Tar Heel Construction Group was established in 2004 by Joe Ayler, a GAF factory certified roofer and licensed thermographer with more than 20 years in the roofing industry, and a Harford County kid who never left.
From the beginning, the mission was simple and it has never changed: establish a reputation that comes from taking pride in the work. No shortcuts, no games, and no customer left wondering what they paid for. Knowing our customers' goals drives the business, and every project ends the same way, with a homeowner who is 100% satisfied with the finished product.
That standard built something rare. Most of our new clients still find us through word of mouth referrals from their neighbors, and 20 years later the company Joe started is 18 people strong, serving all of Central Maryland and southern Pennsylvania from our office at 523 Underwood Lane in Bel Air.
“We will exceed our customers' expectations with quality work and craftsmanship every time.”Joe Ayler, Founder & President
Every roofer says quality and service. Here is what Tar Heel Construction Group actually commits to, in writing, on every job, and what each commitment is worth to you.
Every estimate is written and itemized as good, better, and best options, so you choose the budget and nothing hides in a line item. A local project manager walks your home, not a commissioned closer, and the number you see is the number you pay. One homeowner reported we came in more than 30 percent under the competing quotes and the work was still outstanding. Financing with same day decisions is available, including no interest if paid in full in 12 months.
As a GAF Master Elite® contractor, a standing held by about 2% of roofers nationally, Tar Heel can register GAF enhanced warranties that cover the full roof system, including up to 25 years of workmanship protection. Those warranties are backed by GAF itself, so your coverage stands whatever happens years from now. We file the registration for you, and it stays with the home.
Materials arrive in the morning, a full tear off exposes the decking so nothing gets buried, and a complete system goes on: ice and water shield, synthetic underlayment, ridge ventilation, new pipe boots, and properly stepped and counter flashed chimneys. A dedicated crew and project manager run the day, and most homes are done before dinner.
Landscaping and siding are protected before the first shingle comes off. When the work is done, magnetic sweepers cover your lawn and driveway, everything is hauled away, and your project manager walks the property with you. Customers write that the yard was spotless and that they would not have known a crew had been there.
HOA color approvals, permits, warranty registration, and insurance claims are part of the job, not your homework. For storm damage we document every slope with date stamped photos and meet your adjuster on the roof so the scope is agreed in front of the evidence, then handle supplements through the final invoice.
Family owned in Bel Air since 2004 with 18 people and our own crews, licensed in Maryland and Pennsylvania, BBB A+ accredited since 2016, and winner of the BBB Torch Award for Ethics. Our office is about 10 minutes from most of Harford County, which is why a callback after the truck leaves gets handled, not dodged. When something is not right, we come back.
Awards are not the goal. They are what happens when the work is the goal. Here is how the shelf filled up.
Joe Ayler opens Tar Heel Construction Group in Harford County, built on accountability, job quality, and customer satisfaction. The first customers come from handshakes and referrals, and 20 years later most still do.
Accreditation by the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, with the A+ rating we have held ever since. Every review, complaint record, and credential is public, exactly how we like it.
See our BBB profile →
The Harford County Chamber of Commerce honors Tar Heel for Outstanding Service to the Community. Recipients are chosen by nomination from the same business community we grew up in.
About the Harford Award →
Tar Heel ranks No. 215 on Qualified Remodeler's national Top 500 list, standing alongside the biggest remodeling companies in America while staying family owned in Bel Air.
About Qualified Remodeler →
Tar Heel holds GAF Master Elite® certification, earned by only about 2% of roofing contractors in America, and is a GAF GoldElite™ Commercial Contractor. Factory audited installations, continuing education requirements, and access to warranty options most roofers cannot offer.
What GAF certification means →
Harford Magazine readers vote Tar Heel the county's best roofing and exteriors contractor six years in a row. In our home county, where everyone knows everyone, that is the review that matters most.
Baltimore Sun Media Readers Choice →
Tar Heel lands on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest growing private companies, proof that doing right by customers scales.
About the Inc. 5000 →The BBB of Greater Maryland presents its highest honor, recognizing outstanding character, culture, customer care, and community service. The same year brings a second consecutive Inc. 5000 listing.
Verify it with the BBB →Baltimore Sun Media readers vote Tar Heel the region's best roofing and exteriors contractor for the first time, expanding a county title into a regional one.
Baltimore Sun's Best →The readers do it again. Tar Heel repeats as Baltimore's Best while the review count keeps climbing past 750, all still rated 5.0.
Baltimore Sun's Best →
A third straight Baltimore's Best title, the GAF President's Club 3 Star Award, GAF Triple Excellence, 800+ reviews rated 5.0 of 5.0, and licensed crews now serving southern Pennsylvania.
