Roof Leak Detection in Madison, WI

Most leaks we trace start at a joint, not out in the open field of shingles. A neoprene pipe boot cracks after years of sun. Step flashing along a sidewall gets face-nailed, or was never tucked behind the siding at all. We find the real entry point, which often sits several feet uphill from the stain on your ceiling, and repair that. Patching only where the water shows just moves the leak somewhere else.

An inspection starts in the attic whenever we can get into one. Daylight through the decking, dark rings around nail tips and damp insulation all show where water has been. Then we go up. We check every penetration, the valleys, the drip edge and the sealant under each piece of flashing. We also lift shingles where the seal strip has let go. With about 32 inches of rain a year, small gaps get tested often.

Some leaks mean the roof itself is finished. A house built around 1979, the median year for homes here, can carry a second layer of shingles over the first, and that layer traps moisture. Once decking has gone soft or granules have washed off whole slopes, repairs stop making sense. We strip to the deck, replace rotted sheathing, and run ice-and-water membrane along eaves and valleys before synthetic underlayment goes down.

Whatever material goes on, the details decide whether it leaks. On shingle roofs we install new drip edge, new pipe boots and step flashing woven in course by course, never reused from the old roof. Low-slope sections over porches and additions get a single-ply EPDM or TPO membrane, because shingles leak at that pitch. On metal, we use concealed-fastener panels where the profile allows, and with around 36 inches of snow a year, snow guards over entries.

Water rarely comes in where the stain shows up. It runs along a rafter or the top of the decking first, sometimes several feet. So we start in the attic with a flashlight and a moisture meter, find the wettest wood, and follow it uphill. Then we go on the roof and check what sits above that spot: pipe boots, step flashing, chimney counterflashing, nail pops. If it is still unclear, we run a hose in sections, bottom up.

You get the findings on paper: where the water is entering, what it has already damaged, and what fixing it takes. Marked-up photos go with it, since most people never see their own roof up close. If the cause is a cracked pipe boot or a lifted shingle, the estimate says exactly that. If the leak is a symptom of a worn-out roof, we lay out the repair and the replacement side by side.

Tear-off stays as small as the repair allows. For a flashing leak, that can mean lifting a few courses of shingles around a chimney and nothing else. For a replacement, everything comes down to bare deck: shingles, old felt, drip edge, and any corroded step flashing. If a second layer of shingles is hiding underneath, it comes off too. Pulled material goes straight into the dumpster or trailer, not onto your beds.

Once the deck is exposed, the leak's history shows. Wet plywood delaminates in layers; wet OSB swells at the edges and goes soft underfoot. We probe every stained area and cut out anything that gives under a screwdriver, back to the rafter centers so the new sheet has solid bearing. Replacement panels match the existing thickness and go down with ring-shank nails. Rotted fascia or rafter tails get fixed now, while they are still visible.

With about 36 inches of snow a year, the eaves, valleys and every penetration get self-adhered ice and water membrane. It seals around each nail driven through it. Synthetic underlayment covers the rest of the deck, lapped so water always runs over a seam and never into one. Drip edge goes under the underlayment at the eaves and over it at the rakes. Get that order backward and the leak shows up years later, inside a soffit.

Shingles are nailed on the manufacturer's line, not above it, where they pull loose in wind. Flashing gets the most time, because that is where most leaks start. Step flashing is woven in course by course along every sidewall. Chimney counterflashing is cut into a mortar joint, not caulked to the brick face. Pipe boots are new, never reused. On a flat section, the membrane turns up the wall and is fastened with a termination bar, not just lapped.

The last walk covers every detail again: flashing laps, sealed nail heads at the ridge, vents clear, no shingle tabs lifted. Then we go back into the attic, where the job started, and look at the wood that was wet. If a hose test found the leak, we run the same test on the finished repair. Water has to run and stay outside. Where the work needs a permit, we handle it, including the inspection that comes with it.

Nails are what homeowners remember, so we roll a magnet over the lawn, driveway and beds, then do it again. Gutters get cleared of shingle grit and tear-off debris. Tarps come off the plants and the driveway gets swept. Inside, if we worked from the attic, we vacuum the insulation dust from under the hatch. You keep the photos of what we found and what we fixed, which is useful the next time anyone works on that roof.