Short answer: As of September 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Wilmington, NC metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Burish Builders Inc (88.5), Excel Roofing Company (86.7), Roof Methods LLC (86.4), Vahue Elite Contracting (86.1), Stormgrade Roofing LLC (85.7). Each is certified by a manufacturer whose register we checked by hand, each rating has been tested against a source outside that register, and nobody bought a place on this page.
The Roofing Brief scored 8 certified roofing contractors serving the Wilmington metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Fifty-four tornadoes in ten years, in a coastal metro of 480,000 people. That number belongs in Oklahoma, not on the Cape Fear coast, and it is the signature of hurricane-spawned tornadoes: the severe-weather peak here is September and August, not spring. The single most useful local fact is a code detail. New Hanover County is a 140 mph design wind zone west of Highway 17 and 150 mph east of it, and the North Carolina high-wind provisions require six nails per shingle instead of the four permitted inland. Ask which side of Highway 17 you are on and how many nails are going into each shingle.
Wind loads, codes and the Wilmington housing stock
The North Carolina Residential Code contains a dedicated High Wind Zones chapter that applies along this coast and changes the specification in ways an inland contractor may not be used to. The headline item is fastening: coastal zones require a minimum of six nails per shingle rather than the four-nail schedule permitted inland, plus specified uplift connections at the rafters. A quote that does not state the nailing schedule is incomplete here, and a crew habituated to inland work will default to four nails unless told otherwise.
The wind zone changes across the metro. New Hanover County is designated 140 mph west of Highway 17 and 150 mph east of it, toward the water. Two houses fifteen minutes apart can sit under different requirements. Establish which zone your address falls in before you compare quotes, because a quote priced to the lower zone will look cheaper and will not comply.
The tornado count is the number to sit with. Fifty-four touchdowns across Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties in ten years, concentrated in the September and August hurricane window rather than in spring, tells you these are storm-embedded tornadoes rather than classic supercell events. They arrive with a hurricane or tropical system, often at night, often with little warning. Roof-to-wall connections and deck attachment matter more against that than shingle brand does.
North Carolina licenses general contractors at $40,000 and up through the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, and a typical Wilmington re-roof sits below that threshold, so there may be no state licence to check. What does exist is the local permit and inspection process, which in this wind zone is genuinely substantive because the inspector is checking fastening and attachment rather than just paperwork. Do not let anyone talk you out of it.
The 5 best roofers in Wilmington, NC
Scored 2026-09-24. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Wilmington is 4.888, across a pool of 8 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burish Builders Inc | 88.5 | Master Elite | 5.0 (511) | 4.99 | 2019 | Wilmington, NC |
| 2 | Excel Roofing Company | 86.7 | President’s Club | 4.7 (136) | 4.75 | 2010 | Wilmington, NC |
| 3 | Roof Methods LLC | 86.4 | Master Elite | 5.0 (544) | 4.991 | 2022 | Leland, NC |
| 4 | Vahue Elite Contracting | 86.1 | Master Elite | 5.0 (225) | 4.98 | not published | Wilmington, NC |
| 5 | Stormgrade Roofing LLC | 85.7 | Master Elite | 5.0 (196) | 4.977 | not published | Wilmington, NC |
1. Burish Builders Inc — TRB Score 88.5
Burish Builders Inc is based in Wilmington, NC, in business since 2019, BBB accredited since 4 April 2024, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 39.6 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 88.5 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 4 April 2024, six years in business. BBB
- Roofing across Wilmington and the Cape Fear region. Company
What they actually do. Residential roofing across Wilmington and the Cape Fear coast.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 511 registry reviews is the strongest rating-to-volume combination in the metro. Sustaining a perfect score over five hundred reviews is far harder than over fifty, and this is one of only a handful of contractors anywhere in this programme to manage it.
Best fit for: Wilmington homeowners generally.
What we would want clarified. Six years trading and BBB accreditation only since 2024, so the formal complaint record is short even though the review record is deep. 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 (910) 469-1387, 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. Excel Roofing Company — TRB Score 86.7
Excel Roofing Company is based in Wilmington, NC, in business since 2010, BBB accredited since 12 December 2013, A+ rating, no complaints in three years, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 30.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 86.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 12 December 2013, a 13-year record with no complaints reported in the past three years. BBB
- Member of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. Chamber
- Listed with the American Roofing Contractors Organization. ARCO
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing across the Wilmington area.
