When W.L. Ridout moved from Virginia to Washington State in 1905 he never knew he was landing in the heart of "wood cedar shingle" country. By the age of 16, he had mastered the skill of applying wood shingles and was soon traveling state-to-state, supervising the construction of large buildings. But when Bay Area contractors discovered that he could roof an 1800 square foot home in just three days instead of the usual eleven, W.L. became very popular with local builders. So popular that he settled in Alameda and started W.L. Ridout Roofing, Shingling Contractor. That was 1922. Four generations and over 80 years later, Ridout Roofing has installed more than 12 million "squares" of roofing material. When Steve Ridout comes to work each morning, he does so knowing that he’s managing the same company that his father, Al, and his grandfather, W.C., built-up over the course of eighty years and his great- grandfather, W.L., began in 1922. Since then, no other company has roofed as many homes as Ridout — over 600,000 in the Greater Bay Area.
The Ridout Signature
Just like a personal signature, you can spot a a roof by the custom cut ridge piece fitted on every home. It symbolizes the overriding reason for our success: our attention to detail, pride in workmanship, and the attitude that says we will do whatever it takes to do the best job, under the safest conditions, with the best people and equipment in the business.