Columbus Roof Company

Realizing that you need a new roof can be overwhelming, especially considering the many variables you’ll need to account for. But, of course, one of the most important of these variables is the material you use for your new roof.

If you have already gotten started on research, then you’ve probably realized just how many options there are when it comes to roofing materials. However, some of these materials offer more than others—for instance, certain materials are less durable than others, meaning you’ll need to deal with frequent repairs. You might even need to replace your roof yet again within the next several years. This is an avoidable situation, as long as you choose suitable material (and become familiar with the unique maintenance it requires).

To help you get started, here are examples of solid roofing contenders. Each of these suggestions is a sturdy, durable pick so that your new roof will last for many years to come. 

Metal roofing

Over the years, metal roofing has become increasingly common, even among homeowners. And this certainly isn’t for no reason—metal roofing offers a host of benefits, making it one of the best materials available.

Durability and longevity

One of the biggest perks of having a metal roof installed is its durability. Compared to many other roofs, metal roofing tends to last the longest while experiencing the most infrequent damage. In fact, the maintenance required behind a metal roof is minimal, especially compared to other types of roofing.

Assuming that a metal roof is installed correctly by experts, it should last the homeowner anywhere from 40 to 70 years. Some varieties of metal roofing, such as copper, can last even longer. Nevertheless, even your standard metal roof will outlive many other materials.

If you live in a location with extreme weather conditions, a metal roof could be one of your best options. These roofs are highly resistant to the elements, including strong winds—even wind gusts as strong as 140 miles per hour. In addition, while other materials could suffer due to extreme weather, a metal roof is less likely to rust or crack. This is thanks, in part, to the material’s rust proof coating.

Eco-friendliness

If you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint and live a more environmentally friendly life, then it’s worth considering a metal roof. Unfortunately, some more common roofing materials (like traditional asphalt shingles) are petroleum-based, which means that more fossil fuels need to be used in their creation.

Traditional asphalt shingles also tend to have a shorter lifespan, so alongside being petroleum-based, they will also need to be replaced every 20 years or so—this means that you’ll be going through considerably more fossil fuels than you would if you’d opted for a metal roof.

Most metal roofs are constructed from a large percentage of recycled materials, which is why they’re an eco-friendly option. Further, the metal roof itself is also recyclable. Even if a steel roof is recycled over and over again, the material won’t lose any of its strength.

If you’re looking to install solar panels or begin harvesting rainwater, metal roofing offers the perfect platform to do so.

Energy efficiency

Many homeowners are hesitant to install a metal roof because of the price tag associated with installation. However, this doesn’t mean that a metal roof is more costly than other types of roofing overall—in fact, it’s one of the cheapest options over time.

Most notably, metal roofing is incredibly energy efficient, allowing homeowners to save on heating and cooling. Unlike traditional asphalt roofing, metal roofs don’t absorb heat. If your roof absorbs heat, it will then be transferred into your home. Ultimately, this means that your HVAC system will need to work harder to keep your home at a desirable temperature.

Metal roofs, on the opposite hand, allow your HVAC system to run more efficiently. This is because these roofs reflect heat rather than absorb it. So, while the surface of a metal roof may get hot under direct sunlight, this is simply because the heat isn’t making it past the surface. For instance, after sundown, you’ll notice that a metal roof seems to cool down instantly. A traditional asphalt roof, however, will remain hot to the touch for several hours into the night.

Appearance and customizability

Finally, metal roofs are one of the most stylish options available to homeowners. In part, this is due to the extreme customizability of these roofs—depending upon the style of your house (as well as your taste), metal roofs come in a wide variety of finishes, colors, and shapes. In fact, modern metal roofs typically come in over 100 colors. This is considerably more than traditional asphalt, meaning that a metal roof is more likely to suit the style and appearance of your home.

While standing seam metal roofs are the most popular style, they aren’t your only option. It is also possible for metal roofing to mimic the style of tiles (either clay or slate), wood shakes, or a variety of other designs. 