Why it ranks here. The only President’s Club contractor on this coast, with thirteen years of unbroken A+ accreditation and a documented zero-complaint record over the last three. In a market where the code detail decides whether a roof survives a tropical system, the longest accredited record is worth weighting.
Best fit for: Homeowners weighting a long, clean complaint record, and anyone wanting the top certification tier locally.
What we would want clarified. At 4.7 across 136 reviews the rating sits below the four contractors around it, against a metro mean of 4.89. 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 (910) 685-7102, 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. Roof Methods LLC — TRB Score 86.4
Roof Methods LLC is based in Leland, NC, in business since 2022, BBB accredited since 9 February 2023, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 39.6 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.8 | 10 |
| Total | 86.4 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 9 February 2023, four years in business. BBB
- Listed on the Procore construction network, a commercial-trade listing rather than a consumer directory. Procore
- Listed on Houzz with a project portfolio. Houzz
What they actually do. Shingle and metal roofing, storm damage assessment, repairs and gutters across Brunswick County.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 544 registry reviews, the deepest flawless record in the metro, and the only ranked contractor based in Brunswick County, west of the river, where the 140 mph zone applies.
Best fit for: Leland, Southport and Brunswick County homeowners.
What we would want clarified. Four years trading, so the formal record is short relative to the review volume. 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 (910) 399-6123, 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. Vahue Elite Contracting — TRB Score 86.1
Vahue Elite Contracting is based in Wilmington, NC, led by Ryan Vahue, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 39.2 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 12.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 86.1 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Roofing, remodelling and renovation across the Carolinas, founded by Ryan Vahue. Company
- Master Elite certified with a second listing covering Charlotte. GAF
What they actually do. Roofing, remodelling and renovation, with insurance claim assistance.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 225 registry reviews with Master Elite certification, based in Wilmington. Renovation capability alongside roofing is useful after a tropical system, when damage rarely stops at the roof covering.
Best fit for: Wilmington homeowners with an insurance claim spanning roof and interior damage.
What we would want clarified. No BBB profile or rating was locatable, which removes the main external conduct check in a state where a typical re-roof falls below the licensing threshold. Ask for references from completed local jobs. 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 (910) 363-0465, 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. Stormgrade Roofing LLC — TRB Score 85.7
Stormgrade Roofing LLC is based in Wilmington, NC, BBB a+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 39.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 12.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 85.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated by the BBB. BBB
- Shingle, metal, torch-down, TPO and PVC roofing, plus replacements, repairs and inspections. Company
What they actually do. Shingle, metal, torch-down, TPO and PVC roofing across the Cape Fear region.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 196 registry reviews with an A+ rating, and the broadest system range in the metro: metal and single-ply membrane alongside shingle. Metal carries materially higher wind ratings than asphalt when correctly installed, which is the relevant consideration in a 150 mph zone.
Best fit for: Homeowners specifying metal for wind performance, and flat or low-slope roofs.
What we would want clarified. Master Elite rather than President’s Club. The top five here are separated by 2.8 points in total, so treat this as a shortlist rather than a ranking with meaningful gaps. 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 (910) 954-2103, 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.
54 tornadoes in ten years, and what they did to Wilmington 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 3 counties of the Wilmington, NC statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 48 hail reports, 103 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 54 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $6.3 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Wilmington in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 2017 | 2.0 in | Midway | Brunswick |
| 5 April 2017 | 1.75 in | Brunswick | Brunswick |
| 20 April 2024 | 1.75 in | Supply | Brunswick |
| 3 May 2016 | 1.5 in | Van Eden | Pender |
| 5 April 2017 | 1.5 in | Holden Beach | Brunswick |
| 7 May 2021 | 1.5 in | Hampstead | Pender |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 5 April 2017 near Midway, measured at 2.0 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 Camp Branch on 15 February 2021. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 54 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF3 near Grissettown on 15 February 2021.
