Short answer: As of October 2026, the one highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Topeka, KS metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Mesler Roofing Siding and Windows (52.9). 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 1 certified roofing contractors serving the Topeka metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top one individually to confirm its record. The Topeka metro logged 259 hail reports of an inch or more in ten years, and 26 of two inches or more, which makes it the most hail-exposed metro in this batch. Yet only one manufacturer-certified firm clears our evidence floor, and it is based in Lawrence. What protects a Topeka homeowner is a two-key gate: a roofer needs both a Kansas Attorney General registration and a separate City of Topeka roofing licence that requires an exam. The state register tells a sobering story about this market: of 93 roofing registrants with a Topeka address, 38 are revoked.
What a Topeka roof is up against
The hail is frequent and occasionally enormous. Across 2016 to 2025 Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties logged 296 hail reports, 259 of them at an inch or more and 26 at two inches or more, along with 496 thunderstorm wind reports, 264 of them at 58 knots, roughly 67 mph, or more, and 35 tornado segments. The largest stone was 4.5 inches near Keene in Wabaunsee County on 11 July 2020, when the NWS Topeka summary describes supercells producing up to grapefruit sized hail. Within Shawnee County the largest reports were two inches, at Dover, Berryton, Willard and Grove, and 1.75 inch hail fell in Topeka itself four times in the decade.
A warning about the damage figures. None of the 827 hail, wind and tornado records for the metro in the decade carries a dollar figure, so NOAA’s record shows no loss at all. That is a gap in the data, not an absence of damage, and it is why this page shows no damage total for Topeka.
Kansas requires every roofing contractor to hold a registration certificate from the Attorney General under K.S.A. 50-6,123, with at least $500,000 of liability insurance, workers’ compensation or an exemption affidavit and a Kansas tax clearance; there is no exam and no bond. The registration number must appear on every permit, vehicle, card and contract. Working unregistered carries a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. The Act has no rule on insurance deductibles and no cancellation right after a claim denial: a 2011 bill that would have added both died in committee in 2012.
The City of Topeka adds a second layer. It is unlawful to do roofing work in the city without the appropriate city contractor licence under TMC 5.63.030, and the roofing contractor licence requires the qualifying party to pass an exam chosen by the Development Services Director, or show 30 hours of related coursework, under TMC 5.63.060; it requires $300,000 of liability insurance, costs $300 and renews every two years for $200. Topeka adopted the 2021 International Residential Code and does not list reroofing among its permit-exempt work; residential exterior alteration permits run from $30 to $100, doubled if work starts first. The city’s housing is old, with a median year built of 1967 and 67.5 percent of units built before 1980.
The one certified roofer ranked in Topeka, KS
Scored 2026-10-04. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Topeka is 4.5, across a pool of 1 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesler Roofing Siding and Windows | 52.9 | Certified | 4.5 (124) | 4.5 | 1982 | Lecompton, KS |
1. Mesler Roofing Siding and Windows — TRB Score 52.9
Mesler Roofing Siding and Windows is based in Lecompton, KS, in business since 1982, led by Michael Epps, owner, BBB accredited, A+ rating, 3 complaints in three years, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Certified (GAF), Kansas roofing registration CT-22-003195, verified in good standing. 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 | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 20.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 5.9 | 10 |
| Total | 52.9 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- AWA Inc, trading as Mesler Roofing, Siding and Windows, registration CT-22-003195, in good standing, contact Michael Epps, city on register Lawrence.. Kansas Attorney General roofing register
- Accredited with an A+ rating and 3 complaints closed in three years; business dating to 1982.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roofing, siding and windows.
Why it ranks here. The one certified firm in the metro’s pool, with a 4.5 across 124 reviews, BBB accreditation at A+, a Kansas registration in good standing, and a published service area that explicitly includes Shawnee, Jefferson and Osage counties. The business has traded since 1982.
Best fit for: A certified option for Topeka, provided it shows you its City of Topeka roofing licence.
