Gutter Installation in Madison, WI

Most leaks we trace start at the flashing, not the shingles. Step flashing behind siding gets bent back during a gutter swap, a pipe boot's rubber collar splits, or chimney counterflashing pulls out of its mortar joint. We find where the water actually gets in, which is often a few feet uphill from the stain on the ceiling, and fix that. Cracked or missing shingles are replaced to match, nailed through the sealant strip, and sealed down by hand.

We start at the gutters, because what collects in them says a lot: a heavy load of granules means the shingles are wearing through their surface. Then we walk the roof where it is safe to walk and check flashing, pipe boots, valleys, vents and every nail line we can see. In the attic we look for daylight, damp sheathing and rusted nail tips. We photograph what we find, good and bad, and walk you through it.

Replacement means tearing off to the deck, not layering over the old roof. That lets us see the sheathing, and on a house built around 1979 (the median build year in Madison) we check every sheet and replace any that has gone soft. Ice and water shield goes along the eaves and in the valleys, synthetic underlayment over the rest, with new drip edge and new flashing throughout. The gutters come down for the tear-off anyway, so it is the natural time to replace them.

We install architectural asphalt shingles, standing-seam metal and, on low-slope sections, single-ply membranes such as EPDM or TPO. Each goes down to the manufacturer's written instructions: nail pattern, underlayment, ventilation. With about 36 inches of snow a year here, we talk through snow guards on any metal roof that sheds over a door or walkway. Gutters are sized to the roof area they drain, and downspouts go where the grade carries water away from the foundation.

We start on a ladder at the eaves, not from the driveway. We press on the fascia for soft spots, check how far the shingles overhang the edge, and note where the drip edge is bent or missing. Then we look at which roof planes and valleys send the most water down, because that decides where the downspouts go. The median home here was built in 1979, and houses that age often have original fascia hiding rot behind aluminum wrap.

You get the scope on paper: linear feet of gutter, the number and location of downspouts, the profile and material, the hanger type, and every fascia board or deck edge we expect to replace. Rot we cannot see from the ladder is written as its own line, so nobody is caught off guard if a board crumbles when the old gutter comes off. If the job needs a permit, we handle the permit. Nothing starts until you have read it and signed.

Old gutters come down in sections, never ripped off in one pull that splits the fascia. We back out the spikes or hangers, cut the downspout straps, and lower everything to the ground. The bent drip edge and rusted nails along the eave come out next. This is where hidden damage shows itself: spikes that worked loose years ago, stained wood, and gaps where water has been running behind the gutter and into the wall.

A gutter is only as solid as the wood it screws into. Soft fascia gets cut out and replaced with new stock, primed on all sides before it goes up. If the bottom edge of the roof deck has gone punky from water wicking under the shingles, we cut back to sound sheathing and patch it. Driving new hangers into rotten wood is the most common reason a new gutter sags or pulls away by its second winter.

At the eave, the new drip edge goes on first and ice-and-water membrane laps over it. That order matters: water that gets under the shingles drains into the gutter instead of behind it and down the fascia. We lift the first course of shingles carefully to do this and replace any that crack. With about 36" of snow a year melting off that edge, the detail at the bottom of the roof carries more water than people expect.

Now the gutters go up. We form continuous runs from coil stock on site, so the only joints are at corners and end caps, each one riveted and sealed. Hidden hangers screw through the fascia into the rafter tails, and every run is pitched toward its downspout so it drains rather than holding standing water. Shingles we lifted get sealed back down, and the edge course is set to overhang into the gutter, not past it.

Before we call it done, we run a hose on the roof and follow the water. It should travel the length of every run, drop through every downspout, and leave through an extension or splash block well away from the foundation. We watch for drips at the miters, water sheeting over the front lip, and any spot where it pools. Then we show you what we found behind the old gutters and what we replaced.

Gutter work leaves small, sharp things behind: rivet mandrels, screw shavings, aluminum offcuts, old spikes. We roll a magnet across the beds and lawn, pick the shavings out of the new gutters themselves, and haul away the old gutters and rotten fascia. Downspout extensions are placed where they will not trip anyone or wash out a planting bed. When we leave, the gutters should look like they were always part of the house.