A two-story farmhouse on open ground near Maple Hill, with nothing between it and the Kansas wind. We first looked at this roof in September 2023. By January the house was telling us the rest of the story, and in March 2024 the roof came off.
What the inspection found
The obvious problem was hail. Bruised shingles across the slopes, granules knocked loose, impacts marked in chalk as we worked the roof.
The less obvious problem was the wood. At the rake edges and along the eaves the decking and fascia had been taking water for a while — delaminated plywood, fascia boards soft enough to push a finger through. That is not storm damage. That is a roof edge that had been quietly losing for years, and no amount of new shingles over the top of it would have fixed it.
Then winter confirmed it
We came back out in January. Ice was hanging the full length of the eave, and the fascia behind it was rotted through.
Ice dams are a symptom, not a cause. Snow melts on the warm part of a roof, runs down to the cold overhang, and refreezes there. The ridge of ice backs water up under the shingles, and the water goes into the deck, the fascia and eventually the wall. On a house like this one the usual culprits are heat escaping into the attic and intake ventilation that cannot keep the deck cold — which is why the fix has to reach past the shingles.
What we did
- Full tear-off down to the deck — no layovers over damaged wood.
- Damaged decking and rotted fascia cut out and replaced.
- Ice-and-water membrane at the eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment over the full deck.
- Architectural asphalt shingles installed to manufacturer specification, with new flashings, pipe boots and hip-and-ridge cap.
- New fascia, soffit and seamless gutter along the rebuilt eave.
- Full magnet sweep of the yard and drive before the crew left.
The result
A roof edge that had been failing for years is now solid wood, properly flashed and draining into new gutter. The house looks the way it should from the road, and from the air the roof reads clean and consistent across every dormer and valley — which on a cut-up roof like this one is the part that takes the time.
Common questions
Can you just replace the shingles and leave the decking?
Not when the decking is delaminated or soft. Shingles are fastened into the deck — if the wood will not hold a nail, the new roof is only as good as the rotten board under it. Bad sheathing comes out.
Why do I get ice dams on one roof and not another?
It usually comes down to how much heat reaches the underside of the deck and how well the attic breathes. A roof that stays uniformly cold sheds snow evenly. A roof with warm spots melts snow that refreezes at the cold overhang, and that ridge of ice backs water up under the shingles.
Do you work rural properties outside Topeka?
Yes. We serve Topeka, Northeast Kansas and the Kansas City metro, including small towns and farm properties well outside city limits.
If you are in Wabaunsee County or anywhere around Topeka and your roof edge, gutters or attic are not behaving the way they should, request a free inspection or see our Topeka service area.