Roof Inspection in Madison, WI

Most leaks we trace start at the flashing, not the field of the roof. Step flashing along a sidewall lifts, a pipe boot's rubber collar splits, or sealant around a chimney dries and pulls away. We find where the water actually enters, which is often a few feet uphill from the stain on your ceiling. Then we repair that spot with matching shingles or new metal flashing, and check the decking underneath for rot.

A roofing inspection covers the roof and the attic. Outside, we look for granule loss, cracked or curling shingles, nail pops, lifted flashing and sealant that has let go. Inside, we check the underside of the decking for dark staining, damp insulation and daylight around vents and pipes. The median home here was built in 1979, so many have been reroofed before, and we check whether older layers sit under the current shingles.

Replacement makes sense when the problems are spread across the roof rather than in a single spot: brittle shingles on every slope, soft decking, repeated leaks at different points. We tear off to the deck, replace rotted sheathing, and lay ice and water membrane at the eaves and valleys before synthetic underlayment goes down. New drip edge, pipe boots and step flashing go on with the shingles. Reused old metal is where new roofs start leaking.

Installing roofing on a new building or addition starts with the deck: plywood or OSB, fastened on schedule, with gaps left for expansion. On pitched roofs we run architectural asphalt shingles or standing seam metal. Low-slope sections get a fully adhered membrane, because shingles leak on flat pitches. Ridge and soffit vents are balanced so the attic breathes. With about 36 inches of snow a year, valleys and eaves get extra membrane and careful flashing.

We start in the attic, not on the ladder. Daylight between boards, dark rings on the sheathing, damp insulation and rusted nail tips show where water is already getting in. Then we walk the roof itself. We look for granule loss, cracked or lifted tabs, loose flashing at chimneys and sidewalls, split pipe boots, worn valleys and soft spots underfoot. Every problem gets photographed, so you see exactly what we saw.

The estimate is written line by line, not as one lump figure. It states how many layers come off, how we count replacement decking, which underlayment goes down, the shingle line and color, and which flashing gets replaced rather than reused. Ventilation is on it too. If the inspection shows a repair will do the job, the estimate says repair. We handle the permit. Call for a free estimate.

Tear-off runs one section at a time. Tarps go over beds and shrubs, plywood leans against siding and windows, and the dumpster sits as close to the roofline as the driveway allows. We strip to bare deck: shingles, old felt, drip edge and corroded flashing. If there are two layers, both come off. Nails get pulled or driven flush. No section stays open longer than we can cover it that day.

With the deck bare, we walk every sheet. Soft or delaminated OSB, rot around old vents and chimneys, and boards that flex between rafters all get cut out. Replacement is 7/16" OSB or 1/2" plywood, matched to the thickness already there so the new roof lies flat. Every sheet lands on a rafter and gets H-clips at unsupported edges. Shingles over a bad deck fail early, however good they are.

Ice and water shield goes down first: a self-adhered rubberized membrane along the eaves, up the valleys and around chimneys and skylights. Synthetic underlayment covers the rest of the deck, lapped to the manufacturer's spec and cap-nailed. Drip edge sits under the underlayment at the eaves and over it at the rakes. Madison sees about 36 inches of snow and 32 inches of rain a year. This layer is what stops water that gets past the shingles.

Shingles go on from the eave up, starting with a dedicated starter strip. We nail architectural shingles in the nailing strip, six per shingle, never high, because high nails are how shingles blow off. Step flashing goes in at every course along a sidewall. Chimney counterflashing gets cut into the mortar joint, not glued to the face. Pipe boots are new, and the ridge gets a continuous vent with matching cap shingles.

Before we call a roof done, we walk it again. We check for lifted tabs, exposed nail heads, gaps at the flashing, and vents left blocked. Then we go back into the attic and look for daylight at the new deck. You get photographs of the finished work next to the ones from Step 1. If the permit calls for a final inspection, we arrange it and are there for it.

A magnetic sweeper goes over the lawn, driveway, walks and beds, usually more than once. Roofing nails hide in grass and find tires, so we do not rush this. Gutters get cleared of granules and scraps from the tear-off. Tarps come up, the plywood comes off the siding, and the dumpster leaves with everything we removed. The yard should look the way it did before we arrived, minus the old roof.