"I want you to get the full picture of me and Green Country Roofing. But to do this, I just have to be as transparent and honest as possible."
I am not a salesman. I don't really know how to sell other than just telling the truth and the facts. I'm sure this doesn't make sense because I need to sell to stay in business. That is true, but my entire career was strictly installation and repairs. If you're looking to be sold, this probably isn't the article for you.
Roofing is grueling, dirty work and there's no way around it. On top of that, most roofs these days are incredibly steep and difficult to navigate. I remember rolling the wheelbarrow full of roofing debris from the back of the house to the dumpster in the driveway for hours a day for years. I never lived the life of a glamorous roofing salesman but did the tough hard job that had to get done. Honestly, looking back, I wouldn't have had it any other way.
I've always liked working outside — just working in general. I've never had a problem with it. But if I went back in time, I'd sit down and tell myself to enjoy the journey. When you get home late from work every day dirty and tired, eat a late dinner and then it's bedtime, losing track and losing purpose is easy to do. I just couldn't see where this was going. I tried so many times to try a new career, only to go back to roofing.
That's the failure nobody talks about — trying to walk away from the thing you were built for. Every time I left, I came back because there isn't anything else I'm as good at. But now without a doubt, roofing is what I was made to do, and I'm so happy to finally have figured that out.
My career started in 1996 just months after graduating. At the time, I was working in a shop making $6.50 an hour. One day I saw an ad in the paper for roofing laborers. The ad said it would be willing to train for $9 an hour and I was like, this is it. My career path was formed based on $9 an hour, the greatest suntan of all time, and building a muscular body. Haha. On my first day on the job, I worked 16 hours. I did well, but I was lucky the next day it rained, giving me the day off, and I slept 24 hours. Haha.
It is common these days for someone to start nailing shingles on a roof within months of starting a new roofing job. But my career started very slowly. I was tearing off roofs and cleaning up the ground for years before I picked up a nail gun. This, I think, is the most important part that I didn't realize. It is not about how fast you start; it is about finishing the race. I wanted to have a nail gun in my hand so badly, but the process of getting there was slow and hard to handle. I just didn't understand that I should enjoy the process.
The actual number of years I installed roofs is starting to blur. The amount is 10–12 years, but honestly, I stopped trying to count. My employer never sent any of us to a roofing school. Shoot, I don't even think there was one at this time. We all learned from the school of hard knocks. I learned from failing and from the revolving door of people I worked with. What made me excel in my field was simply learning from others. If I see a good idea, I implement it. That was the secret I didn't know at the time and hadn't planned for. Over time, you just master it.
The appeal of grinding out full replacements finally wore off. I know that is shocking to hear. Haha. I then moved to the repair side of the roofing trade — less physical grind every day and more of the critical thinking and detail side of roofing. It's still physical work and dirty but much less difficult than full replacements. Something happens with repair work that I never really imagined. That is the complete mastery of my craft.
I don't say this lightly — but after 10–12 years of installing and then years of repair work, I got to a point where I can walk around any home in 5 minutes and tell you every place water can get in. That's not a brag. That's just what happens when roofing is what you've done for 30 years.
"I can walk around any home in 5 minutes and tell you every place water can get in. That's not a brag. That's just 30 years."
I worked for only one roofing company my whole life. Just to be clear — this was when we lived in Michigan, so please make no local distinction. Honestly, this was the right company to work for because I truly believe I learned to install roofs the right way, and there are an endless number of wrong ways. Trust me, I've seen it. With that company, I also learned what not to do. He treated the roofing crews and others like they were nothing but a means to make him money. When we started our roofing company, you can ask Elisha — I talked to her about treating our guys well and like family. Elisha and I have been to weddings and church services, and I have taken kids to the park when they were in a bind. Guaranteed our bond with our crew members is second to none.
For this same company I also held positions as crew leader and project manager — but never once held a sales position. Small disclaimer here. I've sold repairs in the thousands but I don't think that is quite the same as compared to a $15,000 roof replacement.
I remember asking the owner one day if I could try a sales position. He said I didn't have what it takes. He said I was too kind. He wasn't lying. I wasn't pushy enough. I won't squeeze everything out of the homeowner to get the sale. The more I think about it, that's what sales have become. The pressure to sign now, prices are going up, you must put in a deposit to hold your price. How frustrating.
