“We’re intentionally a small company because we try to do fewer roofs, and we’re there supervising, we’re on site,” says Robert, one of the two owners of Compass Roofing in Fort Worth. “We have much better controls over our workmanship.”
His partner is Carey Tatum. The idea is simple: an owner should be there while the work gets done.
A homeowner who hired the company after hail damage in 2018 described that arrangement in a review. Carey took personal charge of the project, the reviewer wrote. He was on hand when the insurance adjuster came out to look at the damage, and he kept checking on the workers as the job moved along.
Both partners came out of corporate America and have college degrees. Robert credits that background with giving them a different mentality about showing up and keeping their word. The business started out remodeling houses before it moved into roofing. The rule for the crews is the one the owners hold themselves to. “We expect them to show up and do what they say they’re going to do,” he says, “because that’s what we do.”
Robert names two kinds of work the company does best. “We do a very good job on higher-end residential and then commercial TPO roofing,” he says. On the residential side, the company lists slate, tile, cedar shakes and stone-coated steel alongside ordinary asphalt shingles. On flat commercial roofs it works with TPO, PVC, modified bitumen and metal. The company also scans roofs with drones and infrared cameras, looking for trapped moisture and leaks that a visual check can miss.
The office sits on Camp Bowie Boulevard, but how far the crews travel depends on the job. “It depends on if it’s residential or commercial,” Robert says. “Residential, probably 50 miles. Commercial, we cover the whole state.”
A company built around its owners’ presence has to answer what happens when they step back. Carey’s son has started getting involved in the business.
“I think we’ll hand it down to another generation,” Robert says.