Fiberglass asphalt shingles

Rather than opting for traditional asphalt shingles, it is also possible for homeowners to choose fiberglass asphalt shingles. Although they come with their own pros and cons, many individuals will find them a superior option.

A base mat of woven fiberglass is used to create fiberglass shingles. This base is then covered with a waterproof coating made of asphalt. Finally, fiberglass roofs are topped off by ceramic granules. These granules are intended to protect the roofing system from the harmful effects of UV radiation.

Fiberglass asphalt roofs contain less asphalt than traditional shingles due to the base mat’s composition. More specifically, to achieve the same level of durability as a traditional asphalt roof, fiberglass shingles won’t need to contain as much asphalt. Overall, this means that fiberglass shingles are more eco-friendly than traditional asphalt shingles. As a result, they’re less reliant on fossil fuels. This lower asphalt content also makes fiberglass roofs lighter weight than their more traditional counterparts. 

As a whole, fiberglass asphalt shingles are a highly resilient roofing material. They also won’t dry out, won’t change shape over time, and are non-porous.

Owens Corning Oakridge shingles

Owens Corning Oakridge Shingles

One of the two varieties of fiberglass shingles offered by Able Roof, Owens Corning Oakridge Shingles, is one of the top options on the market. These singles are wind resistant, class A fire rated, and resistant to algae buildup. They’re also a highly affordable option, even compared to other types of shingles offered by Able Roof. Despite this, Owens Corning Oakridge Shingles still come with the durability you’d expect from fiberglass shingles.

Owens Corning Durations Series shingles

A slightly more expensive option, Able Roof also installs Owens Corning Durations Series. Like the Oakridge shingles, these are also wind resistant, algae resistant, and come with class A fire protection.

However, the Durations Series comes with the added perk of SureNail Technology. This allows for improved weather protection, thanks to the additional reinforcement.

Roofing from the Durations Series also comes in more colors than the Oakridge variety, making it more stylistically adaptable to a wider variety of homes.

Polymer-modified asphalt

Polymer-modified asphalt, also known as modified asphalt roofing, is another top option when it comes to your new roof.

Traditionally, asphalt shingles are made out of blown asphalt. On the other hand, polymer-modified asphalt is made of a material known as styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS). This is considered to be a premium shingling option.

Polymer-modified asphalt is considerably more durable than traditional asphalt. In addition, it’s more resistant to impact, making it a superior option for those in areas with extreme weather conditions, such as regular hail.

If you live in a very hot or cold climate, you can expect modified asphalt to hold up without cracking or shrinking.

These premium shingles are also better at withstanding weathering over time. In addition, they provide improved adhesion, meaning that they can better hold onto surface granules. These granules help protect the roof from the sun’s UV radiation, on top of protecting it from weathering.

Owens Corning TruDefinition Duration Flex shingles

Owens Corning TruDefinition Duration Flex Shingles

At Able Roof, we offer Owens Corning TruDefinition Duration Flex Shingles. This is a high-quality variety of polymer-modified shingles.

TruDefinition Duration Flex Shingles are highly durable, backed by SureNail technology. They are also wind resistant, impact resistant, algae resistant, and class A fire rated. Overall, this makes them the superior option if you’re looking to protect your home from harsh weather, such as hail. That’s precisely why Able Roof also refers to this option as our “ThunderGuard” shingles.

Call Able Roof

Are you in Central Ohio and need a new roof? If so, it’s time to get in contact with the experts at Able Roof. We provide our clients with some of the top roofing material options if you’re looking to install a durable roof that lasts for many years to come. In addition, you can learn more about our shingling and other roofing options on our site. Or, you can get in touch with us to receive a free estimate.

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Leak Investigation & Repair

Want to know what it looks like when our team comes out to identify the roof leak in your building? Read more here.

We are aware a leak is the last thing you want to find in your building. Although we may be the last call you want to make, we hope Baker Roofing Company is your first. Over 100 years of experience has proven to give us insight into the most efficient way to locate and repair your leak. We believe in transparency and education when it comes to our services. We thought it would be helpful to share what our team does on-site to find that pesky roof leak.

