TPO Roofing Systems in Fitchburg, Wisconsin

Most leaks we trace start at the flashing, not in the middle of the roof. Step flashing at a chimney lifts, a pipe boot cracks, or the sealant around a skylight dries out and lets water run behind it. On flat TPO roofs the usual culprit is a seam that never welded all the way through, or a puncture near a rooftop unit. We find where the water actually gets in, repair that spot, and show you what failed.

An inspection means walking the roof, not looking at it from the driveway. We probe every welded seam on a TPO membrane, check fasteners and plates along the edges, and mark ponding where water sits after it should have drained. From the attic we look for stained or soft decking. You get photos of what we found and a plain account of what needs work now and what can wait.

Replacement begins with a full tear-off down to the deck. Laying new materials over an old roof hides rot and traps moisture, so we don't do it. With the deck bare, we replace damaged sheathing, then build back up with insulation, cover board and membrane, or underlayment and shingles, depending on the building. We handle the permit. A roof here sheds about 36" of snow a year, so valleys, eaves and drains get the closest attention.

New construction lets us get the whole assembly right from the start. On flat and low-slope commercial buildings that usually means a TPO membrane over tapered insulation, so water moves to the drains instead of sitting. Seams are hot-air welded, never glued. On residential pitched roofs we run ice and water shield at eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment, drip edge, and balanced intake and exhaust ventilation. Every penetration is flashed before the finish layer goes down.

Standing seam is our usual recommendation: concealed fasteners, with panels clipped to the deck so they can move as temperatures change. Exposed-fastener panels cost less up front, but every screw has a rubber washer that eventually wears out and leaks. We lay panels over a high-temperature underlayment and add snow guards wherever sliding snow would land on a walkway or entry. Ridge, rake and eave trim is formed to match the panel's painted finish.

We walk the whole roof before we talk about fixing any of it. On a flat roof that means probing soft spots, checking seams and laps, looking at where water sits after rain, and pulling back flashing at curbs, drains and parapet walls. Ponding marks and blistered patches show where water has been getting in. Where the deck feels suspect, we take a core cut so we can see the insulation and decking underneath.

The estimate lists everything we found and everything we plan to do about it. It names the membrane and its thickness, whether it will be fully adhered or mechanically fastened, the insulation and cover board, and how each drain, curb and penetration gets flashed. Deck repair is written as its own line, so opening up more rot than the core cut showed never turns into an argument. If a permit is needed, we handle the permit.

Tear-off goes down to the deck. Old built-up roofing, modified bitumen or a worn single-ply membrane comes off, along with any wet insulation. Wet insulation holds water for years and rots the deck from underneath, so none of it stays. We strip only as much as we can dry in before we leave for the day, which keeps the building closed to the weather. Debris goes straight into a dumpster or trailer, not onto your lawn or lot.

With the roof stripped, the deck shows its real condition. On wood decks, soft or delaminated sheathing gets cut out and replaced with plywood or OSB of matching thickness, fastened to the framing. Rusted flutes on steel decks are cut out and plated. Concrete gets its cracks and spalls patched. We also check that drains sit at the low points. Structural problems stop the job until they are fixed properly, because a new membrane over a failing deck is wasted money.

On a TPO roof, the layer under the membrane is insulation and cover board rather than felt. Polyiso boards go down first, staggered so the joints never line up. Tapered pieces follow wherever the roof needs slope toward its drains, which is how ponding gets fixed for good. A gypsum or high-density cover board on top gives the membrane a hard, smooth surface that takes foot traffic. Everything is held with plates and screws or set in low-rise adhesive, depending on the deck.

TPO rolls out in wide sheets, overlapped at the seams and welded with a hot-air robotic welder. Heat fuses the overlap into a single sheet, so there is no glue line to let go. Around pipes, curbs and parapets we use pre-formed boots and corners, and field-wrapped flashing where nothing stock fits. Perimeter edges are terminated with metal edge or termination bar. Detail welds around penetrations are done by hand, because that is where most leaks on a flat roof start.

Before we call it done, we walk the roof again and drag a seam probe along every weld. A cold weld can look perfect and still pull apart under the probe tip, so we check them all and reweld any that give. We confirm drains are clear and running, flashings are tight at the top, edge metal is secure, and nothing punctured the membrane during work. If the permit requires an inspection, we meet the inspector. You are welcome to walk the roof with us.

Roofing throws off screws, plates, membrane scraps and cut-off edge metal, and those end up in tires and flower beds if nobody looks. We run a magnetic sweeper over the driveway, lawn, beds and parking areas, then pick up by hand whatever the magnet misses. Gutters and roof drains get cleared of anything from the job. The dumpster goes with the last load, and the property looks the way it did before we arrived, with a new roof on top.