{"id":989,"date":"2026-06-05T12:36:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=989"},"modified":"2026-06-05T12:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:36:31","slug":"columbia-woman-gets-a-free-roof-at-her-childhood-home-from-sc-youtubers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=989","title":{"rendered":"Columbia woman gets a free roof at her childhood home from SC YouTubers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Years ago, the roof began to leak, dripping down the bricked-up chimney in Sandra Johnson\u2019s childhood home.<\/p>\n

Read more Be like Oreo: Where to get free donuts for National Donut Day in the Midlands<\/a><\/p>\n

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She couldn\u2019t afford to move, Johnson said in June 2026, but more than that, she couldn\u2019t part with the downtown Columbia neighborhood she grew up in.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut when you pray for things, they happen,\u201d Johnson said, describing the stress her roof has caused her since it started leaking in 2023. \u201cAnd I prayed every day, please don\u2019t fall in, please don\u2019t fall in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When she got home from work Tuesday night, \u201cthree angels\u201d were waiting for her.<\/p>\n

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Buddy Ram, Cole Simpson and Matt Marcom posed as a landscaping business and said they were willing to do Johnson\u2019s yard work for free \u2014 not telling her they\u2019d also be replacing her roof.<\/p>\n

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The three friends have done this before, making a career out of giving away roofs by posting YouTube videos. And Johnson was not picked by accident like she thought. She was recommended to the YouTubers by a Columbia nonprofit organization, one of the many ways that the group finds recipients.<\/p>\n

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Simpson and Ram\u2019s business started in Columbia but expanded outside of South Carolina as their channel, Soda City Simpson, began to receive millions of views.<\/p>\n

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They are now back in Columbia, finishing their most recent project \u2014 Johnson\u2019s childhood home.<\/p>\n

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More than a roof<\/h2>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m just an average person,\u201d Johnson said as she looked past the chain-link fence into the overgrown yard. \u201cI don\u2019t make much money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Simpson told her shortly after that a crew would be arriving soon to redo her roof, something that would have costed Johnson between $9,000 and $12,000 dollars, according to Instant Roofer and other cost calculators.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe haven\u2019t been completely honest with you,\u201d Simpson said as they finished doing yard work in Johnson\u2019s yard Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

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Johnson sent Simpson a questioning look. When they explained, she fell to tears.<\/p>\n

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Johnson\u2019s mother, Alma D. Sharp, loved the house. Sharp grew bright pink flowers and put ceramic statues in the front. She loved to garden, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

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Sharp died in 1999. But through tears, Johnson said, \u201cI know she\u2019s smiling now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sharp worked as nurse in Columbia for 44 years, spending most of her time at Richland Memorial Hospital. The house, right by C.A. Johnson High School where Johnson graduated, is where her family felt the \u201cmost familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Johnson stood on the street outside of her house for hours watching the men work. A few neighbors stopped by to ask what was happening.<\/p>\n

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Johnson often responded with a short dance and a simple: \u201cI\u2019m getting a free roof!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe all grew up together — that house, that house, that house, that house and that house on the corner,\u201d Johnson told The State. \u201cThat\u2019s five of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She had considered moving a year ago, but she didn\u2019t want to leave.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne thing I wasn\u2019t prepared for \u2014 the meaning of a roof is a bigger deal than I initially thought,\u201d Ram said about his experience so far. \u201cA lot of people want to keep their homes because it\u2019s a family home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re protecting an aspect of their lives,\u201d Ram said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSelf-sustaining giving machine\u201d<\/h2>\n

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\u201cAre you excited?\u201d Ram asked after he climbed down from Johnson\u2019s roof.<\/p>\n

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Johnson smiled widely, standing just outside of her yard. \u201cCan you tell?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Read more Deer-hunting dogs make life miserable for rural property owners, SC agency told<\/a><\/p>\n

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After meeting in college at the University of South Carolina, Ram and Simpson started their own roofing company in 2023. But it was missing something, they said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was miserable,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

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The hours were long, and the work was not as rewarding as the group hoped. In September 2025, they changed the company\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have believed in social media a long time,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cAnd I wondered if we could combine them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By posting YouTube videos surprising people with free landscaping and roof work, they discovered they could make enough money to keep the cycle going.<\/p>\n

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