To be honest, I just can't do that. For me, here are the annotated photos, the reason why this or that needs to be done, and the price. For sure we do lose jobs because of a better salesman's pitch, but I can't go home to the family knowing I'd squeezed everything out of a homeowner to get the sale.
I can't talk about this company without talking about Elisha. She is the reason any of this runs the way it does. She graduated from Oral Roberts University and Rhema Bible Training College, and she taught middle school English. She has more patience with people than I will ever have. When you call Green Country Roofing, you get Elisha. She will answer your questions, schedule your appointment, and keep me in line to make sure you are taken care of. Homeowners trust her immediately — and really, I think most people trust me because of her. I handle the roof. Elisha handles everything else. And honestly, her job is harder than mine.
Small disclaimer — we recently welcomed our daughter Anna Kate. Depending on when you read this, Elisha may be a little busy with her, so if you get me instead, just know she has her hands full at that moment. She'll be back to keeping me in line shortly.
I've been running Green Country Roofing in the Tulsa area since 2017. We rebranded because our previous name was Rob Moore Construction. The number of calls coming in for framing work was concerning. We had an internal family talk, and Green Country Roofing was created. Even the logo was designed in-house — literally in-house by my wife Elisha's younger son.
We started our roofing company with two goals: take care of the roofers and install the best roof. My skill set wouldn't allow anything that might have the chance to leak. For sure, I'm not about to come back to repair the roof when we could've just done the job right the first time. This means we replace every piece of flashing, replace every piece of bad wood, and continually check nailing patterns.
We also wanted our customers to pick materials that fit their budget and quality of products — not a one-size-fits-all roof. We don't shy away from a special-order shingle because it takes two weeks to get them in. Your house, the products you want — installed properly.
Do you want a limited or lifetime warranty on your roof? We always prefer lifetime. It would be absolutely devastating if we installed a roof for you and in 8 years it fails because of a shingle defect. Being manufacturer certified, you'd be sent a check for the full replacement cost of that 8-year-old roof. That's why lifetime shingle warranties matter. Green Country Roofing is certified by two companies — Atlas and CertainTeed — based on real-world installation experience and research.
CertainTeed ShingleMaster CertifiedI like CertainTeed because they are the most consistent shingle I've installed across every weather condition you can imagine over 12 years. Day after day, in every temperature, you get to see how they respond. I'm more than confident CertainTeed is a great shingle.
Atlas PRO+ Gold Select CertifiedWhen I was researching wind damage issues in Tulsa years ago, Atlas kept sticking out. You nail through two layers of shingle — the largest shingle on the market, double tar strips, and a lifetime algae warranty. I asked myself why I wasn't selling it. I've been very pleased with both ever since.
Roofers are often underpaid, undervalued, and sometimes just treated like garbage while the sales guys and the owners are all living it up in the offices. This was not going to be my company. I say you treat your workers the best, and the rest is taken care of. We pay on time every time, provide lunches from time to time, and keep the cooler stocked with cold drinks in the summer. Most importantly, a smile, a handshake, or a fist bump. It matters big time.
Being nice and friendly doesn't mean anything if they can't install a roof. Our crew starts with repair work. Before any new roof is installed, they will have to show they can repair a roof properly. Just nailing a roof is easy — it's all the details that are important. No one wants to be the test subject for a new roofing crew, but you'd be surprised how many times this happens in a multi-decade career.
A few years back we replaced a roof for a family that had been let down by contractors before. Three months later, a gutter company couldn't install gutter guards because of a builder gap — a common Oklahoma problem where the fascia board and plywood don't meet at the same spot. Technically, that wasn't our mistake. But I felt that family should have been given the option to fix it before we shingled over it. They'd already been burned once. That decision was theirs to make, not mine. I learned a valuable lesson that day.
We replaced two large sections of roofing, replaced everything with new material, and fixed the builder gap. Expensive? Yes. But they knew, without any doubt, that we had their back. I sleep well at night. So does a happy customer. That's the job.
I'm not going to tell you we're perfect. But I will let you read what customers say.
That's the company I set out to build. You can read the rest on our reviews page — and you can decide for yourself.
Take care of the homeowner. Take care of the crews. That works every time. That's the whole thing. Thirty years in, and I haven't found a reason to change it.
If you call us, we know you might not have all the answers or questions. Trust me when I say we get it, we understand, and we'll work through it. Pick up the phone. That's all it takes. We'll handle the rest.
