Roof Ventilation Installation in Madison, WI

Most leaks we trace start at a penetration, not in the open field of shingles. Cracked neoprene boots on plumbing stacks, a box vent nailed through its top flange, step flashing that was face-nailed and never counter-flashed. We lift the shingles around the problem, replace the boot or vent with a properly flanged unit, lay ice-and-water membrane beneath it, and weave the courses back in. Stained sheathing gets probed, and soft decking comes out.

We start in the attic, not on the ladder. Frost on the nail tips, dark staining on the north-facing sheathing, and insulation packed tight into the soffit bays all point to air that isn't moving. Outside, we check whether intake and exhaust are balanced, look for mixed vent types fighting each other on the same roof, and walk the flashing at every wall and chimney. We photograph what we find and walk you through it.

A tear-off is the easiest moment to fix ventilation, because the deck is open. We cut a continuous slot along the ridge, install a shingle-over ridge vent, and remove the old box vents and gable fans so they stop short-circuiting the airflow. At the eaves we open or clear the soffits and set baffles between the rafters so insulation can't choke the intake. If a house from 1979 was never cut for soffit intake, we add it.

Madison gets about 36 inches of snow a year, so the eave detail matters. Ice-and-water shield runs up from the drip edge, synthetic underlayment covers the rest of the deck, and a starter strip seals the first course. Every roof vent installation gets flashed properly: end plugs on the ridge vent, exhaust flanges tucked under the upslope shingles, and bath fans ducted out through a roof cap instead of dumping moist air into the attic.

Attic first, then roof. Up in the attic we look for frost on nail tips, dark staining on the sheathing, damp or matted insulation, and soffit vents buried under blown-in fill. Outside, we check the existing exhaust: box vents, a ridge vent, a gable louver, sometimes all three fighting each other for the same air. Plenty of older homes have intake that was painted shut or never cut in. We photograph what we find and walk you through it.

You get it on paper, line by line. The estimate names each vent by type, where intake goes, where exhaust goes, and which old box vents or gable louvers we are closing so the attic draws in one direction. It lists the decking we expect to replace and says plainly how we handle more rot if it turns up once the shingles are off. A bathroom fan venting into the attic goes on the page too. We handle the permit.

Tear-off goes down to bare deck. Shingles, old felt, bent drip edge and tired flashing come off together, along with the box vents we are retiring. Tarps cover the beds and siding, and a magnetic sweep runs through the day, not just at the end. We strip one section at a time and dry it in before moving on. An open deck under a surprise rain is how a ventilation job turns into a leak repair.

With the deck bare, poor ventilation shows itself. Sheathing that has been cooking and sweating for years goes soft, delaminates at the plies or turns black along the nail lines. Anything that flexes underfoot gets cut out and replaced with plywood or OSB of matching thickness, nailed to the rafters. Then we cut the ridge slot, stopping short of the gable ends, and patch the holes left by the old box vents with new sheathing.

Ice and water shield goes down first, along the eaves, up the valleys and around every pipe boot and penetration. Madison sees about 36 inches of snow a year, so the eave membrane is where we do not cut corners. Synthetic underlayment covers the rest of the field, lapped shingle-fashion and cap-nailed so wind cannot lift it. At the peak we stop it at the edge of the ridge slot. Air has to get out.

Airflow starts at the soffit. Inside the attic, we set baffles in each rafter bay so insulation cannot choke the intake, then cut in continuous soffit venting where there was none. On the roof, drip edge, starter strip and shingles go on to the manufacturer's nailing pattern. Step and counter flashing get replaced at walls and chimneys, not reused. A shingle-over ridge vent with an external baffle and filter caps the top.

Before anyone calls it done, a second set of eyes goes over the roof. We check nail lines, flashing laps, ridge vent fastening, and that no shingle hangs over the slot. Back in the attic, we look for daylight at every baffle and confirm the bath fan now ducts outside instead of into the insulation. No abandoned box vent is left short-circuiting the ridge. We close out the permit and go over the finished roof with you.

Magnets go over the lawn, driveway and planting beds again, in both directions. Old shingles and felt leave in the dumpster, not in your hedges. Gutters get flushed of loose granules and cut-off ends. We pick up by hand along the foundation, where a magnet misses, and rake any insulation we moved in the attic back level. The tarps come down last. If you find a nail we missed, call us.