Roof inspection
Roof inspection in Madison
A home inspector looks at a roof from a ladder for four minutes. We walk it, go into the attic, and hand you a report with photos that says what's wrong, what it costs, and how many winters the roof has left. Useful when you're buying, selling, filing a claim, or tired of wondering.
What fails on a Madison roof, by age
Roof inspection Madison homeowners book is mostly a question about age, so that's where we start.
| Roof age | What we usually find |
|---|---|
| Under 10 years (Sun Prairie, Verona, far east and west sides) | Builder details: bath fans dumping into the attic, missing kickout flashing, ridge vent nailed over uncut decking, four nails instead of six |
| 10–18 years (Blackhawk, Hawks Landing, Grandview Commons) | Split pipe boots, skylight flashing kits at the end of their life, first hail bruises, seal strips letting go on the windward slope |
| 18–25 years (Westmorland, Nakoma, Eastmorland, Middleton ranches) | Granule loss on south and west slopes, cupped edges, eave decking soft from two decades of ice dams, gutters pulling under ice weight |
| Century houses on a third or fourth roof (isthmus, Vilas, University Heights) | Chimney flashing caulked for fifty years, plank decking with wide gaps, dormer sidewalls with no step flashing, two or three layers |
Why the attic is half the inspection
A roof is a system with a top and a bottom, and in Madison the bottom causes most of the trouble. From inside we look for water trails on the underside of the decking, rusted or frosted nail tips that mean warm moist air is hitting a cold deck, insulation shoved into the soffits so there's no intake, a ridge vent that was never cut through, and bath fan ducts that end in the insulation. A 1960s ranch with six inches of settled fiberglass over a leaky ceiling will ice-dam no matter what's on top, and no drone photo will tell you that.
On the roof itself: seal strip adhesion (we lift a few shingles on each slope by hand), every boot and vent, chimney step and counter-flashing, valleys and whether there's membrane under them, the first three courses at the eave, drip edge, decking softness underfoot, and skylight flashing and seals.
Two things a home inspector won't do
Madison's housing market gives buyers a short contingency window, and the general inspector spends four minutes on the roof from a ladder. Their report says "recommend evaluation by a qualified roofing contractor" on half the 1990s houses on the west side and nearly every century house on the isthmus. What they don't do: walk it, and open the attic hatch with the roof in mind. A roof estimate Madison buyers can hand their agent — this boot, this valley, this many winters left, this price — is what turns that sentence into a negotiation.
Sellers use the same report in reverse. Fix the two $400 items, show the buyer a report with eight years of life on it, and the roof stops being a reason to knock $15,000 off.
Snow on the roof
From December to March the shingles are under snow and nobody can inspect them honestly. What we can do in winter is the attic, the eaves from a ladder, the flashing that's visible, and the ice dam pattern, which tells us a lot about the attic. The shingle walk happens after the thaw, and the report gets updated. If you're under contract in February, that's the plan we'll give you.
The report and what it costs
A written report within a day: a photo of each issue, what it means in plain language, a repair price for each line, and an honest number of winters left. If the roof is fine, it says the roof is fine.
A standalone inspection with a written report is $150–$300 depending on roof size and pitch, credited back if we do work we quoted from it. If you called about a leak or storm damage and we're quoting the repair anyway, the look is free.
When to book one
- Buying or selling — the moment you're under contract. Tell us the contingency deadline.
- April — after a hard winter, to catch lifted eave shingles and soft decking before summer storms find them.
- After June hail — before you file, so you know whether there's a claim at all.
- The 20-year mark — "one more year or replace now?" is a question we answer on the roof, and the answer is often two or three more winters plus two small repairs.
Drones get used here on roofs too steep or icy to walk and for the overview photo. They can't lift a shingle, feel a soft deck or see a rusted nail tip. Our post on finding a roof leak from inside shows the attic side of an inspection, the roof repair page covers what happens to the items on the list, and questions to ask Madison roofing contractors is worth reading before you hire anyone off the report.
Other roofing services
Roof Repair
Leaks at flashing, boots, valleys and skylights, wind-lifted shingles, soft decking — found from the attic, fixed with a written price.
Roof Repair →Roof Replacement
Tear-off to the deck, synthetic underlayment, ice-and-water shield past code, architectural shingles with six nails. $9,000–$22,000 on most homes.
Roof Replacement →Ice Dam Repair & Prevention
Steam removal that doesn't chip shingles, repair of what the water ruined, and the attic air-sealing and ventilation that keep it from coming back.
Ice Dam Repair & Prevention →Hail & Wind Damage Repair
Tarping, photo documentation from the roof, a scope your adjuster can follow, and the repair — for the hail and straight-line wind Dane County gets every spring.
Hail & Wind Damage Repair →Questions we get asked
Do you charge for a roof inspection?
Not when we're already quoting a leak or storm repair. A formal report with photos — for a home sale, a refinance, or a roof you want an honest number on — is $150–$300, and it comes off the invoice if you hire us for the work in it.
How long are you on site?
About an hour for a typical Madison two-story: half of it on the roof, a quarter in the attic, the rest walking the exterior and the gutters. The report follows within a day. Under snow, the attic and eaves get done now and the shingles after the melt.
We close in eight days. Can you make it?
Yes. Dane County contingency windows run 5–10 days and we hold slots for houses under contract, usually within two or three days of the call. Give us the deadline and the agent's email when you book.
Need roof work in Madison?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.