TPO Roofing Systems in Fitchburg, Wisconsin

Fitchburg property owners call us for TPO work because we treat a flat roof as a system, not a sheet of membrane. The membrane matters, but so do the insulation under it, the flashing at every wall and curb, and the drains that carry water off the building. We install all of it and we repair all of it. The median home around Madison was built in 1979. A roof that old has usually been replaced at least once, and what the last crew left behind is the first thing we check before we recommend a replacement.

On installation day, the work runs in a set order. We strip the old roofing down to the deck when the deck needs it, check for soft spots and rot, and fix structural problems before anything new goes on. Insulation goes down, then cover board, then the TPO membrane, fully adhered or mechanically fastened depending on the building. Every seam gets heat welded and probed. Flashing gets the same care as the field, since that is where most leaks start. We clean up daily and keep the property usable while we are on it.

Most TPO failures we see are not the membrane. They are open seams, flashing that was never terminated properly, ponding water over a clogged drain, or a roof nobody has looked at in a decade. Small repairs handle most of that if they happen early. Maintenance is a walk across the roof once or twice a year: clearing debris, checking seams and penetrations, and noting anything that has changed. We do that for residential and commercial roofs alike. Call for a free estimate on a repair, a replacement, or a first look.

TPO is a single-ply membrane for flat and low-slope roofs. It comes in wide rolls, gets laid over rigid insulation, and the seams are welded with hot air so the whole roof becomes one continuous sheet. It is white by default and reflects sun instead of absorbing it. We install it on commercial buildings and on the flat sections of residential property: porch roofs, garage additions, the spots shingles were never meant to cover. It is the flat roofing system we recommend most often.

The job starts on the roof, not at a desk. We walk the existing surface, check the decking for soft spots, look at every drain, curb and penetration, and decide whether the old material comes off or stays as a base. Then insulation goes down, membrane goes over it, and every seam is heat welded and probed by hand. Flashing at walls, pipes and rooftop units is where we spend the most time. The membrane holds water. The details keep it out.

Most flat roof leaks trace back to three places: cold welds, flashing that pulled away, or water that has nowhere to go. A seam welded a few degrees too cool looks fine the day it is done and opens a couple of years later. Ponding water finds the weakest point every time. We also see plenty of roofs in Fitchburg with three layers stacked up (the median home here was built in 1979) where the real damage is in the deck, and no new membrane fixes that.

Getting it right costs time more than anything. Choosing a membrane thickness that fits the building, running tapered insulation so water actually reaches the drains, sealing seams properly instead of quickly. A good TPO roof asks very little afterward: a walk in spring and fall, keeping drains clear, and repairs to punctures from other trades before they turn into leaks. If you are weighing a repair against full replacement, we look at the roof and tell you which one it needs. Call for a free estimate.

We do not quote roofing prices on a web page because no two flat roofs cost the same to do right. A TPO installation is priced by what is already on the building, what has to come out, and how much membrane and insulation the job actually calls for. The median home in this area was built in 1979, so a good share of the roofs we look at have been patched or covered more than once. Here is what moves the number, and how you can check most of it yourself before anyone climbs a ladder.

When bids come in, line them up on the same terms: membrane thickness, whether a cover board is included, how many layers get torn off, what happens to wet decking if it turns up, and how the drains and flashing details are handled. Two bids that differ by a wide margin are usually describing two different roofs.

Straight answers are what most homeowners want from a roofer, and that is what we give on every TPO job in Fitchburg. We look at the roof, tell you what we found, and explain what a repair or a full replacement would involve before anything is scheduled. If a leak can be stopped at the flashing instead of replacing the membrane, we say so. No pressure. You get the facts and decide from there.

Permits go through the City of Madison, and we handle that paperwork ourselves so the job does not stall on it. Once materials are on site, the crew stays on the roof until the membrane is down and every seam is welded. Flat roofs do not tolerate a half-finished day. We plan the tear-off around the forecast, cover what we open, and leave the property clean when we go.

Most of the trouble we see on flat roofs traces back to details, not the membrane itself: flashing cut short at a parapet, a drain never resealed, a seam welded cold. Those are the things we check twice. The median home in this market was built in 1979, and a roof that age has usually been replaced at least once, sometimes over the old layer, with problems hiding underneath. Call for a free estimate and we will walk the roof with you.