First, the salesperson will go inside the building and speak to the onsite point of contact. If there are any water stains or active indoor leaks, we will take a look at them then. If the business has ceiling tiles, then our team will remove those tiles and look at the type of deck on the building. The deck is accessible between the tiles and the roofline. At this point, we are looking for water or other obvious roof penetrations. We also like to determine if the water is from the air conditioning units’ condensation. Sometimes we identify roof penetrations this way and sometimes we do not.

The next step is to go on the roof. We will then search around any holes, open seams, or penetrations that might be open in the leak area. Depending on the job, we can utilize density gauges or infrared cameras (used at nighttime only) to see if any of the insulation is wet which allows us to track it at the point of entry.

At this point, we have thoroughly checked and identified the problem area. Now you can expect our team to work up a proposal with photo documentation to share our findings. Once the proposal or NTE (not to exceed) work order is signed, our service crew will be scheduled to come out and make the repair! You’ll be back to normal business before you know it. Not to mention, a nice and dry ceiling/roof!

By Alex Manring

Alex has worked at Baker for 5 years! When not at work, she loves spending time outside with her Goldendoodle and her husband Cole, hanging out with her family & friends, trying all the new restaurants in Raleigh, and watching a good movie!

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Getting Personal With Prentiss and Frank Baker

To survive and persevere in business over 100 years is no simple feat. Almost certainly, this success can be attributed to values-based family ownership and a century-old mission to do Always Good Work. In honor of National Roofing Week, we sat down with our humble leaders and third-generation Baker men, Prentiss and Frank Baker, to share belly laughs over old times and get to know their hearts for serving others.

Tell us a funny story from years past at Baker Roofing!

Prentiss: Truthfully, these stories are not funny when the event happens. It’s bad stuff, you know. But, probably my favorite, and this is back in the 60’s, not too long after Frank and I started working. Could’ve been the early 70’s. We did shingle work back then, we’d go out and reroof a residence. And we had this job, I think I was the estimator and salesman. We had one crew and that crew was two men. Jesse Hinton was the lead guy, you might say the foreman and Jesse had worked for us for a while. And he was a nice, nice, human being but let me tell you what, he was slow as a hitch. When we reroofed just a small house, it might’ve taken two weeks to get done. Now we go out to one that’s four times it’s size and we get it done in a day or two. Anyway, we got this probably $1,500-$2,000 contract to reroof this house, and I remember sending Jesse and his helper out to the job that morning. I wrote down the address and told them I’d meet them in a little while. Somehow, I got busy. Instead of meeting them out there in a timely manner, I get a phone call a day or two later that says “Mr. Baker, this is ‘so-and-so’ and I believe y’all are putting a new roof on the wrong house.” I said, “This is a problem.” We got far enough along that we tore off the old roof and were putting the new roof down. So I got out there and sure enough, Jesse decided to put the new roof on the house beside the job. The guy was just as nice as he could be, he said “Mr. Baker, we got another problem. Not only are you putting it on the wrong house, I don’t like the color of the new roof you put down.” Well, then he got a second new roof… Free. Once we got him finished, we finally went to the right house.

Frank: This has happened more than once. It seems rather tragic when it happens, and then as you get older and see what really is tragic and what is a catastrophe, then this is nothing.

We were doing a job at St. Mary’s College, we were putting a slate roof on a dormitory. We had people that were skilled that were installing the slate roof and I of course did not have enough skill to actually put the roof on, so I was a toter. I would put a stack of slate on my shoulder and walk it up a ladder to the roof. We weren’t quite as safety-minded back then as we are now. During the course of the day, I took a load of slate up, put it down for Jesse, went back over to the ladder and promptly fell off the roof. By blind luck, the mason had just received a shipment of sand which they had dumped on the ground right next to our ladder, so when I fell, I fell on this pile of sand instead of on the ground. It was a two-floor’s drop. And I was so embarrassed that my initial thought wasn’t, “Am I okay? Let’s take stock here and see if anything’s broken.” I ran over, picked up another load of slate, took it back up to the roof as quickly as I could because of the embarrassment and when I got to the top of the ladder, the two guys were laughing their butts off at me trying to act like I had not fallen off the roof. It’s the boss’s son that just fell off the roof.

