During a downpour, why do we say it’s “raining cats and dogs?” Or when you’re agitated about something, why are you considered “keyed up”? Where do these sayings come from? We have no idea! But we’d like to uncover the meanings of some of our favorite roofing idioms. If you’ve heard these before, let us know your alternate meanings for them! If you haven’t, we’d like to introduce you to a fun part of roof talk.
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The Hunter-Gatherer Age

From 5000 to 1800 B.C., the hunters and gatherers were learning how to domesticate animals, cultivate plants, and use the sea as a source for food. In order to protect themselves from the elements as they traveled where the food went, they required lightweight housing that was easily broken down and built back up. However, farmers and cattle-breeders required something more durable and long lasting. These men replaced hides and branches with reed, logs, grass sods, and sticks. The first signs of thatched housing showed up in what is today Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and southern parts of Denmark. These houses consisted of one triangular-shaped roof with a fireplace located in the middle of the floor. The house was constructed in a way where smoke could escape through a gable peak. Some drawbacks were breathing difficulties, soot, and blackened clothes and furniture.
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A group of athletes recently performed some pretty daring roof jumps off of Dubai’s Princess Tower, the second tallest residential building in the world. Completed in 2012, The Princess Tower boasts 101 stories and measures 1,358 feet high.
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In March of this year, France passed a national green law stating that new commercial buildings must have renewable energy in some form, either solar panels or green roofs. This is the first law on a national level, although cities such as Toronto, Copenhagen, Tokyo, and Zurich have created similar laws.
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Pictured is a Model T Ford pickup used for roofing in the early 1920s. Charles Kirberg – of Kirberg Company, still in business today – is pictured posing with his son in St. Louis. 
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