What we would want clarified. It is not a Topeka business. It is based in Lawrence, in Douglas County outside the five-county metro, despite a manufacturer listing that gives Lecompton. Ownership changed on 14 January 2022, when Michael Epps took over under a corporation formed in November 2021, so the 1982 history belongs to the name and the current owner’s tenure is under five years. BBB records 3 complaints in three years, which we did not review. Most importantly for a Topeka job, we could not confirm that it holds the City of Topeka roofing contractor licence, because the city’s lookup refused our requests; ask to see it, since the city requires it for any roofing work inside city limits. Certification tier and reviews are unverified. 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 (785) 371-0000, 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.
Topeka-area roofers in good standing on the state register
One certified firm clears our evidence floor, and it is based in Lawrence. These five Topeka-area roofers are in good standing on the Kansas Attorney General’s roofing register, checked on 4 October 2026. They are not scored and we are not recommending them. We left out the many Topeka registrants shown as revoked, suspended or enjoined, including two Owens Corning-listed firms.
| Company | Verified credential |
|---|---|
| Appelhanz Roofing, Inc., Topeka | Kansas registration CT-13-116241, in good standing; BBB accredited since 5 May 1992 at A+, business started 1980, no complaints. |
| Gardner Roofing, Inc., Topeka | Kansas registration CT-13-114731, in good standing; BBB accredited since 29 June 2004 at A+, business started 1971. |
| Covenant Roofing & Construction, LLC, Tecumseh | Kansas registration CT-13-116086, in good standing; Owens Corning Preferred Contractor with Topeka and Tecumseh addresses; business started 2011. |
| Howser Roofing and Exteriors LLC, Silver Lake | Kansas registration CT-20-008058, in good standing; Owens Corning Preferred Contractor. |
| Aspen Contracting, Topeka office | Owens Corning Platinum, the network’s top tier, at SW Wanamaker Road; Kansas registration CT-13-115060 in good standing under Aspen Contracting, Inc. of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, so this is a branch of a larger regional firm. |
The 259 hail reports behind a Topeka 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 5 counties of the Topeka, KS statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 296 hail reports, 496 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 35 tornadoes. The database’s property-damage fields are left blank for most of these reports, so it carries no usable loss total for this metro and we do not quote one.
The biggest hail to fall on Topeka in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 July 2020 | 4.5 in | Keene | Wabaunsee |
| 11 July 2020 | 4.0 in | Keene | Wabaunsee |
| 13 March 2024 | 4.0 in | Alma | Wabaunsee |
| 30 June 2023 | 4.0 in | Maple Hill | Wabaunsee |
| 11 July 2020 | 3.5 in | Keene | Wabaunsee |
| 11 July 2020 | 3.0 in | Keene | Wabaunsee |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 11 July 2020 near Keene, measured at 4.5 inches. That is grapefruit sized. Stones that big destroy asphalt shingles outright, dent metal, crack tile and routinely total roofs across whole neighbourhoods.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 86 knots, about 99 mph, near Thompsonville on 15 December 2021. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 35 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF2 near Mayetta on 21 May 2019.
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 December 2021 event near Thompsonville, reproduced verbatim:
An NWS storm survey found damage to a large farm outbuilding including partial roof and wall collapse on the structure. The survey concluded that downburst winds or 90 to 100 mph caused the damage.
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 (197), May (196), July (155). The worst years on record were 2024 (124), 2023 (121), 2019 (106). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Topeka, 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. At 259 damaging-hail reports in ten years, impact resistance in Topeka is a specification question, not an upsell. Ask every contractor you shortlist to quote a UL 2218 Class 4 impact-rated shingle alongside the standard option, and ask your insurer whether a Class 4 roof earns a premium discount, because many carriers offer one in high-hail territory.
Hail country with a two-key gate, and a register full of revoked roofers
On 11 July 2020 spotters reported 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 inch hail near Keene in Wabaunsee County, the largest stones in the metro’s decade of records. On 13 March 2024 supercells along a warm front produced hail as large as baseballs and softballs, including four inch hail south west of Alma reported by law enforcement. The same night an EF2 tornado formed just west south west of Rossville and tracked about 4.5 miles, and the NWS survey found the worst damage on a well built home where portions of the roof were removed, a home built with hurricane clips, with winds estimated at 115 to 120 mph.
