Gutter Guard Installation in Madison, WI

Most repair calls start with a stain on a ceiling. The leak is rarely where the water shows. We trace it back to the source: a split pipe boot, lifted shingles at a valley, nail pops, or step flashing that pulled away from a chimney or wall. Then we fix that spot, match the shingle, and reseal the flashing with fresh metal instead of a smear of caulk. Small repairs done right keep a sound roof in service.

An inspection means walking the roof, not looking from the driveway. We check for granule loss, cracked sealant at pipe boots, rusted flashing, soft decking underfoot, and blocked ridge and soffit vents. In the attic we look for daylight, damp insulation and mold. The median Madison home dates to 1979, and roofs that age deserve a close look. You get a written list: what needs attention now, what can wait.

Replacement starts with a full tear-off down to the decking. We swap out rotted sheathing, then run ice and water shield at eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment over the rest, and new drip edge all around. Architectural asphalt shingles are the usual choice; standing seam metal is an option. Every pipe boot, vent and length of flashing goes in new. The old roof leaves in our dumpster and we sweep the yard with a magnet for nails.

New construction and additions need a roof laid over bare decking, and we install those too. The order matters: drip edge, underlayment, starter strip, then shingles nailed in the manufacturer's nailing zone, four to six nails each. Flashing gets woven into the courses as they go up, not tacked on after. On flat sections we heat-weld a modified bitumen or TPO membrane. Commercial and residential roofing systems both get the same attention to the details that decide how long a roof lasts.

We start on the roof, not at the gutter. A guard only works if the drip edge, the first course of shingles and the fascia behind the gutter are sound. We check the pitch of each run, probe the fascia for rot, measure gutter width and note where every downspout sits. The median Madison home was built in 1979, so we expect at least one soft spot or a hanger that has pulled loose, and we look for it.

The estimate names the guard product, the gauge of the aluminum frame, the mesh material (stainless steel micro-mesh or perforated aluminum), the linear feet of each run, and any fascia or gutter repair the inspection turned up. It also states what we will not touch, which matters as much. If something changes once the work is open, the change goes in writing before we do it. Call for a free estimate.

Old snap-in plastic guards, foam inserts and the brackets that held them come out first. Foam usually comes out in pieces, holding a mat of shingle grit and seed. We back the old fasteners out rather than snipping them, flush the packed debris from the trough, and run water through each downspout to confirm it drains. A new guard set over a clogged gutter hides the problem instead of fixing it.

Where the fascia is rotten or the hangers no longer bite, we fix that before any guard goes on. That can mean a new fascia board, resetting hangers at tighter spacing, or re-pitching a run that sags toward the middle and holds standing water. If the roof deck edge itself is spongy, we tell you, because a guard screwed into soft wood will not hold its fasteners.

On a gutter guard job, underlayment means the drip edge and the strip beneath the first shingle course. When the drip edge stops short of the gutter or has been crushed by ladders, water tracks behind the guard and down the fascia. We replace damaged sections with new aluminum drip edge, tuck it under the first course, and confirm the shingle overhang so water lands on the mesh rather than behind it.

Guards go on once the roof edge is right. We fit rigid aluminum frames with stainless steel micro-mesh, fastened to the gutter's front lip and either the fascia or under the shingle, depending on the product, screwed at set spacing instead of clipped. Corners and end caps are cut, closed and sealed so debris cannot enter at the joints. Valleys and inside corners get the most attention, since that is where overflow starts.

Water is the test. We run a hose on the roof above each section and watch the guard shed it into the trough, then watch the downspouts discharge. Any splash-over at a valley or corner gets adjusted on the spot. Every fastener, seam and end cap is checked by hand. Then we walk the run from the ground with you so you can see how it sits against the roofline.

Old guards, foam, fasteners and packaging leave with us. We rake the beds beneath the gutters for dropped screws and mesh offcuts, run a magnet along the driveway and walk, and clear the splash blocks at each downspout. Ladder marks on the fascia get wiped down. The site gets one last walk before the truck moves, and you get the leftover fasteners and a cut of the mesh for reference.