A roof over your head means so much more than safety from the elements; a well-built roof means a home full of memories, an investment to be proud of, and something to leave behind for future generations. Founded in 1996 by Pat Muhs, Moose Roofing has spent more than 25 years establishing a trusting foundation in the Omaha community. Current CEO Zac Johnson and the team of experts he’s assembled are ready to put homeowners’ roofing concerns to rest.
“Our goal is to always do the right thing, to go above and beyond for every customer, every time.” Johnson said. “We’ve earned Best of Omaha for many years in a row, and we did that by building great relationships in Omaha.”
In a city prone to high winds, hail storms, and even the occasional twister, the demand for replacement shingles remains consistently high. Johnson got his start in sales, and his years of experience means he has perfected the art. However, Moose isn’t in the business of selling an entire roof.
“Pat, our founder, used to be an insurance adjuster. He worked in construction his whole life, and he knows how to build something that is going to last,” said Johnson, who moved into the leadership position five years ago. “He made sure that our first goal was advocating for our customers with their insurance. They are already frustrated, they’re already anxious about the damage and the potential cost. Our first job is to take as much of the worry off their plate as we can. With Pat’s experience, we really had the insider knowledge on how to approach insurance to be sure that we were all on the same team: our customer’s team.”
The team’s second mission is to educate the client, whether they choose to hire Moose Roofing or not.
“We aren’t climbing on roofs, taking 200 photos, developing relationships with agents, businesses, and homeowners to sell someone a roof. We want to leave our community a little better with every visit. This is why we spend time educating the customer on their options, on why they’re losing shingles or why their ventilation isn’t working. We want people to have all the information about not just the work we are planning to do, but what they can expect out of it for the rest of their time in the home. If they choose another business, we want them to know the facts in plain language so they aren’t going to be oversold or taken advantage of.”
It’s nearly impossible for a customer to become a roof-buying expert, as it shouldn’t be a frequent experience. For a customer to be able to rely on the roof over their heads, they need to know that they are working with builders they can trust. That means expert installation of quality materials, and a crew transparently dedicated to their costumer’s best interests.
“We begin each assessment with a preliminary packet. That includes taking between 150 and 200 detailed photos we can submit to insurance, so they know exactly what they’re going to be dealing with. We do a whole scope of the damage and then use a program called Xactimate, which makes sure that we’re speaking the same language as the insurance company.” Johnson explained. “We do absolutely everything we can for the adjustor up front, which helps us get ahead of the curve and get everything really well documented. Because of our process, it’s pretty common for us to get approval from insurance without the adjustor ever setting foot on the customer’s roof, just based on detailed documentation.”
While this added effort takes a lot of the anxiety out of the rebuild or repair process, it’s only the beginning of the Moose crew’s work.
“We want to make sure that every roof we install or repair is going to last, even through Omaha’s winds and hail storms.” Johnson said. “That requires more than high quality shingles. First, we ensure that every roof is getting proper ventilation. We focus on intake and exhaust ventilation because if your roof can breathe, it will last as long as the manufacturer says it will. Without proper ventilation, and about 80% of the homes we are visiting for the first time aren’t properly ventilated, the life expectancy of your roof falls by 30% to 40%.”
With a proper foundation set, the team gets to work installing the most durable roofing materials available. “We offer a fortified roofing system, which includes using a nailing strip to hold tighter in the high winds we see in Nebraska, and a ring shank nail that bites the deck, which gives us much better retention to avoid wind damage. Then we use a hail-resistant asphalt or Premium F-wave Class IV shingle. Then everything is sealed.”
Moose Roofing is determined to get the roof over your head as quickly and painlessly as possible, but without cutting a single corner. “We want each home or commercial building we put our name on to be beautiful, but we also want it to perform really well and to last. A roof is a big expenditure, and we don’t want to see our customers having to deal with it again and again. We take our time and make sure that once we leave, our customers won’t have to keep calling us back to fix something we missed.”
With the process all but perfected, Moose is looking to the future. “Where we’re headed with longevity is to a much greener industry. We are extending the life of the shingles that exist, and we’re getting greener shingles on a lot of roofs that are going to really last a long time. Keeping shingles out of landfills helps, and reducing that kind of waste also reduces costs.”
With an eye for progress, Moose Roofing is doing much more than keeping up with the latest in roofing innovation—they are blazing the trail to a safer, greener, and ultimately, more beautiful way to live.
4760 S. 135th St.,
Omaha, NE 68137
402.763.4851
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2022 issue of Omaha Home magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
