Short answer: As of September 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are RoofsByBryan (83.7), Expert Contracting Inc (79.4), Five Star Roofing Consultants & Services (77.9), Graves Brothers Home Improvement (75.4), Try-Lock Roofing Co Inc (71.4). All of them carry a verifiable manufacturer certification, every rating here was cross-checked against an independent record, and no money changed hands for any placement.
The Roofing Brief scored 10 certified roofing contractors serving the Buffalo metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Buffalo has no President’s Club contractor. All ten certified roofers in the scored pool sit at Master Elite, which makes the certification tier useless as a differentiator here and pushes weight onto tenure and review depth instead. New York issues no statewide roofing licence, and the City of Buffalo licenses home improvement contractors under its own code while the surrounding towns set their own rules. The roofing problem is snow load and ice damming, not hail, so ventilation and eave protection matter more than impact rating.
Wind, terrain and the Buffalo housing stock
Snow, not hail, is the structural test for a Buffalo roof. The December 2022 blizzard dropped 51.9 inches at Buffalo Niagara International Airport with gusts above 70 mph, and the aftermath included dozens of structures destroyed and hundreds reporting roof damage from the weight of drifted snow. The NOAA record over the decade holds only 49 hail reports against 222 severe wind reports, so the questions that matter here are about load, ventilation and ice and water membrane at the eaves, not impact rating.
Wind still does real damage in summer, and July is the peak month in the record. An EF2 tornado tore through Hamburg on 20 July 2017, and another EF2 with winds near 115 mph crossed Eden on 10 July 2024, both in the southern suburbs where several contractors below are based. The largest hail of the decade, 2.5 inches, fell at Lewiston in Niagara County on 20 July 2021, a reminder that the rare hail event here tends to arrive with the same summer storms.
The rules depend on the municipality. Inside the City of Buffalo, Chapter 144 of the city code requires home improvement contractors, roofers included, to hold a city contractor licence, and re-roofing work above $1,000 needs a permit. Cheektowaga, Amherst, Tonawanda and the other towns each run their own building departments with their own rules, so a city licence number is meaningful only for city addresses. Ask who is pulling the permit and in whose name.
Housing stock shapes the job. Much of Buffalo’s older housing is two-and-a-half storey frame construction with steep, cut-up roofs, dormers and multiple layers of old shingle. A tear-off to the deck lets the contractor inspect and replace sheathing that decades of ice damming may have softened, and it avoids stacking a new layer onto a roof already carrying heavy winter loads. Get the number of layers being removed and the price per sheet of replacement decking written into the quote before work begins.
The 5 best roofers in Buffalo, NY
Scored 2026-09-17. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Buffalo is 4.74, across a pool of 10 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RoofsByBryan | 83.7 | Master Elite | 5.0 (379) | 4.97 | 2014 | Hamburg, NY |
| 2 | Expert Contracting Inc | 79.4 | Master Elite | 4.9 (195) | 4.867 | not published | West Seneca, NY |
| 3 | Five Star Roofing Consultants & Services | 77.9 | Master Elite | 4.9 (143) | 4.859 | not published | Tonawanda, NY |
| 4 | Graves Brothers Home Improvement | 75.4 | Master Elite | 4.7 (523) | 4.703 | 1977 | Cheektowaga, NY |
| 5 | Try-Lock Roofing Co Inc | 71.4 | Master Elite | 5.0 (19) | 4.812 | 1926 | Tonawanda, NY |
1. RoofsByBryan — TRB Score 83.7
RoofsByBryan is based in Hamburg, NY, in business since 2014, led by Bryan, BBB a+ rating, not BBB accredited, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 38.8 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 13.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.0 | 10 |
| Total | 83.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated, listed with the BBB since 22 December 2017, trading from 25 March 2014. BBB
- 5.0 across 364 reviews on the GAF registry, with local reviewers citing punctuality and site cleanliness. Reviews
What they actually do. Residential roofing across the southtowns and Hamburg area.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 379 registry reviews with no dissent, the strongest rating in a metro where no contractor holds a tier above Master Elite.
