Meet Creatum Roofing

Our Story

Here’s Our Story

In 2019, my grandmother began experiencing multiple leaks in her roof, causing significant damage to her home. Concerned, she sought out many estimates for roofing projects. The roof replacement costs seemed overwhelming, and she wasn’t sure if she could afford the necessary repairs, let alone a complete roof replacement.

Her home had many layers of roofing shingles from the years of DIY repairs and patch jobs, and the underlying sheathing had become severely warped from years of neglect. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, I knew it was time to step in and explore all available options.

As I reviewed the estimates, I noticed a troubling lack of clarity about what was actually covered. Realizing we needed more information to make an informed decision, I decided to dig deeper into the details to ensure she received the best possible solution.

We sat down and looked at everything else. We discussed repairs or replacements and different types of roofing materials. Then, we began to work with her insurance company. This was my first lesson on why so many people avoid speaking with their insurance companies.

Justin to the Rescue

I will brag a little about how amazing this guy is as a person. Justin is the type of guy who has always been willing to help. I came home in tears one day after being completely disrespected at a job that I was working; this hadn’t been the first time I had struggled with management there. He had me quit and pulled extra hours to support the household until I found a new job. He’s a bleeding-heart guy who will make hard sacrifices to make the world a little easier to live in. Naturally, when I brought up the situation with my grandmother, he mentioned, “Well, I know how to roof.”

Justin went on two deployments to the Middle East and one to Europe, and like many other veterans, Justin struggled to find solid work when he was released from duty. Sailing positions for Navy vets in the beautiful state of Montana are few and far between.

He landed a job as a roofing contractor with another roofing company where he learned a wide range of roofing systems. This was very helpful as he knew everything as to how to repair the roof deck due to the years of water damage all the way to installing achitectual shingle and metal roofing. He continued to grow with this company until he decided to return to school.

(If you are still wondering, yes, Justin still likes his old boss, and we send people their way sometimes!)

A Little About Me

Before starting this venture I didn't even know the what shingle roofing was. I studied business management in college. I also have a few years of experience in management and administration. I worked for a beautiful tech company in account management and was no stranger to paperwork and contracts.

In my previous work experience, I learned that I loved numbers, statistics, networking, researching, and teaching new things. I love working with my clients to find the most cost-effective and efficient solutions to their problems. I excelled in relationship building and helping explain the roof replacement process to our clients.

I am the type of person who, if I don't know the answer, I probably know someone who does, or I will do my best to find it. Since all my experience was in customer service and medical, that meant I was doing hours of research. I even started going on all of the roof inspections so I could learn what to look for. If you have questions on each type of roof shingle or need ideas for curb appeal, I'm your gal.

My passion may be in customer satisfaction, but I also enjoy roofing. The fresh Montana air, sunshine, and a little exercise are good for the soul. I also love the fact that every roofing project brings along it's own unique challenges. I doubt I have been on a single roof in Montana that hasn't taught me a valuable lesson.

With each challenge provides me critical information that I can pass on to the next client as needed. I am a one woman sales team now, but it was a long road travelled. As much as I enjoy the challenges of entrepreneurship if your dog needs a ball thrown for them and I'm there, they will always come first.

"Woofs before Roofs"

Creatum Roofing Was Born

Back to my grandmother's roof situation, I worked with the insurance company, which only wanted to cover essential tools and materials. As mentioned earlier, I had never roofed a day in my life, so this would be an adventure. Justin and I worked together to get our business up, licensing, and everything legitimate so we could do the work. Once all that was completed, we took some vacation time and planned to start our first project together. We had yet to learn there would be a second, third, fourth, etc.

Another problem arose as we got closer to the project start date. Just two days before the project, Justin received a message from his manager about his already approved time off.

"If you take this time off, don't bother coming back."

Confused by this, we were back to the drawing board when I asked him, do you really want to go back? When the answer was "not really," deciding to become our own company was a no brainer.

Of course, this meant I had to leave my job that I loved; however, my manager was amazingly supportive. She knew my drive and mentioned that she saw this coming. She knew I was going before I did! I remained there for another month to train my replacement while Justin stayed home and got our ducks in a row. Shortly after my departure, we landed job #2 and were off!