Roof Repair in Middleton, Wisconsin

Most leaks we trace in Middleton start at the flashing, not the shingles. Step flashing behind siding lifts, the rubber boot around a vent pipe cracks, or sealant at a chimney dries out and lets water run under the counterflashing. We find where the water actually gets in, which is often a few feet uphill of the stain on your ceiling. Then we repair that spot with matching materials. Blown-off shingles and torn ridge caps get the same care.

We walk the roof rather than judging it from the driveway. On top, that means checking for granule loss, soft decking underfoot, nail pops, cracked pipe boots and every run of flashing. Inside, we go up into the attic and look for daylight, damp sheathing, rusted nail tips and soffit vents blocked by insulation. We take photos as we go. Then we tell you plainly what needs repair now, what can wait, and what is fine.

A replacement here means tearing off to the deck, not layering new shingles over old ones. Once the old roof is off, we can see the plywood or plank sheathing and replace any section that is soft or delaminated. Next comes ice and water shield along the eaves and in the valleys, synthetic underlayment over the rest, new drip edge, new flashing and proper ridge ventilation. With around 36 inches of snow a year to shed, the eave details matter.

New construction and additions get the same system we build on a replacement, starting from bare sheathing. We lay out courses so the shingles line up across valleys and dormers. Every wall intersection is step-flashed piece by piece, never covered with one long bent strip. Low-slope sections over a porch or garage are the wrong place for asphalt shingles, so there we install a fully adhered EPDM or TPO membrane built for flat work. We handle the permit.

Standing seam steel with concealed fasteners is what we install most often, because there are no screws through the panel face to back out and leak over time. Panels go down over a high-temperature underlayment and fasten with clips that let the steel expand and contract. Above entries and walkways, we fit snow guards so a roof full of snow does not slide off all at once. Trim, flashing and closures are formed to match the panel finish.

We get on the roof, not just look at it from the driveway. We check the shingles for granule loss, cracked tabs and lifted edges, then look hard at the flashing around chimneys, vents and skylights, because that is where most leaks start. In the attic we look for stained sheathing, damp insulation and nail tips that are rusting or dripping. Soft spots underfoot get marked. You see the photos we take, so you know what we saw.

The estimate lists what we found and what we plan to do about it, line by line. It names the shingle line and color, the underlayment, which flashing and drip edge get replaced, and any ventilation changes the attic needs. Deck replacement is written as a per-sheet item, since nobody knows how much rot sits under an old roof until it comes off. If something is optional, the estimate says so.

Tear-off goes down to bare decking. We strip every layer of shingles, the old felt and all the nails, because laying new shingles over old ones hides problems and adds weight the framing has to carry. Tarps cover the landscaping, and a trailer or dumpster sits close to the drop line. We open only as much roof as we can dry in the same day, so a passing storm finds underlayment, not open wood.

With the old roof off, the decking tells its own story. We walk every sheet and replace anything soft, delaminated or blackened around old leaks, cutting in OSB or plywood that matches the existing thickness so the new roof lies flat. Loose boards get renailed to the rafters with ring-shank nails. Where sheets butt too tight, we leave an expansion gap. A cracked or sagging rafter is structural, so we stop and show you before going further.

Over bare wood, the first layer is ice and water shield: a self-adhering membrane that seals around every nail driven through it. This area averages about 36 inches of snow a year, so it goes along the eaves, up the valleys and around chimneys and skylights, where meltwater backs up under ice. The rest of the deck gets synthetic underlayment, lapped and fastened in rows, with metal drip edge along the eaves and rakes.

Shingles go on in the pattern the manufacturer prints on the wrapper, with starter strip at the eaves and every nail placed in the nail line, not above it. High nails are a common reason shingles blow off. We replace pipe boots, step-flash each course where the roof meets a wall, and set counterflashing into the chimney mortar. Ridge vent or box vents go in sized to match the intake the attic already has.

Before the crew leaves, someone who did not install the roof walks it. They check that every shingle is sealed flat, the flashing is tight, the valleys are clean, and no nail heads sit exposed. Pipe boots and vents get a second look. In the attic, we confirm air is moving through the new vents. We handle the permit, and if an inspection is required, we are there when the inspector walks the job.

Magnetic sweepers go over the lawn, driveway, beds and street, more than once, because roofing nails land farther from the house than anyone expects. Gutters get cleared of granules and scraps. The tarps come off the plantings, and the trailer or dumpster leaves with the old materials in it. Then we walk the property with you, point out what we replaced, and hand over the photos of the deck and flashing work.