The Story Behind Always Good Work

We shall do good work. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good work.

For more than 110 years, Baker Roofing Company has done business by one simple rule, and you can still read it on a sign that hangs in our Raleigh headquarters today. It says: we shall do good work, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good work. That promise has guided every project and every relationship since 1915, and it is still the standard every employee-owner holds today.

Where the promise began

In January 1901, a 14-year-old named William Prentiss Baker rode a mule from Harnett County into Raleigh. He was leaving behind a hard farm life for a growing capital city full of opportunity. It was a new year, a new century, and for young Prentiss, a new life.

By 1902, he was learning the tinsmith trade for fifty cents a week, working in the southwest quadrant of downtown Raleigh among the roofing shops, sheet metal shops, small manufacturers, and boarding houses. On September 20, 1915, he opened his own business four blocks south of the Capitol on Gale Street. The name was as straightforward as the man: W.P. Baker Co., tinner.

Sometime around then, Prentiss posted a small sign on the front door, written in all capital letters. It read: we shall do good work, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good work. It was a sincere promise, and it became the foundation of everything that followed.

A promise that still hangs on the wall

That original sign still hangs in the lobby of our Raleigh headquarters. It is not decoration. It is a daily reminder of the values that drive all of team Baker, and a standard we measure ourselves against on every job.

From that single downtown shop, Baker Roofing has grown into one of the nation’s largest and most experienced commercial roofing contractors, with 29 locations across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic and work that takes us across the country for national accounts and specialized projects.

Why a promise outlasts a century

Staying in business for more than 110 years is no small thing. We believe it comes down to values that never changed: a commitment to doing right by people, and a century-old mission to do good work, always. In 2025, we took the next step in protecting that legacy by becoming 100% employee-owned. Every person who wears the Baker name now has a direct stake in the work, which means the same accountability and care that started on Gale Street in 1915 is built into how we operate today.

The sign on the wall was a young man’s promise to do honest work. More than a century later, it is still ours. Whatever your building needs, let us take a look and build a plan that lasts. Always good work. That is not just our history. It is how we show up tomorrow.