Best fit for: Southtowns homeowners in Hamburg, Orchard Park and Lackawanna.
What we would want clarified. A+ rated but not BBB accredited, so there is no BBB complaint-resolution commitment on record. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (716) 955-9225, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
2. Expert Contracting Inc — TRB Score 79.4
Expert Contracting Inc is based in West Seneca, NY, BBB accredited since 10 April 2006, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 34.7 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 12.4 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 8.3 | 10 |
| Total | 79.4 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 10 April 2006, 23 years in business. BBB
- 4.8 overall. Angi
- 174 reviews. Birdeye
What they actually do. Roof replacement, siding, windows, doors and gutters across the eastern Buffalo suburbs.
Why it ranks here. Twenty years of unbroken A+ accreditation, the longest continuous record in the Buffalo top five, with reviewers specifically noting no-pressure selling and budgets held without surprises.
Best fit for: West Seneca, Cheektowaga and Lancaster homeowners.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (716) 277-2902, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
3. Five Star Roofing Consultants & Services — TRB Score 77.9
Five Star Roofing Consultants & Services is based in Tonawanda, NY, BBB profile on record, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 34.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.9 | 10 |
| Total | 77.9 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- BBB business profile on record. BBB
- Roofing, siding and home improvement across Buffalo and the northtowns. Company
What they actually do. Roofing, siding and home improvement across Buffalo and the northtowns.
Why it ranks here. A 4.9 across 143 registry reviews. The consulting side of the business means it sells assessment as well as replacement, which gives it a commercial reason to recommend repair where repair will do.
Best fit for: Homeowners wanting an assessment before committing to a full replacement.
What we would want clarified. No BBB rating or accreditation date was locatable, and the registry review base is modest at 143. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (716) 828-6279, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
4. Graves Brothers Home Improvement — TRB Score 75.4
Graves Brothers Home Improvement is based in Cheektowaga, NY, in business since 1977, BBB accredited since 1 February 1979, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 28.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 8.6 | 10 |
| Total | 75.4 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 1 February 1979, a 47-year unbroken record, trading from 1 January 1977, averaging 4.4 out of 5 across 52 BBB customer reviews. BBB
- Nine locations across New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Company
What they actually do. Roofing, siding, windows and gutters across western New York and beyond.
Why it ranks here. BBB accredited since February 1979, a 47-year unbroken record and one of the longest accreditations in this programme. 523 registry reviews.
Best fit for: Homeowners weighting a near-half-century accreditation record.
What we would want clarified. The BBB customer review average of 4.4 sits below the 4.7 registry figure, and complaints regarding gutter and roofing work are on file. A nine-location operator rather than a Buffalo-only firm; it also ranks in our Rochester list. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (716) 875-7663, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
5. Try-Lock Roofing Co Inc — TRB Score 71.4
Try-Lock Roofing Co Inc is based in Tonawanda, NY, in business since 1926, led by The Valone family, BBB a+ rating, BBB member since 1938, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), GAF Master Select commercial. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.5 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 7.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.9 | 10 |
| Total | 71.4 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated, and a Better Business Bureau member since 1938. BBB
- Established 1926, family run by the Valone family for over 80 years, and a GAF Master Select commercial contractor alongside residential Master Elite. Company
What they actually do. Residential shingle and flat roofing, EPDM, TPO, modified bitumen, commercial coatings, attic ventilation, insulation, skylights and gutters.
Why it ranks here. Established 1926 and a BBB member since 1938. That 88-year BBB relationship is among the longest of any contractor in this programme, and the technical range covering EPDM, TPO and modified bitumen is far wider than any competitor here. Attic ventilation and roof insulation are listed services, which is the correct specialism for a lake-effect ice damming market.
Best fit for: Ice dam problems, flat roof sections, and homeowners weighting a century of continuous trading.