Topeka has lived with this before. NWS Topeka’s retrospective of 8 June 1966 records an F5 tornado that killed 17, injured more than 500, destroyed about 800 homes and damaged nearly 3,000 along a 22 mile path up to half a mile wide, with damage of more than $200 million at the time, near $1.8 billion in 2015 dollars. It roared across Burnetts Mound, ending the local legend that the mound would deflect tornadoes, and destroyed or heavily damaged every building on the Washburn University campus. We found no primary source tying any of Topeka’s building rules to that storm, and we make no such claim.
What a hail market attracts is visible on the state register. Of 93 roofing registrants with a Topeka city address on the Attorney General’s register, checked on 4 October 2026, 40 are in good standing, 38 are revoked, 13 are voluntarily suspended and 2 are enjoined. One enjoined Topeka registrant, Topeka Roofing and Gutters LLC, is subject to a consent judgment in State of Kansas ex rel. Schmidt v. Kevin E. Wilkinson, Shawnee County District Court case 2021-CV-00189. Two Owens Corning Preferred contractors listed in Topeka show revoked status on the Kansas register, which is a precise demonstration that a manufacturer listing is not proof of a current state registration.
That is why the gate has two keys and why both matter. The state registration proves insurance and tax standing and puts the firm on a register run by a law enforcement office that publishes revocations and injunctions. The city licence adds the only examination a roofer faces anywhere in Kansas. A firm working in the City of Topeka should be able to show you both, and must write its state number on the permit.
So the checks here are quick and decisive. Look the roofer up on the Attorney General’s register and confirm the status reads in good standing, not revoked or suspended. Ask for the City of Topeka roofing contractor licence. Confirm a permit will be pulled, since Topeka does not exempt reroofing. And because Kansas law says nothing about deductibles or cancellation after a denial, write both into your contract yourself.
The Topeka market, measured
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hail of an inch or more, 2016 to 2025 | 259, of which 26 at two inches or more | NOAA NCEI Storm Events |
| Largest hailstone | 4.5 inches near Keene, 11 July 2020 | NWS Topeka |
| Damage dollar figures on the decade’s records | None recorded on any of 827 | NOAA NCEI Storm Events |
| Topeka-address roofing registrants | 93: 40 good standing, 38 revoked, 13 suspended, 2 enjoined | Kansas Attorney General register, 4 October 2026 |
| State registration | Required; $500,000 liability insurance; no exam, no bond | K.S.A. 50-6,123 and 50-6,125 |
| City roofing licence | Required; exam or 30 hours of coursework; $300,000 liability; $300 | TMC 5.63 |
| Reroof permit | Required; $30 to $100, doubled if work starts first | City of Topeka |
| Deductible or cancellation statute | None in Kansas | Kansas Roofing Registration Act |
| 8 June 1966 tornado | F5; 17 killed; about 800 homes destroyed | NWS Topeka retrospective |
| Median year built, city of Topeka | 1967 | ACS 2020 to 2024, B25035 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database and NWS Topeka event summaries and 1966 retrospective; Kansas Roofing Registration Act, K.S.A. 50-6,121 and following; Kansas Attorney General roofing register; Topeka Municipal Code chapter 5.63 and fee schedule; Shawnee County District Court case 2021-CV-00189; US Census Bureau ACS.
The checks worth making in Topeka
Licensing is required in KS. Kansas requires every roofing contractor to hold a roofing contractor registration certificate issued by the Kansas Attorney General before providing residential or commercial roofing services for a fee. The requirement has applied since 1 July 2013 under the Roofer Registration Act.
Registration requires liability insurance of at least $500,000, workers’ compensation or an exemption affidavit, and a Kansas tax clearance; there is no examination and no bond. The Attorney General’s regulation sets the fee at $250. Projects under $2,000 are exempt unless the contractor advertises as a roofer. Working unregistered carries a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation and counts as a deceptive act under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. The Act has no rule on insurance deductibles and no cancellation right after a claim denial; a 2011 bill that would have added both died in committee.
