Short answer: As of September 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Columbia, SC metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Burgin Roofing Services (94.2), Elite Roof and Solar (89.2), CMS Roofing (86.6), MR Columbia LLC, trading as Modern Roofing (81.0), Dennis Home Improvement LLC (80.8). 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 9 certified roofing contractors serving the Columbia metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Columbia takes 191 hail reports a decade, more than any other metro in this batch, and South Carolina splits roofing across two separate regulators that are not interchangeable. Work at $10,000 or more requires a licensed General Contractor through the Contractor’s Licensing Board; smaller jobs can be done by a Residential Specialty Contractor registered with the Residential Builders Commission, a threshold that starts at just $500. A full Columbia replacement almost always clears $10,000, which puts it in General Contractor territory. Ask which of the two the contractor holds, and get the number.
What a Columbia roof is up against
The Midlands take a remarkable amount of severe wind. NOAA holds 975 wind reports for the six metro counties over the decade, 266 of them at severe thresholds, alongside 191 hail reports and 57 tornadoes. June is the peak month and 2024 the busiest year. The defining day was 15 April 2018: a downburst north of Lexington produced estimated winds of 100 to 110 mph near Lake Murray, and an EF2 tornado at Gilbert, rated at 110 to 120 mph, destroyed a group of poultry houses on its way through Lexington County.
Hail here is occasional rather than routine. The largest stones of the decade, 2.5 inches, fell at Bethune in Kershaw County on 5 May 2020, and only five reports reached two inches. That balance argues for spending on wind performance, the nailing pattern, starter course and edge metal, rather than on the highest impact rating available, unless your own insurer discounts a Class 4 shingle enough to change the sum.
Columbia also remembers water. The October 2015 rainfall put nearly 30 inches on parts of the state in five days, killed 19 people statewide, nine of them in Richland County, and reshaped how the city thinks about drainage. For a roof, the lesson is at the edges: gutters and downspouts sized and pitched for cloudburst rainfall, valleys detailed properly, and flashing at every wall junction, because most roof leaks in the Midlands start where water is redirected rather than in the open field.
South Carolina splits the credential in two, and a full replacement usually lands on the harder side of the line. Work above $10,000 requires a licensed General Contractor through the Contractor’s Licensing Board, while smaller jobs can be done by a Residential Specialty Contractor registered with the Residential Builders Commission. Both the City of Columbia and Richland County issue roofing permits, and West Columbia, Cayce, Lexington and the other municipalities run their own. Check the credential on the state LLR lookup before you sign.
The 5 best roofers in Columbia, SC
Scored 2026-09-18. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Columbia is 4.811, across a pool of 9 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burgin Roofing Services | 94.2 | President’s Club | 4.9 (309) | 4.888 | not published | Columbia, SC |
| 2 | Elite Roof and Solar | 89.2 | President’s Club | 4.8 (152) | 4.803 | 2012 | Columbia, SC |
| 3 | CMS Roofing | 86.6 | President’s Club | 4.8 (320) | 4.802 | not published | Irmo, SC |
| 4 | MR Columbia LLC, trading as Modern Roofing | 81.0 | Master Elite | 4.8 (525) | 4.801 | 2014 | Columbia, SC |
| 5 | Dennis Home Improvement LLC | 80.8 | Master Elite | 4.9 (136) | 4.876 | 1970 | Columbia, SC |
1. Burgin Roofing Services — TRB Score 94.2
Burgin Roofing Services is based in Columbia, SC, BBB accredited, A+ rating, BBB Torch Award winner, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 35.5 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 13.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 94.2 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated BBB accredited business and a winner of the BBB Torch Award for ethics. BBB
- Holds both credentials South Carolina uses: General Contractor licence G117241 and Residential Builder licence RBS 42797. Licensing
- Rated 4.8 overall. Angi
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing across the Midlands.
Why it ranks here. The only contractor in this top five holding both South Carolina credentials with both numbers published, which removes the single ambiguity that trips up homeowners in this state. A BBB Torch Award is judged on ethical business practice rather than customer satisfaction, and it is awarded to very few companies. 309 registry reviews at 4.9.
Best fit for: Columbia homeowners generally, and any replacement above the $10,000 specialty ceiling.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (803) 798-0063, 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. Elite Roof and Solar — TRB Score 89.2
Elite Roof and Solar is based in Columbia, SC, in business since 2012, BBB accredited since 2012, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 12.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 89.2 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and BBB accredited since its founding in 2012. BBB
- GAF 3-Star President’s Club Award winner. GAF
- Veteran owned and operated, with discounts for military and first responders, operating across North and South Carolina. Company
What they actually do. Roofing and solar across the Carolinas, residential and commercial.
