CBS (Consolidated Building Systems) began in 1991 by my father, David Raymer in Cary, NC. My Dad built additions, remodels and everything in between when he first started the business.
The longer he was in business the more he realized the constant need for roof replacements and repairs, siding repairs and gutter replacements. After I (David Jr.) graduated from college in 2002 (LSU) I moved back to Apex, NC with my wife Lauren. He had me starting on the clean up crew then eventually working on the roof with the roof mechanics.
I eventually became my Dad’s main estimator and project manager. I’ve always enjoyed getting to meet new people and hearing their stories if they were willing to share so it ended up being a perfect fit and I was exactly where I needed to be in my career.
Things changed mightily in 2005 when my closest in age brother Carson passed after a failed heart transplant surgery. It was a very difficult time for our family to say the least and it definitely put things into perspective for us all, especially my parents.
Shortly after the passing of my brother, my Dad began spending more time away from CBS and in turn put more responsibility on me to run it. I don’t know if I was truly ready or not but I always had him to rely on when I didn’t know the answer. He was very gracious and patient with me ever since the beginning of our father/son working relationship just like has always been as my Dad.
In 2013 I officially changed the Consolidated Building Systems (CBS) name to CBS Roofing, Inc. We didn’t build anything and it was time to change the name, however not completely. I kept the CBS name but just added “Roofing” since that’s mostly what we do.
I didn’t think it would be wise to completely start a whole new business name since we have thousands of customers that we’ve done work for in the past and I wanted old customers to still recognize the CBS abbreviation. So here I am today, living in Cary, NC with my beautiful wife and my three “almost” all grown up kids.
It’s hard to believe that this year is our 35th year anniversary of CBS Roofing! Apex and Cary sure have changed since when I grew up here but it’s allowed us to meet even more people from all walks of life and my Dad’s legacy continues to live on through me in our work that we get to share with others.