Built on Legacy. Guided by Discipline.

In the early 1960s, Ken Mellick began working summers with his uncle doing construction and roof framing in Puyallup, Washington. While many kids were on break, Ken was learning how roofs were framed, how buildings carried load, and how mistakes made early showed up years later.

He graduated high school in 1966 and, within days, entered the United States Army.

While stationed in Huntsville, Alabama, Ken met Joan, who would become his lifelong partner. They were married in 1967.

Ken later served a tour in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The experience shaped his discipline, leadership, and strong sense of accountability. He was discharged from the Army in 1969 and returned home with values that would define both his family and his approach to business.

After returning from service, Ken worked at a metal smelter refinery in Seattle, gaining insight into how metal performs under stress, heat, and long term exposure.

He later worked as a building inspector for the City of Auburn, reviewing and approving the work of other builders. In this role, he saw what passed inspection, what failed, and what might look acceptable on day one but fail years later.

In 1972, Ken founded Ken Mellick Construction.

Construction was never just a job for the Mellicks. It was a family trade.

Ken’s brothers, Ron and Glen, operated their own construction companies. The family often worked together installing shake roofs and completing home improvement projects side by side.

All six of Ken and Joan’s children worked in the business in various roles, learning construction and roofing firsthand. By the early 1980s, Ken’s eldest son Jared was installing roofs, continuing the hands on tradition and becoming part of the next generation of Mellick roofers and builders.

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In 1987, the Mellick family relocated from Washington to Florida.

Florida’s heat, humidity, heavy rains, and hurricanes exposed roofing failures rarely seen in the Pacific Northwest. What worked in one climate often failed in another.

Those failures became lessons. Over time, the family developed a deep understanding of how roofing systems perform in drastically different environments. This cross climate experience became one of their greatest strengths.

Ken and Jared Mellick founded Universal Roofing Group, Inc.

From the beginning, Metlok Lifetime Roofing was part of that foundation. Built from decades of field experience, the Metlok system was developed and installed through real world projects across multiple climates.

After years of seeing leaks, flashing failures, premature material breakdowns, and manufacturers and installers blaming one another, the need for a complete roofing system was clear.

What began as the foundation within Universal Roofing Group has emerged as its own identity.

Metlok Lifetime Roofing represents generations of experience, military discipline, cross climate expertise, and family accountability. Every roof carries that legacy.