Install Roofing in Madison, WI

Most leaks we trace start at the flashing, not the shingles. Step flashing along a sidewall lifts, a pipe boot cracks in the sun, or the sealant behind a chimney counterflashing dries out and lets water run behind it. We find where the water really gets in, which is often a few feet uphill of the stain on your ceiling. Then we repair that spot with matching materials and check the decking underneath for soft wood.

An inspection means us on the roof and in the attic, not a look from the driveway. Up top we check for granule loss, nail pops, loose fasteners on metal panels and the condition of every flashing detail. In the attic we look for daylight at the decking, staining around the nails, and whether the intake and exhaust vents are moving air. We photograph what we find. Nothing gets replaced that a repair would handle.

Replacement starts with a full tear-off down to the deck. Laying new shingles over old ones hides soft wood and traps heat between layers. Once the old roof is off, we cut out delaminated or rotted sheathing and patch it with new panels of matching thickness. Ice and water shield goes at the eaves, valleys and every penetration, with synthetic underlayment over the rest. A home built around 1979 may already have one roof laid over another, so we plan for what's under it.

New roof installation, on an addition, a garage or a new building, comes down to layering. Drip edge goes on at the eaves, then underlayment, then drip edge on the rakes, so water always laps over the layer below. On a metal roof installation, standing seam panels ride on concealed clips that let the metal move with temperature. Exposed-fastener panels need every screw driven square, so the washer seals instead of crushing. Low-slope sections take a flat membrane.

We start on the roof and finish in the attic. Outside, we check for granule loss, curled or lifted shingles, soft spots underfoot, cracked pipe boots, and every piece of flashing at chimneys, walls and vents. Inside, we look at the underside of the deck for water stains, daylight around nails, and frost or mold that points to poor ventilation. We photograph what we find, so you see the same roof we do.

Everything we found goes into a written estimate: tear-off, how many layers come off, underlayment type, the shingle or metal panel line, flashing work, ventilation changes, permit and disposal. Each item sits on its own line, so two quotes can be compared honestly. Decking is the one thing nobody can fully judge until the old roof is off, so the estimate spells out how any rotted sheets are counted and billed.

Tear-off goes all the way down to bare deck. Shingles, felt, old drip edge, rusted valley metal and nails all come off, including a second layer if someone roofed over the first. Before that starts, we tarp the landscaping, lean plywood over windows, and park the dumpster where it won't crack the driveway. We open only as much roof as we can dry in the same day, so bare decking never sits overnight.

With the roof off, the deck shows its real condition. We walk every sheet and replace anything soft, delaminated or rotted, usually around chimneys, valleys and eaves, where water sat longest. Old plank decking with wide gaps gets new plywood or OSB sheathing so shingles have a solid, even base. Loose sheets are renailed into the rafters. Rot that reaches the rafters themselves is structural work, and we show it to you before we touch it.

Before any shingle goes down, the deck gets its protection layers. Self-adhered ice and water membrane runs along the eaves, up the valleys, and around chimneys, skylights and pipe penetrations, the places where melting snow backs up and finds a gap. The area sees about 36 inches of snow a year, so the eaves get real attention. Synthetic underlayment covers the rest, with drip edge tucked under it at the eaves and lapped over it at the rakes.

New roof installation follows the manufacturer's nailing pattern, not a crew's habit. Starter strip goes along the edges, every shingle is nailed in the nail line, and we set new step flashing and counterflashing wherever the roof meets a wall or chimney instead of reusing old metal. For a metal roof installation, standing seam panels are fastened with concealed clips so the metal can expand and contract. Ridge vent goes on last, balanced against the soffit intake.

Our own inspection comes before anyone else's. We walk the finished roof looking for exposed nail heads, crooked courses, gaps at pipe boots, and short laps in the flashing at every wall and chimney. Then we go back into the attic to confirm no daylight shows and the vents are clear. We handle the permit, so when a municipal inspection is required, we schedule it and meet the inspector on site.

Cleanup runs through the whole job, not just the last hour. Debris goes from the roof straight into the dumpster or onto tarps, never into the flower beds. At the end we pull the tarps, clear shingle grit and scraps out of the gutters, and roll a magnetic sweeper across the lawn, driveway and street edge to catch stray roofing nails. The dumpster leaves with the old materials, and the property looks the way it did before we arrived.