Our founder, W.P. Baker Sr. was your grandfather. How would you describe your grandfather to those who didn’t know him?

F: Well, he was an uneducated man who educated himself as fully as you could possibly do.

P: No education, but you wouldn’t know it. His dad was a farmer and didn’t have enough money. He came to Raleigh when he was 12 years old, or his parents sent him. His brother was already here working and they needed to work to send money back to the farm down in Harnett Co. so their parents could survive. It was just a different world back then. He came on a mule. So, he was uneducated and as Frank said, he educated himself, but he was a very caring human being, too. He was bright, very energetic… Didn’t say a whole lot. I don’t remember granddad talking, you kinda learned from his actions, how he lived his life, how he treated people.

F: He was sort of a sportsman. He loved to hunt and fish. He captured a number of the snakes that used to be in the NC Natural History Museum in their dioramas. So, he would be out hunting and he would see a snake, and he would stalk the snake and catch it live. He had a Chrysler one-seater, they called it a coupe. He caught a rattlesnake when he was on a trip down east, put it in a burlap sack and put it in the Chrysler.

P: He wasn’t scared of them, honestly.

F: Well unfortunately, with this particular snake, he came back on the weekend and was not able to take it to the museum. So, over the course of the weekend, the snake escaped from the sack in the automobile. And we could not find that snake, it was nowhere to be found. It got down under the floorboards somewhere. So, we were riding around in that thing for about 2 weeks before the snake finally reappeared and granddad recaptured it and took it to the museum.

If you look at some of the pictures we have around at the office here, which I always thought this was sort of unique about him, he was one of the most natty dressers of anybody that you’ve ever seen.

P: He grew up with nothing and when he got a little money, whenever he was doing something that was worth dressing up, he would dress up. And there was a real nice clothing store right downtown, Womble’s, and that’s where he would carry us to buy clothes, too. He wore a bolo tie, not a conventional tie.

F: He bought us our first sport coat when we were about 5 years old. He was something. Who else takes a 5 year old and buys him a sport coat?

Frank, how would you describe Prentiss to anyone who didn’t know him?

F: Well, I say this with a great deal of love for my brother, but we both have about as high a degree of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that can be found on the planet.

P: I thought dad was a little higher.

F: Our family has it in spades. And I’ve always thought that that was one thing, if you were going to hire somebody in a work environment, there is nothing better than to have OCD. Because you are so committed to what you need to do, that you just can’t stop yourself from doing it. He’s the perfect example. He just keeps going and going. We could both be somewhere doing something else, easy, but I mean, you’ve got stuff to finish here.

Prentiss gestures to the stacks of papers piled throughout his office.

P: What I do here has more meaning.

F: You impact more lives down here than you can anywhere else.

Prentiss, how would you describe Frank to anyone who didn’t know him?

P: Well, he started that conversation by saying we were a lot alike, well we are. In other ways, we’re not alike, and that’s good, too! So, he is more of the studious, detail-oriented, academic type than I am. I’m more the… Well, I’m not sure what I am. I won’t describe myself. But, you know, I think there is a big difference there. For instance, he loves to read books, well I love to read books too, but I don’t read them as fast and I seem to let other things get in the way.

F: I will say that back in the day, back when we didn’t know better, Prentiss and I would disagree about things. At that time it was just the two of us, so no one came in and disagreed with us about anything. So, we just disagreed with each other.

P: It got ugly several times.

F: You could hear us all over this place. And after about 20 years of that, we suddenly figured out that you’re not helping yourself or anyone else because nothing ever gets solved by getting angry. So, it’s been a better, simpler ride.

P: We’ve had a very healthy relationship. And even though we disagree about things, it’s okay. You know, it’s kind of like a marriage.

What were you both like in college?

F: This is not a good question.

They both chuckled to each other for a moment.

P: We were carefree.

F: We enjoyed ourselves.

Which two organizations, outside of your own, are you inspired by most?