Check here: Kansas Attorney General roofing registration directory. Kansas is unusual and useful here: the Attorney General publishes a separate Roofer Enforcement Actions list naming roofers that have been the subject of consumer judgments or enforcement. Check the registration directory first and the enforcement list second. Both are free, both are searchable, and very few states publish the second one at all.
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 Topeka certified market really is
1 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Topeka, KS statistical area, of which 0 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 124 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.5. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 232,648, a change of -0.21% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Topeka rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Topeka, KS 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 1 certified contractor, of whom 0 hold President’s Club standing and 0 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.5. The top one 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: October 2026. Scoring run: 2026-10-04. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Topeka roofing questions, answered
Who is the best roofer in Topeka, KS?
How many certified roofing contractors serve Topeka?
1 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Topeka, KS statistical area as of October 2026, of which 0 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Topeka get?
The Topeka, KS statistical area recorded 259 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 26 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 4.5 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 one.
What was the worst hailstorm in Topeka in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Topeka, KS statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 4.5 inches, reported near Keene on 11 July 2020. That is grapefruit sized. Stones that big destroy asphalt shingles outright, dent metal, crack tile and routinely total roofs across whole neighbourhoods. Across the decade the metro recorded 296 hail reports. The database’s property-damage fields are left blank for most of these reports, so it carries no usable loss total for this metro and we do not quote one.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Topeka?
Severe-weather reports in the Topeka, KS statistical area cluster in June, May, July, 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 KS?
Kansas requires every roofing contractor to hold a roofing contractor registration certificate issued by the Kansas Attorney General before providing residential or commercial roofing services for a fee. The requirement has applied since 1 July 2013 under the Roofer Registration Act. Registration requires liability insurance of at least $500,000, workers’ compensation or an exemption affidavit, and a Kansas tax clearance; there is no examination and no bond. The Attorney General’s regulation sets the fee at $250. Projects under $2,000 are exempt unless the contractor advertises as a roofer. Working unregistered carries a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation and counts as a deceptive act under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. The Act has no rule on insurance deductibles and no cancellation right after a claim denial; a 2011 bill that would have added both died in committee.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Topeka?
Kansas is unusual and useful here: the Attorney General publishes a separate Roofer Enforcement Actions list naming roofers that have been the subject of consumer judgments or enforcement. Check the registration directory first and the enforcement list second. Both are free, both are searchable, and very few states publish the second one at all.
Hail country with a two-key gate, and a register full of revoked roofers?
On 11 July 2020 spotters reported 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 inch hail near Keene in Wabaunsee County, the largest stones in the metro’s decade of records. On 13 March 2024 supercells along a warm front produced hail as large as baseballs and softballs, including four inch hail south west of Alma reported by law enforcement. The same night an EF2 tornado formed just west south west of Rossville and tracked about 4.5 miles, and the NWS survey found the worst damage on a well built home where portions of the roof were removed, a home built with hurricane clips, with winds estimated at 115 to 120 mph.
Is Topeka a hard market to find a good roofer in?
The Topeka metro logged 259 hail reports of an inch or more in ten years, and 26 of two inches or more, which makes it the most hail-exposed metro in this batch. Yet only one manufacturer-certified firm clears our evidence floor, and it is based in Lawrence. What protects a Topeka homeowner is a two-key gate: a roofer needs both a Kansas Attorney General registration and a separate City of Topeka roofing licence that requires an exam. The state register tells a sobering story about this market: of 93 roofing registrants with a Topeka address, 38 are revoked.
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 Kansas City, MO, about 62 miles from Topeka
- Best roofers in Wichita, KS, another KS metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Fort Smith, AR, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Barnstable Town, MA, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Lincoln, NE, also scored, about 133 miles away
- Best roofers in Omaha, NE, also scored, about 155 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 Topeka, KS: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published October 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.