We are a Fitchburg roofing company seven miles from our shop — the closest market our Dane County roofing crews serve. The recurring problem here is not the main roof. It is the porch, the addition or the dormer that was built later at a shallower pitch, and the line where that meets the original roof.
Local conditions
A lot of Fitchburg housing has been added onto, and additions are almost never built at the same pitch as the original. That creates roofs that need two systems and one very careful transition.
The rule most people do not know
Asphalt shingles are not rated for slopes below roughly 3:12, and below 2:12 they should not be used at all. A shingled porch roof at 2:12 will leak no matter how well it is installed, because water moves too slowly and wind drives it back under the courses. If a contractor quotes shingles for your porch, that is the whole answer you need about them.
Where two systems meet
A membrane roof on a low-slope addition has to be flashed and terminated into the steep asphalt above it. That transition is the single most common leak point on a Fitchburg house, and it is the part that gets rushed because it is the fiddliest hour of the job.
Shallow throughout
A lot of Fitchburg’s 1970s stock sits at a shallower pitch than newer construction. Shallow roofs shed slower, hold snow longer and are less forgiving of a mediocre install than a steep roof that dumps water off before it can find a gap. Snow that sits on a shallow roof is also where ice dams start.
Standard steep field
The newer parts of Fitchburg build to typical suburban pitches with conventional asphalt. Straightforward roofs — until someone adds a sunroom or a covered patio, at which point you are back to two systems on one house.
Residential and commercial, across Madison, Dane County, & Southern Wisconsin.
Full tear-off to the deck. On a mixed-system house we price the low-slope sections properly rather than shingling them and hoping.
EPDM, TPO and modified bitumen for porches, additions, sunrooms and dormers. The right material for the pitch. Here’s how roofing materials compare for Wisconsin homes.
Where a low-slope roof terminates into the steep field. The most common Fitchburg leak and often a repair rather than a replacement.
Leaks, failed pipe boots, missing shingles and flashing at the chimney.
Documented free inspection for your insurer, including the low-slope sections adjusters routinely skip. More on Fitchburg hail and storm damage repair.
Seven miles. We are closer to Fitchburg than to most of Madison. Active leak? Get emergency roof repair in Fitchburg.
See everything we do as an exterior contractor in Fitchburg!
Details that matter
Fitchburg shares ZIP codes with Madison and Oregon, so plenty of Fitchburg homeowners have a Madison mailing address. The City of Fitchburg still issues your permit, not the City of Madison.
| Permit required for reroof | Yes |
|---|---|
| Issued by | City of Fitchburg |
| Madison mailing address | Does not matter |
| Who files it | We do |
| Ice barrier at eaves | Required |
| Typical permit fee | Verify with city |
Questions about a specific property? Contact City of Fitchburg Building Inspection.
Pricing
Ranges for a typical 1,600 to 2,400 square foot Fitchburg home with a full tear-off.
| Option | Best For | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt | Standard steep field | $9,500–$18,000 |
| EPDM or TPO membrane | Porch, addition or sunroom | $8–$16 / sq ft |
| Mixed system, whole house | Steep field plus low-slope sections | $12,000–$26,000 |
| Tie-in repair | Where the two systems meet | $650–$3,000 |
Low-slope sections price by area rather than as part of the shingle square count, which is why a house with a large sunroom costs more than its total square footage suggests. Any quote that prices the whole roof as shingles has not accounted for the low-slope areas. For what drives roof prices across Dane County, see our 2026 new roof cost guide.
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Fitchburg Roofing Questions
Almost certainly because it should never have been shingled. Asphalt is not rated below roughly 3:12, and on a low-slope porch water moves slowly enough that wind drives it back under the courses. No quality of installation fixes a material that is wrong for the pitch. It needs a membrane system — EPDM, TPO or modified bitumen.
It is the line where a low-slope roof terminates into the steep roof above it, and on a Fitchburg house it is where leaks originate more often than anywhere else. The membrane has to run up under the shingles and be flashed properly. It is the fiddliest hour of the whole job, which is exactly why it gets rushed.
Fitchburg, even if your mailing address says Madison. Fitchburg shares the 53711, 53713 and 53575 ZIP codes, so plenty of residents get Madison mail. The permit follows the municipal boundary, not the postal one. We pull it either way as part of the job, but it is worth knowing whose rules apply to your property. If your home sits inside Madison city limits, our page on roofing in Madison covers the city’s rules.
Not if the pitch is below about 3:12, and most sunroom roofs are. Matching appearance is not worth a roof that will leak. There are membrane options in darker colours that read reasonably from the ground, and on a low-slope roof you rarely see it from the yard anyway.
Faster than anywhere else we work. Fitchburg is seven miles from our shop on S. Stoughton Road — closer than much of Madison. Emergency tarping is same-day and usually within a couple of hours.
Wisconsin allows two layers and we generally will not do it. You cannot inspect the decking through a layover, the second layer runs hotter and fails early, and on a shallow-pitch roof the added thickness makes flashing and tie-in detail harder to execute properly.
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