Why it ranks here. A 3-Star President’s Club award is the top rung of GAF’s highest tier and is held by a small number of contractors nationally. Veteran owned, accredited from founding, and located at the metro centre itself, the closest of any contractor in this batch.
Best fit for: Combined roof and solar projects, and military families in the Fort Jackson area.
What we would want clarified. A multi-market operator across two states, so the local relationship is less personal than with a single-market firm. 152 registry reviews. 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 (828) 333-4818, 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. CMS Roofing — TRB Score 86.6
CMS Roofing is based in Irmo, SC, BBB accredited since 28 March 2007, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 13.8 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 5.7 | 10 |
| Total | 86.6 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 28 March 2007, a 19-year unbroken record. BBB
- Listed on Houzz with a project portfolio. Houzz
What they actually do. New roof installation, repair, siding and maintenance, residential and commercial.
Why it ranks here. Nineteen years of unbroken A+ accreditation, the longest continuous complaint record in the Columbia pool, alongside 320 registry reviews at 4.8. President’s Club certification on top of that.
Best fit for: Irmo, Chapin and Lake Murray homeowners, and anyone weighting a long uninterrupted record.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (803) 732-5558, 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. MR Columbia LLC, trading as Modern Roofing — TRB Score 81.0
Trades as MR Columbia LLC, trading as Modern Roofing; listed on the GAF registry as MR Columbia LLC.
MR Columbia LLC, trading as Modern Roofing is based in Columbia, SC, in business since 2014, led by Managed by Dariana Partin; licensed by James Adam Pearson, Not accredited; BBB file opened 14 November 2022, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 81.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- BBB profile on record for Modern Roofing, LLC, not accredited, business operating since 4 February 2014, with Dariana Partin as manager and James Adam Pearson as the licensed individual. BBB
- 4.9 across 499 Google reviews. Google
- Listed as MR Columbia LLC, Master Elite certified, in business since 2014, trading through modernroofingsc.com. GAF
What they actually do. Residential roof replacement, roof inspection, repair and maintenance.
Why it ranks here. 525 registry reviews at 4.8 is the deepest evidence base in the Columbia pool, corroborated by 499 Google reviews at 4.9. Worth knowing before you call: the manufacturer registry lists this company as MR Columbia LLC, but it trades publicly as Modern Roofing, and its BBB file is under that second name. Two names, one business. The licence is held by a named individual, James Adam Pearson, which is the person to ask about.
Best fit for: Homeowners who want the largest review corpus in the metro.
What we would want clarified. Not BBB accredited and the BBB file was opened only in 2022 despite a 2014 start. The trading-name split makes independent checking harder, so verify the licence under the licensed individual’s name rather than either trading name. 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 (803) 397-8725, 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. Dennis Home Improvement LLC — TRB Score 80.8
Dennis Home Improvement LLC is based in Columbia, SC, in business since 1970, Not accredited, and BBB has not issued a rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 35.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.8 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 80.8 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- BBB profile on record; the company is not accredited and BBB states it has insufficient information to issue a rating. In business 56 years. BBB
- 4.8 across 119 reviews. Birdeye
What they actually do. Roofing, siding, carpentry, remodelling and decks.
Why it ranks here. Fifty-six years trading in Columbia, the longest record in the metro by more than three decades, with Master Elite certification and 136 registry reviews at 4.9. Carpentry in-house matters after a hail event, when the damage is rarely confined to the shingles.
Best fit for: Storm damage where carpentry and roofing are both needed, and homeowners weighting a very long local history.
What we would want clarified. Not BBB accredited, and the BBB explicitly states it lacks sufficient information to rate the business, so there is no complaint record to read. That is the weakest third-party record in this top five, and it sits oddly against 56 years in business. Ask for the South Carolina licence number and check it on the LLR 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 (803) 799-2555, 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.
57 tornadoes in ten years, and what they did to Columbia roofs
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 6 counties of the Columbia, SC statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 191 hail reports, 975 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 57 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $588,000; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Columbia in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 May 2020 | 2.5 in | Bethune | Kershaw |
| 1 May 2022 | 2.0 in | Merchant | Saluda |
| 1 May 2022 | 2.0 in | Batesburg | Saluda |
| 5 May 2020 | 2.0 in | Bethune | Kershaw |
| 29 May 2017 | 2.0 in | Saluda | Saluda |
| 1 May 2022 | 1.75 in | Clubhouse Xrds | Lexington |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 5 May 2020 near Bethune, 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 96 knots, about 110 mph, near Providence on 15 April 2018. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 57 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF2 near Ward on 5 April 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 15 April 2018 event near Providence, reproduced verbatim:
A downburst occurred along a bowing line of thunderstorms as it approached Lake Murray just north of the town of Lexington. The damage was confined to an area between Maritime Trail and Lake Murray Terrace off of Yachting Road. The maximum wind speeds associated with the event ranged from 100-110 mph. There were nearly 4 dozen trees either uprooted or snapped. A majority of the trees were hardwood trees along with some softwood trees. Several of the trees were 3 to 4 feet in diameter and very mature. At least a half dozen homes were damaged by fallen trees or large limbs. One home had serious damage as a large oak tree fell onto the home severely damaging the roof and a portion of the home….