What we would want clarified. At 19 registry reviews this is by far the thinnest evidence base in the Buffalo top five, so the volume-adjusted rating sits well below the raw 5.0. The century-long record is the reason it ranks, not the review count. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (716) 447-1688, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
The 222 wind reports that shape a Buffalo roof
Aggregate hail counts tell you very little about a specific roof. These are the individual events: every severe-weather report logged by the National Weather Service across the 2 counties of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 49 hail reports, 222 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 9 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $1.3 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Buffalo in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2021 | 2.5 in | Lewiston Hgts | Niagara |
| 18 May 2017 | 2.0 in | New Oregon | Erie |
| 28 May 2017 | 2.0 in | Sardinia | Erie |
| 2 June 2020 | 1.5 in | New Falconwood | Erie |
| 16 August 2019 | 1.5 in | Lockport | Niagara |
| 16 June 2022 | 1.5 in | Sardinia | Erie |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 20 July 2021 near Lewiston Hgts, measured at 2.5 inches. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 74 knots, about 85 mph, near Grand Island on 9 September 2024. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 9 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF2 near Locksley Park on 20 July 2017.
What the National Weather Service wrote about it
The NWS logs a written account of each severe-weather episode. This is its description of the 25 May 2019 event near Wallmore, reproduced verbatim:
A warm front pressed north across the forecast area during the morning and midday hours. In its wake, dewpoints jumped into the mid 60s while increasing amounts of sun allowed for a rapid increase in instability over the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes region. While the airmass destabilized, a low-level jet made its way across western New York. This supported ample deep layer shear. Initially, cells over the Southern Tier had trouble building due to the presence of a weak cap. Scattered storms over Allegany County finally broke that cap. Meanwhile, a strong lake breeze shielded the Niagara Frontier. A solid line of strong convection over southern Ontario approached the western edge of the…
That is the kind of damage a roof in this metro has to be specified against, described by the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in July (90), August (47), June (47). The worst years on record were 2020 (49), 2024 (40), 2017 (39). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Buffalo, the months outside that window are when crews are least stretched and least likely to be triaging emergency callouts ahead of your job.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, county-level detail files 2016 to 2025, filtered to the counties of this statistical area by The Roofing Brief. Damage figures are as reported to the NWS and undercount insured losses.
What to do with this. Hail is not the governing risk in Buffalo. Weight your decision toward wind rating, ventilation and flashing detail rather than paying extra for impact-rated shingles.
What a Buffalo homeowner should ask for in writing
There is no state roofing licence in NY. New York issues no statewide roofing licence and no statewide general contractor licence. Roofing is licensed locally, and whether a licence exists at all depends on which county or city the work happens in.
New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor licence from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, involving a written exam, proof of workers’ compensation cover, either enrolment in the Home Improvement Business Trust Fund or a $20,000 surety bond, a sales tax Certificate of Authority, and EPA lead-safe certification or a signed affirmation that it is not needed. Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, and the City of Buffalo, run their own separate licensing bureaus. Statewide, General Business Law 771-b governs roofing contracts paid from insurance: it bars a roofer from rebating your deductible or adjusting your claim, and lets you cancel within three business days of an insurer’s denial.
That absence is the most important fact on this page. Where a state issues no credential, a manufacturer certification that can be revoked is the only quality signal a homeowner can actually check, which is why this ranking is built on certification rather than star ratings.
Check here: NYC DCWP Home Improvement Contractor licence. Confirm the contractor is licensed in the specific county where your home sits, not merely somewhere in the metro. A Westchester licence does not authorise work in Nassau.
Four checks to run before you sign anything, in any state.
- Verify certification at the source. Use the GAF verification tool rather than trusting a badge image on a company website.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer, not the contractor, and confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active on the day work starts.
- Confirm who pulls the permit. If a contractor asks you to pull it as the homeowner, that moves liability onto you. Decline.
- Get warranty terms in writing before any deposit, and check the manufacturer warranty being promised actually requires the certification tier the contractor holds.
