Bob Dubois, or “Bob the Roofer,” took several calls to inspect a homeowner’s deteriorating roof and gutters.
The roof, held together in some spots with screens and random objects to prevent wild animals from crawling in, wouldn’t earn contractors the quick insurance payout they were hoping to collect, which led companies to drop the job unceremoniously.
“When they don’t see that the insurance money is all there for what really needs to be done, a lot of these people just disappear,” said Dubois, the senior project manager at Recovery Roofing. “They don’t put the work into really taking care of the customer. They want to make the fast insurance money.”
Dubois’ first call to the home was to repair the homeowner’s gutters, a year later Dubois answered another call to inspect a hail damaged roof. Nearly everything, from the homeowner’s soffits to fascias, were falling apart, but the insurance money wasn’t going to cover all the repairs, neither was the homeowner’s savings. In June Dubois received the homeowner’s insurance documents, which stated they wouldn’t be covering all aspects of the roof replacement.
Dubois knew the homeowner’s reputation from her job as a beloved CNA at the Lutheran Hospital.
“That’s when I thought for some reason, I keep getting called out here,” Dubois said. “Sometimes people call that a God wink. She was taking care of a lot of people in their toughest times. I thought, “Let’s see what we can do.”
Dubois got to work calling Greg Makowski, the owner of Recovery Roofing. Makowski and Dubois are old classmates who attended Wheat Ridge High School together. Makowski agreed to do the job, without earning a profit.
Next Dubois approached other home improvement contractors, who could aid in completing the job, including Tommy Antonopoulos, owner of American Painting. Dubois assured the other contractors involved that a community fundraiser would pay the cost of materials and labor to supplement what the insurance wouldn’t cover.
roof to prevent animals from entering into the
attic. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB DUBOIS
On the Board of Directors of the Wheat Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Dubois brought the initiative to the Chamber, and they agreed to help alongside Guy Nahmiach, local real estate broker and the owner of Neighborhood Gazette.
Aptly named, the “Time to Give Back” project fundraiser went public. In its early stages Dubois worried they wouldn’t reach their fundraising goal. When word spread to the homeowner’s circle, the dollars came streaming in.
“One thing’s for sure, when the people that knew her found out about the fundraiser, that’s when the dollars started going up,” Dubois said. “It was overnight.”
The fundraiser succeeded in collecting the funds needed for the job. When the crew arrived at the jobsite, gutters were falling off the house and the garage backdoor was warped out of place, in addition to the deteriorating roof.
Although the homeowner’s insurance explicitly stated they wouldn’t cover wear and tear costs, Dubois and the crew replaced the plywood and put on a new roof and fixed the damaged areas around the exterior of the house.
After the last gutter and patch were placed to cover holes and a fresh coat of paint covered the exterior, the homeowner was speechless. Dubois told her that the job was a reflection of a community who cares for her the same way she’s poured herself into caring for them over the years, he said.
“The Time to Give Back” crew replacing a homeowner in needs’ roof. Photo courtesy of Bob Dubois.
A humble recipient, who still wishes to remain anonymous, Dubois assured the homeowner she deserved the kindness from the community.
“Doing things like this, it is a good feeling,” Dubois said. “You help somebody out who was stuck in a hard place, who wasn’t going to be able to get done what needed to get done. It’s not always about making the dollar. Sometimes it’s about satisfying your heart or your brain or people’s needs.”
For Dubois some jobs are not about the insurance payout or taking a customer’s last couple hundred dollars.
Dubois keeps a neat home office but isn’t fussy about shoes in the house. Afterall he and his wife help raise their five grandchildren there. He reflects on his years of doing business in the community, and is grateful it has always supported his family, allowing his wife to be a stay-at-home mom and grandmother.
Dubois grew up in Wheat Ridge, attending Manning Junior High School and has always been passionate about his local community. After Covid shifted his advertising business ventures, Dubois moved to the roofing industry, where he now works as a subcontractor.
Over his career in the business world, including starting a tree trimming business, Dubois typically drove around Denver’s sprawling suburbs, away from his Wheat Ridge home. Now Dubois is happy to service the Wheat Ridge area and not be stuck in traffic.
“The story says there’s an acre of diamonds in your own backyard,” Dubois said. “The closer to home I can do my business, the better.”
Dubois is pleased with the business Recovery Roofing generated in 2024.
“It’s been a banner year,” Dubois said. “I think sometimes it goes along with when you’re helping other people. You get blessed back. It’s kind of the way things roll.”
