A roof is only as good as what’s under it.
Your decking is the structural plywood or OSB nailed to the rafters - the surface your shingles, underlayment and flashing all attach to. Years of small leaks can leave hidden rot you’d never see from the ground. We don’t roof over rotten wood: we tear off, inspect the bare deck, show you any bad sheathing, and replace it with code-compliant wood first.
·Own crews·Family-owned since 1979Elite
Find out what’s under your shingles
What’s under your shingles?
From the ground, most roofs look fine. Flip it to the deck to see what a tear-off can reveal - and why we always look.
From the ground, the roof looks fine. You’d never know what the shingles are hiding.
Strip it to the deck and the truth shows - soft, rotted and delaminated sheathing from years of small leaks. We mark it, show you, and replace it before the new roof goes on.
Illustrative - real decking is inspected on the bare deck during tear-off. If yours is sound, we’ll tell you that too.
Clues your deck is failing.
Much of it hides until the roof is off - but these are the tells worth an inspection.
A roofline that waves or dips between the rafters means the deck is flexing where it’s gone soft.
Areas that give or feel spongy when a roofer walks them during inspection are a clear sign the wood has failed.
Water marks or dark streaking on the underside of the deck or the rafters, seen from the attic, point to old leaks.
If you can see light coming through the roof boards up in the attic, the deck has gaps or has rotted through.
A damp, musty smell or visible mold in the attic points to trapped moisture - and moisture is what rots decking.
Shingles that lift or ripple can signal an uneven or failing deck underneath that won’t hold them flat.
No surprises after the roof is off.
You can’t price hidden rot until you see it - so we handle decking the honest way.
A separate line item
Decking is quoted separately because the amount can’t be known until the old roof is off - it’s never buried in the total.
Priced per sheet
We price replacement per sheet of sheathing, so the cost tracks exactly to how much actually has to be replaced.
We show you first
Before we swap a single sheet, we show you the bad wood - so you see what you’re paying for with your own eyes.
You approve it
Nothing gets replaced without your OK. If the deck is sound, there’s nothing extra to pay at all.
The result: no mid-job surprises. You approve any decking work before it happens, and on a covered insurance claim you typically pay only your deductible.
Sound wood, then two layers of defense.
Once the deck is solid, what goes on next is what keeps water out for the long haul.
Any soft or rotted sheathing is replaced with new, code-compliant wood, so the whole roof has a solid surface to nail to.
A water-resistant synthetic layer goes across the entire roof field - a secondary barrier if water ever gets past the shingles.
A self-adhering membrane seals the eaves, valleys and penetrations against ice dams and wind-driven rain, right where leaks start.
We don’t roof over rotten wood.
It’s tempting for a cheap crew to shingle right over a bad deck and move on - you’d never see it, until the new roof fails early. We won’t. The part you can’t see is exactly where we don’t cut corners: we tear off to the bare deck, inspect every square foot, and replace what’s failed before anything new goes on.
The part you can’t see is where it counts most.
A new roof is only as good as the deck under it, so that’s exactly where we’re most careful. Every soft or rotted sheet is marked, shown to you, and replaced with code-compliant wood - then sealed with synthetic underlayment and ice-and-water shield before a single shingle goes on. GAF Master Elite, FORTIFIED-trained, BBB A+, family-owned since 1979, with our own crews.
Bare deck first, shingles last.
The order matters - you can’t fix a deck you never looked at.
4.9 stars, pulled straight from Google.
4.9 / 5 · 200+ verified reviews
Decking & underlayment, answered.
What is roof decking?
It’s the structural wood layer - plywood or OSB - nailed to your rafters. Your shingles, underlayment and flashing all attach to it, so it’s the foundation of the whole roof. A roof is only as good as what’s under it.
Why would my decking need replacing?
Usually hidden rot from old leaks, delamination from moisture, or soft failing spots. If the deck is soft or rotted, nothing on top of it can hold and a new roof won’t last, so it has to be replaced with sound, code-compliant wood.
How do I know if mine is bad before tear-off?
Clues include a sagging or wavy roofline, spots that give underfoot, attic stains, or daylight through the deck. But much of it stays hidden until the old roof is off, which is why we inspect the bare deck.
What is underlayment, and do I need it?
Yes. Underlayment is the water-resistant layer between your deck and shingles, a secondary barrier if water ever gets past the shingles. We run synthetic underlayment across the whole roof field.
What is ice & water shield?
A self-adhering membrane that seals the eaves, valleys and penetrations against ice dams and wind-driven rain - exactly the spots most likely to leak in a freeze-thaw climate.
Will I pay extra for decking replacement?
Decking is often a separate line because the amount can’t be known until the old roof is off. We price it per sheet and show you the bad wood before we replace it, so there are no surprises - and on a covered claim you typically pay only your deductible.
Roof decking & underlayment across southern Wisconsin.
Two offices - our Madison, WI headquarters and our Brodhead, WI office - serving homeowners across Dane & Milwaukee counties and into southern Iowa.
Madison, WI Office
621 N Sherman Ave, Suite B5
Madison, WI 53704
Mon-Sat 8AM-5PM · 24/7 Storm Line
Brodhead, WI Office
17312 W Hafeman Rd
Brodhead, WI 53520
Mon-Sat 8AM-5PM · 24/7 Storm Line
Build the roof on solid wood.
We tear off to the bare deck, inspect every square foot, show you any rot before we touch it, and replace it with code-compliant wood - then seal it with underlayment and ice-and-water shield. Priced per sheet, no surprises. The part you can’t see is where we don’t cut corners.
- FREE INSPECTION
- WE SHOW YOU FIRST
- CODE-COMPLIANT
- PRICED PER SHEET
What’s under there?
Free inspection, straight answer.
★★★★★ 4.9/5 on 200+ Google reviews