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 February 2021 event near Camp Branch, reproduced verbatim:
A few hundred trees were snapped or uprooted by a microburst west of the Bear Pen Airstrip. This damage occurred near, but separate from the path of the tornado that damaged the Ocean Ridge Plantation neighborhood about 20 minutes earlier.
That account is the design case for a roof here, and it comes from the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in September (32), August (32), June (29). The worst years on record were 2019 (34), 2024 (30), 2020 (25). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Wilmington, 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 Wilmington. Weight your decision toward wind rating, ventilation and flashing detail rather than paying extra for impact-rated shingles.
How to check a Wilmington roofer in ten minutes
Licensing is required in NC. North Carolina has no state roofing licence as such. A general contractor licence from the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors, carrying the Building, Residential or S (Roofing) classification, is required for any roofing project costing $40,000 or more.
The $40,000 threshold rose from $30,000 effective 1 October 2023. Contracting without a licence at or above that value is a Class 2 misdemeanour under NCGS 87-13. Exams are administered by PSI.
Check here: NCLBGC licensee search. Below $40,000 no state licence is needed, and most single-family reroofs cost less than that, so many local roofers lawfully hold none. If your job is at or above $40,000, check the licence on the Board’s search; below it, check insurance certificates with the insurer, and note that North Carolina has no statute banning deductible rebates or giving a cancellation right on insurance-funded roof contracts.
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 shape of the Wilmington contractor market
8 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Wilmington, NC statistical area, of which 1 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 1,753 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.888. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 480,522, a change of 13.71% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Wilmington rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Wilmington, NC 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 8 certified contractors, of whom 1 hold President’s Club standing and 7 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.888. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Anything unflattering that research surfaced appears above alongside the rest, and no company bought its position.
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: 2026-09-24. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
What Wilmington homeowners want to know
Who is the best roofer in Wilmington, NC?
Burish Builders Inc of Wilmington, NC scores highest in the Wilmington metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 88.5 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds Master Elite certification with a 5.0 rating across 511 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 2.8 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Wilmington?
8 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Wilmington, NC statistical area as of September 2026, of which 1 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Wilmington get?
The Wilmington, NC statistical area recorded 36 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 1 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 2.0 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 Wilmington in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Wilmington, NC statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.0 inches, reported near Midway on 5 April 2017. 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 48 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $6.3 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Wilmington?
Severe-weather reports in the Wilmington, NC statistical area cluster in September, August, June, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Booking non-urgent roof work outside those months usually means shorter lead times, because local crews are not simultaneously triaging storm callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in NC?
North Carolina has no state roofing licence as such. A general contractor licence from the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors, carrying the Building, Residential or S (Roofing) classification, is required for any roofing project costing $40,000 or more. The $40,000 threshold rose from $30,000 effective 1 October 2023. Contracting without a licence at or above that value is a Class 2 misdemeanour under NCGS 87-13. Exams are administered by PSI.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Wilmington?
Below $40,000 no state licence is needed, and most single-family reroofs cost less than that, so many local roofers lawfully hold none. If your job is at or above $40,000, check the licence on the Board’s search; below it, check insurance certificates with the insurer, and note that North Carolina has no statute banning deductible rebates or giving a cancellation right on insurance-funded roof contracts.
Is Wilmington a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Fifty-four tornadoes in ten years, in a coastal metro of 480,000 people. That number belongs in Oklahoma, not on the Cape Fear coast, and it is the signature of hurricane-spawned tornadoes: the severe-weather peak here is September and August, not spring. The single most useful local fact is a code detail. New Hanover County is a 140 mph design wind zone west of Highway 17 and 150 mph east of it, and the North Carolina high-wind provisions require six nails per shingle instead of the four permitted inland. Ask which side of Highway 17 you are on and how many nails are going into each shingle.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Wilmington?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Wilmington, NC statistical area logged 103 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 Jacksonville, NC, about 46 miles from Wilmington
- Best roofers in Myrtle Beach, SC, about 67 miles from Wilmington
- Best roofers in Fayetteville, NC, about 86 miles from Wilmington
- Best roofers in Raleigh, NC, another NC metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Durham, NC, another NC metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Lansing, MI, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Visalia, CA, 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 Wilmington, NC: 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.