Waddle Exteriors & Roofing

Few solar contractors in Iowa can point to a company history that stretches back to 1978, but Waddle Exteriors and Roofing has been a fixture in the Des Moines construction market for 48 years. Founded in Story City and now headquartered in West Des Moines, the company spent decades building its reputation in roofing, siding, windows, and gutters before adding solar installation to its service portfolio. That nearly half-century of exterior contracting experience gives Waddle a structural understanding of residential buildings that dedicated solar-only companies simply do not possess.

The company's 4.8-star Google rating across 527 verified reviews is a strong indicator of consistent execution over a long timeline. In a market like Des Moines, where word-of-mouth referrals still drive a significant share of contractor selection, maintaining that level of customer satisfaction across thousands of completed projects speaks to operational discipline. Waddle's service territory extends across the entire Des Moines metropolitan area, reaching from Waukee and West Des Moines through Ankeny and Johnston in the north to Pleasant Hill and Altoona to the east.

What makes Waddle a compelling solar installer is the integration advantage. Homeowners in Iowa frequently need roof work before or alongside a solar installation, and Waddle can handle both under a single contract with a single warranty relationship. Their crews understand Iowa's weather patterns intimately, including the hail, ice, and wind loads that can damage both roofing materials and solar equipment if installations are not engineered for Midwest conditions. The company offers cash and loan financing for solar projects, keeping the transaction structure simple and transparent.

Waddle does not carry NABCEP certification, which is the one notable gap in their credentials relative to some competitors. However, their decades of building envelope expertise and the sheer depth of their satisfied customer base offset that gap considerably in our evaluation framework.

With a composite score of 73.1 out of 100, Waddle Exteriors and Roofing holds the second-ranked position among solar installers in Iowa for 2026.