Free roof has NC homeowner dancin’ on the ceiling this holiday season

Click here for updates on this story

    FLETCHER, NC (WLOS ) — Sometimes a Christmas miracle is loud. Tuesday, we heard the sound of compressors and workers hammering, which couldn’t have been sweeter to homeowner Pam Smith.

“It is an amazing, amazing gift. We could never do this,” she said.

Ridge Roofing owner Alex Savely and his team installed a new roof for free, just in time for the holidays.

“Just the condition of the roof; I could tell that it was a very stressful situation,” Savely, New’s 13 Person of the Week, said.

“There’s about a three-inch slit in the roof at the top that is uncovered right now,” he told Smith and her friend at the site. “She’s freaking out a little bit because she’s like, ‘I can see outside!'”

Pam is disabled and is also the caregiver for two nieces with autism.

Two years ago, a massive tree fell into the side of the house, damaging the roof. The family just lived with the damage because they couldn’t afford the more than $10,000 it would take to fix it.

So, a new roof is the ultimate gift for them this holiday season.

“It means everything,” Smith said. “It means literally keeping a roof over our heads because if we weren’t able to get the roof fixed, the house wouldn’t have been liveable.”

“Well, the first thing that struck a chord with me is that she looks after two autistic people,” Savely said. “And I have autism in my family, too: my nephew. And I know that it’s a whole new set of challenges. “

All of this happened rather serendipitously. Recently, Savely was in the area working with another homeowner.

“‘Hey, I have a neighbor, she has some roofing issues. Can you please come by and take a look?'” Savely recalled the homeowner saying.

“He was giving us an estimate,” Pam remembered. “And then he said, ‘But we’re gonna do this program, and we’re gonna do yours.'”

“You mean for free?” she asked, completely in shock.

Alex says he’d already been thinking about the idea of giving someone in need a free roof every year.

“I heard her story and thought she was an awesome lady and that she needed a roof,” he concluded.

And other businesses agreed. Ridge Roofing got donations from AAC Building Materials, Lowes, and Griffin Waste, and others for the project.

“We’re the face of it all, but we’ve had a lot of help, too,” Savely said.

Pam says the roof has been a game-changer, taking a huge weight off her shoulders.

After all that she and her family have been through, a new roof might have her dancin’ on the ceiling.

“So many people have come together,” Smith said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.