A Family Business Built on
Three Generations of Integrity

My father, J.D. Dodson Sr., started this company in 1986 with a single pickup truck, a set of hand tools, and a reputation he had built one job at a time as a master carpenter in Southern Maryland. He and his brother Bill Dodson called it Dodson Brothers Construction, and the rule from day one was that they would only do work they could put their name on.

When I was growing up in the 1990s and 2000s, my dad's name on a job site meant something specific. He was the guy other contractors called when something complicated needed to be done right. The kind of carpenter whose miter cuts didn't need caulk to look clean. That standard carried JDH from residential work in Calvert and Charles counties into something most family contractors never reach: federal contracts at the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department. Working at that level taught the family how to operate with documented inspections, written scope, fixed pricing, and zero tolerance for hidden surprises. We brought that operating standard back to residential work, and it is the reason JDH still runs the way it does.

I did not plan to come back into the business. I earned a degree in Construction Management and spent the early part of my career in corporate operations at ThyssenKrupp Elevator. I learned how big organizations document quality, how supply chains hold to schedule, and how serious safety programs work when the stakes are high. When my daughter Hayden was born, my wife Sam and I made the decision to return home to Southern Maryland and rebuild the family business for the next generation. That was 2016. We re-incorporated as J.D. Hayden, LLC, doing business as JDH Remodeling, to honor my father's initials and our daughter's name in the same breath.

What we built differently this time is operational discipline, not values copy. Every quote starts with a HAAG Master Level forensic inspection, the same methodology insurance adjusters use to evaluate storm damage claims. I hold the HAAG Master certification personally (cert #992109047). Our Inspector Manager Brian McClees leads day-to-day field inspections using the same 7-phase forensic methodology I teach. Every project is priced fixed in writing before the crew shows up, and the price written is the price you pay. Every Owens Corning installation we complete is registered for the 50-year Platinum Protection warranty within 48 hours of completion. We carry $8 million in general liability coverage. None of this is marketing. These are practices you can call us and verify.

Today JDH operates from St. Leonard, Maryland with my wife Sam as General Manager, a leadership team that has been with the company between 7 and 17 years, and field crews led by foreman Jesus Luna who has 32 years in the trade. We complete more than 500 roof replacements per year. We average three repairs every business day across Maryland and Virginia. We are an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor (held since 2014), a ProVia Platinum Dealer, a James Hardie ColorPlus installer, and a VELUX Certified Installer. Less than 1% of US roofing contractors hold the Owens Corning Platinum designation. The rest of those certifications are equally hard to earn and equally easy to verify. What hasn't changed since 1986 is the rule my father started with: we only do work we can put our name on.

Jim Dodson

Owner · JDH Remodeling