The Buffalo market behind this ranking
10 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area, of which 0 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 2,230 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.74. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 1,160,172, a change of -0.57% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Buffalo rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY pool was scored out of 100 on four published components: certification tier, a Bayesian adjusted rating, review depth and distance from the metro centre. In this metro that meant scoring 10 certified contractors, of whom 0 hold President’s Club standing and 10 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.74. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Good and bad findings are published together, and no contractor paid for a place here.
The full method, the weightings, what the GAF certification tiers actually mean, who is eligible to be ranked and what we do not claim are all set out on our roofer ranking methodology page. Last updated: September 2026. Scoring run: 2026-09-17. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Buffalo roofing questions, answered
Who is the best roofer in Buffalo, NY?
RoofsByBryan of Hamburg, NY scores highest in the Buffalo metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 83.7 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds Master Elite certification with a 5.0 rating across 379 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 12.3 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Buffalo?
10 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area as of September 2026, of which 0 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Buffalo get?
The Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area recorded 36 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 3 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 2.5 inches.
Did any contractor pay to appear on this list?
No. The Roofing Brief takes no placement fees, no lead fees and no affiliate commission from any roofing contractor. Ranking comes entirely from the published formula applied to public registry data, followed by an individual research pass on the top five.
What was the worst hailstorm in Buffalo in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.5 inches, reported near Lewiston Hgts on 20 July 2021. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims. Across the decade the metro recorded 49 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $1.3 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Buffalo?
Severe-weather reports in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area cluster in July, August, June, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Scheduling discretionary work away from that window tends to get you a better crew and a faster start, because nobody is juggling emergency callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in NY?
New York issues no statewide roofing licence and no statewide general contractor licence. Roofing is licensed locally, and whether a licence exists at all depends on which county or city the work happens in. New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor licence from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, involving a written exam, proof of workers’ compensation cover, either enrolment in the Home Improvement Business Trust Fund or a $20,000 surety bond, a sales tax Certificate of Authority, and EPA lead-safe certification or a signed affirmation that it is not needed. Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, and the City of Buffalo, run their own separate licensing bureaus. Statewide, General Business Law 771-b governs roofing contracts paid from insurance: it bars a roofer from rebating your deductible or adjusting your claim, and lets you cancel within three business days of an insurer’s denial.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Buffalo?
Confirm the contractor is licensed in the specific county where your home sits, not merely somewhere in the metro. A Westchester licence does not authorise work in Nassau.
Is Buffalo a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Buffalo has no President’s Club contractor. All ten certified roofers in the scored pool sit at Master Elite, which makes the certification tier useless as a differentiator here and pushes weight onto tenure and review depth instead. New York issues no statewide roofing licence, and the City of Buffalo licenses home improvement contractors under its own code while the surrounding towns set their own rules. The roofing problem is snow load and ice damming, not hail, so ventilation and eave protection matter more than impact rating.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Buffalo?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY statistical area logged 222 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports against 36 hail reports of an inch or more between 2016 and 2025. Wind damage shows up at the rake, ridge and edge rather than across the field of the roof, so the fastening schedule and edge detail matter more here than the impact rating of the shingle.
Roofer rankings for other metros
The Roofing Brief scores certified roofing contractors in the 400 largest U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas on the same formula.
- Best roofers in Rochester, NY, about 66 miles from Buffalo
- Best roofers in Erie, PA, about 82 miles from Buffalo
- Best roofers in Syracuse, NY, another NY metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Binghamton, NY, another NY metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Hartford, CT, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Grand Rapids, MI, a metro of comparable size
See the full index of all 400 metro roofer rankings, or read how to find and vet a roofing contractor anywhere in the country.
Cite this analysis
The Roofing Brief. “Best Roofers in Buffalo, NY: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published September 2026. Inputs: GAF certification registry; NOAA Storm Events Database 2016-2025; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Better Business Bureau and independent review-platform records for each ranked contractor.