Our Story

What started as a man and a wagon working out of his home in Waukegan in 1914, Waukegan Roofing Company has grown into one of the area’s premiere roofing contractors whose brand is synonymous with quality roofs and exceptional customer service.

The doors to Waukegan Roofing Company were opened in 1914 by M.C. DeThorne. The company, which was based on Philipa Avenue in the DeThorne family Home, advertised itself as doing “felt, gravel, composite, tin, slate and tile” for all roofs. These were the cutting edge roofing materials of the time. Waukegan Roofing was the commercial roofer for Lake County. A few years later, Mr. DeThorne sold the business to his nephew, Bill DeThorne, who kept it in the family for the next several decades

As times changed, so did the business. In June 1951, local roofer Sam Hiner purchased the company, and it began to further grow and flourish. Working with his two sons, Ed and Dave, they branched out from commercial and flat roofing to include residential roofing. The service area was enlarged to include parts of McHenry and northern Cook Counties. Waukegan Roofing began to take on bigger and more complex projects. They were working hard to become the only roofer their communities would ever need, a philosophy that has stayed with the company ever since.

A few years later, in 1956, the Hiner boys took over the company. At the time, there was only one other roofing company in Waukegan: Hubert Roofing. Then, in 1964 Ed and Dave Hiner purchased Hubert Roofing, making Waukegan Roofing the only roofing company in Waukegan.

Land was purchased and construction began on what would become the company’s headquarters on Gladstone Avenue, where it remained until October 2018.

Then, in 1998 Waukegan Roofing changed hands once again. Local entrepreneur and roofing industry veteran, Bruce Diederich, stepped in to lead the company. With his unwavering vision of what Waukegan Roofing could be, a new phase of growth began. A service and maintenance division was started. The service area was expanded again, and more crews were added. The business developed into what it is today.

Now, 100 years after our birth, we’ve become one of the best in the industry and one of the oldest roofing companies in the nation. We look forward to continuing to share our passion for roofing with our customers – past, present and future – with another hundred years of excellence in roofing.