Roof Inspection Services in Madison, WI

Most leaks start at a detail, not in the open field of the roof. Cracked pipe boots, rusted step flashing along a sidewall, a nail pop that lifted a shingle, a valley where the metal has worn through. We find the actual entry point, then repair it with matching materials: new flashing bent on site, ice and water membrane under the patch, shingles woven into the existing courses. A repair done right keeps a full replacement years away.

An inspection is a walk of the roof and a look at the attic, in that order. On top, we check shingle wear, granule loss, lifted seams on flat sections, flashing at chimneys and skylights, and how water leaves the roof at the gutters. Underneath, we look for stained decking, wet insulation and daylight where there should be none. You get photos of what we found and a plain description of what needs attention.

Replacement means everything comes off down to the decking. Soft or rotten sheathing gets replaced before anything new goes on. Then ice and water membrane at eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment over the field, new drip edge, new flashing, and the shingles or metal panels you chose. Madison's median home was built in 1979, so many of the roofs we replace have been replaced before. Replacement work is permitted through the City of Madison, and we handle that paperwork.

New construction and additions get the same care as a replacement, minus the tear-off. We set drip edge and underlayment before the first course goes down, flash every spot where the roof meets a wall, and vent the ridge so the attic can breathe. On a low-slope section over a porch or garage, we install a fully adhered membrane instead of shingles, since shingles do not shed standing water. Metal, asphalt or flat systems, installed to the manufacturer's spec.

We start on the roof, not in the driveway. One of us walks every slope and checks for granule loss, lifted tabs, nail pops, cracked pipe boots, and flashing pulled away at chimneys and walls. Then we go into the attic with a flashlight. Stained sheathing, rusted nail tips, and matted insulation show where water has been getting in. Many roofs here date to the 1979 median build year, so we also count layers.

Every job gets a written estimate before anything is scheduled. It names the roofing system, the underlayment, the ice and water membrane, the flashing metal, ventilation, and the number of squares. Deck repair is listed as a per-sheet allowance, since rot does not show until the old roof is off. Commercial flat roofs list membrane type and thickness, insulation, and drain work. You keep a copy and can ask about any line.

Tear-off comes first on replacement day. We strip shingles, old felt, and every piece of flashing down to bare decking, then pull or drive each nail and sweep the deck clean. A dump trailer sits close to the house and tarps cover siding, landscaping, and the AC unit. Two layers of asphalt shingle is a lot of weight, and lifting it often uncovers damage no inspection could reach.

Bare decking shows what the shingles hid. Soft plywood, delaminated OSB, and split plank sheathing get cut out and replaced with matching thickness, usually 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch CDX, nailed to the rafters on the same spacing. Eaves and valleys get the closest look because water sits there longest. Anything structural, like a sagging rafter or a cracked truss chord, we point out before going further.

Ice and water membrane goes on first: self-adhering, along the eaves, in every valley, and around every penetration. Above that, synthetic underlayment overlaps course by course and is capped to hold in wind. Drip edge sits under the membrane at the eaves and over it at the rakes. This layer is the real waterproofing. Shingles shed water; the underlayment is what stops it when they cannot.

Shingles go on from the eaves up, with a starter course, offset seams, and four or six nails per shingle depending on the exposure and the manufacturer's spec. New step flashing at every wall, new counter flashing at the chimney, new pipe boots. Ridge vent runs the peak before cap shingles cover it. Standing seam metal and flat commercial roofing systems follow their own sequence: panels clipped to the deck, or TPO membrane heat-welded at the seams.

The roof gets walked again before we call it done. We check for exposed nail heads, lifted tabs, sealant on every exposed fastener at the flashing, and that each vent and boot is seated flat. The attic gets a second look for daylight. Then we go over it with you, on the ground with photos or up top if you would rather see it yourself.

Cleanup runs the same day. Tarps come up, a rolling magnet passes the lawn, driveway, and beds more than once for nails, and gutters get cleared of granules and cut-offs. The dump trailer leaves with all of it. Whether the house is in Madison or out in Sun Prairie, the property should look the way it did when we pulled up, with a new roof over it.