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 June (298), July (235), May (202). The worst years on record were 2024 (161), 2023 (149), 2018 (145). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Columbia, 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. Columbia sees enough damaging hail that a Class 4 impact-rated shingle is worth pricing, though not automatically worth buying. Get both quotes and weigh the premium against any insurance discount.
How to tell a Columbia roofer’s claims from their record
Licensing is required in SC. South Carolina registers residential roofers rather than examining them. Under S.C. Code 40-59 a residential specialty contractor, roofing included, must register with the Residential Builders Commission for any job over $500, with no exam required, and must file a $5,000 surety bond before taking on work over $5,000. Contracting without registration is a misdemeanour, and an unregistered contractor cannot file a lien or sue to enforce the contract.
A specialty registration covers up to three trades; anyone wanting more must be examined and licensed as a residential builder, with a $15,000 bond. Commercial work falls under the separate Contractor’s Licensing Board. S.C. Code 40-59-25 gives a homeowner five business days after a written insurance denial to cancel a roofing contract, and bars contractors from promising to pay or rebate a deductible or negotiating a roof claim on the owner’s behalf.
Check here: South Carolina LLR licence lookup. For a house, a residential specialty registration in roofing is the correct credential, so ask for its number and confirm the $5,000 bond is filed if the job exceeds $5,000.
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.
How deep the Columbia certified market really is
9 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Columbia, SC statistical area, of which 3 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 1,881 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.811. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 870,193, a change of 4.91% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Columbia rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Columbia, SC 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 9 certified contractors, of whom 3 hold President’s Club standing and 6 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.811. 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: 2026-09-18. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Questions Columbia homeowners ask
Who is the best roofer in Columbia, SC?
Burgin Roofing Services of Columbia, SC scores highest in the Columbia metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 94.2 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds President’s Club certification with a 4.9 rating across 309 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 13.4 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Columbia?
9 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Columbia, SC statistical area as of September 2026, of which 3 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Columbia get?
The Columbia, SC statistical area recorded 76 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 5 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 Columbia in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Columbia, SC statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.5 inches, reported near Bethune on 5 May 2020. 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 191 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $588,000; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Columbia?
Severe-weather reports in the Columbia, SC statistical area cluster in June, July, May, 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 SC?
South Carolina registers residential roofers rather than examining them. Under S.C. Code 40-59 a residential specialty contractor, roofing included, must register with the Residential Builders Commission for any job over $500, with no exam required, and must file a $5,000 surety bond before taking on work over $5,000. Contracting without registration is a misdemeanour, and an unregistered contractor cannot file a lien or sue to enforce the contract. A specialty registration covers up to three trades; anyone wanting more must be examined and licensed as a residential builder, with a $15,000 bond. Commercial work falls under the separate Contractor’s Licensing Board. S.C. Code 40-59-25 gives a homeowner five business days after a written insurance denial to cancel a roofing contract, and bars contractors from promising to pay or rebate a deductible or negotiating a roof claim on the owner’s behalf.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Columbia?
For a house, a residential specialty registration in roofing is the correct credential, so ask for its number and confirm the $5,000 bond is filed if the job exceeds $5,000.
Is Columbia a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Columbia takes 191 hail reports a decade, more than any other metro in this batch, and South Carolina splits roofing across two separate regulators that are not interchangeable. Work at $10,000 or more requires a licensed General Contractor through the Contractor’s Licensing Board; smaller jobs can be done by a Residential Specialty Contractor registered with the Residential Builders Commission, a threshold that starts at just $500. A full Columbia replacement almost always clears $10,000, which puts it in General Contractor territory. Ask which of the two the contractor holds, and get the number.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Columbia?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Columbia, SC statistical area logged 975 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports against 76 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 Charlotte, NC, about 81 miles from Columbia
- Best roofers in Augusta, GA, about 82 miles from Columbia
- Best roofers in Spartanburg, SC, another SC metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Greenville, SC, another SC metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Charleston, SC, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in El Paso, TX, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Hilton Head Island, SC, also scored, about 128 miles away
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 Columbia, SC: 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.