About GAF's top honors →Certifications matter because they are earned from the people with the most to lose: the manufacturers whose warranties depend on our installations.
Tar Heel Construction Group is a GAF Master Elite® certified residential roofing contractor, a standing held by about 2% of roofing companies in the United States and earned again every year through verified licensing, insurance, factory training, and audited installations. The company is also a GAF GoldElite™ Commercial Contractor and a GAF CoatingsPro™ certified contractor, and its commercial division includes Bel Air Foam & Roofing, a Tar Heel company and certified Duro-Last® installer with more than 50 years of commercial roofing in Maryland.
Tar Heel Construction Group is a CertainTeed ShingleMaster™ and SidingMaster™ PRO credentialed contractor and an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor, and installs GAF, CertainTeed, and Owens Corning roofing systems to manufacturer specification.
Tar Heel Construction Group is licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission under MHIC License #131991, licensed in Pennsylvania under License #135811, and fully insured. The company serves Harford, Baltimore, Cecil, and Carroll Counties in Maryland and York and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania from its office at 523 Underwood Lane, Bel Air, Maryland 21014.
Founder and president Joe Ayler is a GAF factory certified roofer and a licensed thermographer with more than 20 years in the roofing industry.
Manufacturer certifications prove the craft. Awards prove the character. These came from readers, neighbors, and business peers across Maryland, and from GAF's national stage, where Tar Heel stood among the region's top contractors at the 2025 GAF Northeast Roofing Summit and Expo.
Tar Heel Construction Group has been voted Baltimore's Best roofing and exteriors contractor by the readers of Baltimore Sun Media three years in a row, in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Readers of Harford Magazine have voted Tar Heel Construction Group the best roofing and exteriors contractor in Harford County for six consecutive years in the magazine's Harford's Best readers' choice awards.
In 2023 the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland presented Tar Heel Construction Group with the BBB Torch Award for Ethics, the Bureau's highest honor, which recognizes outstanding character, culture, customer care, and community service. Tar Heel has been BBB accredited with an A+ rating since 2016.
Tar Heel Construction Group was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest growing private companies in both 2022 and 2023.
In 2019 the Harford County Chamber of Commerce presented Tar Heel Construction Group with the Harford Award for Outstanding Service to the Community, an honor awarded by nomination from the local business community.
In 2021 Qualified Remodeler magazine ranked Tar Heel Construction Group No. 215 on its national Top 500 list of the largest remodeling companies in the United States.
GAF, North America's largest roofing manufacturer, has honored Tar Heel Construction Group with the GAF President's Club 3 Star Award in 2026 and the GAF Triple Excellence Award for installation, training, and customer service, and recognized the company among the region's top contractors at the 2025 GAF Northeast Roofing Summit and Expo.
Tar Heel Construction Group is rated 5.0 out of 5.0 across more than 800 customer reviews on Google, Facebook, and the Better Business Bureau.
GAF is North America's largest roofing manufacturer, and Master Elite® is the highest standing it grants a residential contractor. Only about 2% of roofing companies in the country hold it. It cannot be bought and it is never permanent: the standing has to be earned again every single year.
Earning it meant proving what we already practiced. Verified licensing and insurance. A reputation GAF could check with real homeowners. Crews that complete factory training and continuing education on every current GAF system. Installations that GAF can audit for conformance to spec. Tar Heel has held the bar long enough to earn the President's Club 3 Star Award and Triple Excellence on top of the certification itself.
Here is what that translates to when it is your home:
Our crews and office staff are the same faces on every project, led by people who live in the communities they work in.
Joe APresident
Scott SDirector of Operations
Jamee LController
Mike FProject Estimator
Mark MOperations Manager
Ryan GQuality Assurance & Customer Relations
Jamie VProject Manager
Chip KProject Manager
Tristan SProject Manager
Josh PProject Estimator
Dalton CProject Estimator
Matt RProject Estimator
Tom AProject Estimator
Dean PCommercial Estimator
Justin MService Technician
Debbie POffice Admin
Allison MOffice Admin
Eva KMedia CoordinatorJoe grew up in Harford County, and giving back to it is written into how the company operates. That commitment is why the Harford County Chamber of Commerce presented Tar Heel with the 2019 Harford Award for Outstanding Service to the Community, an honor earned by nomination from the local business community itself.
It is also why the Torch Award for Ethics means more to us than any sales milestone. Character, culture, customer care, and community service are the four things the BBB measures for that award. They are also the four things a homeowner is really buying when they hire a contractor.
We are fortunate to live and work in the same place. When your crew lives where it works, cutting a corner is not an abstraction. It is your kid's teacher's roof.
Not the boilerplate. These are the things people want to know before they hand a roofer a deposit, answered straight.
Get your free inspection from Maryland's most awarded roofing team. No pressure, no games.