F: I think the organization that I am most closely tied to and believe in is Crossnore School. We were doing a job for a contractor in Charlotte and the general manager of that company called me and said, “We’re gonna do a project at Crossnore School, we’re going to build a barn for them to do equine therapy.” It’s a live-in school for children who have been abused in any number of ways. And so, they asked if we would put the roof on for them. I agreed that we would do that, and they invited me for the opening of this facility. I said, “Good lord, the last thing I want to do is drive up to the mountains of Western North Carolina on a Sunday.” But I went because the guy was such a good friend. And I got there, and I was overwhelmed. They have expanded, they now have 4 campuses and I think their mission is unbelievable. It moves me every time I think about it.

P: I always think about nonprofits or organizations we’ve been involved with, NRCA and local chamber of commerce, et cetera. I think out of mine, it would be the Boys and Girl Club and the Salvation Army. Even though I have grown, I’ve been involved with those for 50 years each. It’s been very meaningful to me. I’ve developed a love for other places, too, like The Healing Place… I just think that that place is on fire. And you know, you’ve got Habitat, SPCA… Wonderful organizations. These are all just ways that we can give back. If you’re going to be a good citizen, you need to, that’s something that I think we need to maybe better teach and prepare young people. Find something that you’ve got a passion for and volunteer your time. That’s where you’re going to get your best thoughts about the world and life from. You quickly recognize how fortunate you are when you start participating and helping others. It’s a very meaningful experience. And there’s so many needs out there, there’s just not enough dollars and not enough people.

What would you say is your proudest accomplishment of Baker Roofing?

P: People, people, people. Seeing people grow and prosper, and I’m not just talking about money, either. Just seeing a young person come in and they find their passion and we get to work as a team. We’ve put some wonderful roofs on, but that’s not what I think about. The business of Baker Roofing is people. Whether we’re successful or not depends on people.

F: For over 106 years, we’ve provided a family environment for people who want to take advantage of it, and we have many who have taken advantage of it. I think we’ve improved innumerable lives from the time we’ve been in business.

What advice would you give to someone pursuing a career in the construction industry?

P: I could give you a different answer depending on what day you ask me, but I’ve become to realize that emotional intelligence might just be the biggest part of success in life. We could go on and on about details, roofing, and learning the technical part of it, but really if you get right down to it, if you don’t have the emotional intelligence side of it down, that is I think it can be a learned thing, but there is a lot of natural ability to absorb and understand people. You gotta be interested in people, you gotta want to be around that person and have a positive impact on them.

F: I think, probably, understanding the level of commitment that is necessary to be a success. There’s not a strict hourly constraint on what your job consists of. Your job consists of whatever it is and you have to be committed to fulfilling all the requirements.

P: I sent out a Quote of the Day today that was about effort. And it’s so true what Frank is saying. One wonderful thing about this business is that I never look at the clock. I look at the clock, I’m trying to figure out why I’m late. It’s a good feeling to be involved – businesses can be compared to teams. This is a team. Marketing’s got a role, purchasing’s got a role, risk management’s got a role, estimating’s got a role, operations… So, when all of that comes together, at the highest level, is when you’re going to be successful. And everybody’s got an important role to play.

What are your hopes for the company’s future?

P: That it continues improving. I’m a strong believer in that each and every one of us, including myself, can do things better. Whether it’s leading better, whether it’s mentoring better. It’s kind of like playing tennis. What can I do to better myself? And help others get better from that?

F: I think we are on a pretty steady upward trajectory. I think that the new generation of leadership has some remarkable talents. I believe in them fully and I think in the future we’re going to do nothing more than get better. Because, I think they have the right management style for the type of business we’ve become. Prentiss and I for decades had to do pretty much everything, there just weren’t that many people around. So, these guys can divide responsibilities and they each can concentrate on what their best at, which I think is going to be a long-term benefit. This company is going to be exceptional.

By Shelby Zeuli

Shelby joined the Baker Roofing marketing team in April 2021! When she’s not on top of roofs trying to get a good angle, she likes to capture portrait photography, skateboard, and watch movies with her dog, Sarge.

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