsite injuries; dealing with simple or crippling medical events; forging a top-notch framing crew; setting up your work truck; the history and tools of production roof cutting; applying the cool new rafter cutting inventions; the development of modern day roof framing lingo; and, staying in physical shape for maximum jobsite performance. In one stirring chapter, Will tells of his conversion to Christianity while stacking roofs in the Los Angeles housing tracts, and how that decision eventually lead him to a part-time ministry in Central America, where he helps out as a relief pilot and teaches locals rough carpentry skills. The book is truly a collection of the best pearls of wisdom from one of the industry's most beloved roof framers. It is written in a manner that will cause the reader to stop and think, all the while challenging him/her to reach for the stars.