Madison Roof & Leak
Baraboo, Wisconsin

Chimney and flashing leaks in Baraboo

Flashing fails more often than shingles do, and the chimney is where it fails first. Masonry and roof framing move at different rates, which over years opens the joint where counter-flashing is set into the mortar. Step flashing up the sides, counter-flashing into the brick, and the cricket behind the stack are the usual suspects on a leak where the roof itself looks fine. On older chimneys the mortar joint holding the counter-flashing is often the actual failure rather than the metal.

Call (706) 696-1888 Sauk County

What the job involves

  • Inspection of step flashing, counter-flashing, apron and cricket
  • Assessment of the mortar joint holding the counter-flashing
  • Removal and rebuild of failed flashing rather than sealant over the top
  • Photographs of the failure before work starts

Signs you need it

  • Staining on the ceiling near the chimney breast
  • Damp on the chimney breast itself, inside the house
  • Rust streaks on the shingles below the stack

Why roofs fail in Baraboo and Sauk County

Baraboo has a winter long enough and cold enough that ice damming, not storm damage, is the dominant cause of roof leaks. The mechanism is heat loss rather than weather: warm air escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper roof, the meltwater runs down and refreezes over the cold overhang, and the resulting ridge of ice backs water up beneath the shingle courses until it finds a way in. The roof itself is usually in perfect condition. Repeated through a Sauk County winter, freeze-thaw also works every flashing joint progressively looser, and spring brings hail and straight-line wind on top. The reason this matters is that fixing an ice dam leak by working on the shingles does not work — the problem is insulation and ventilation, and that is a different job.

Baraboo has a population of about 12,048, and the housing stock here sets the pattern for what fails first on a roof.

Questions about chimney and flashing leaks in Baraboo

Can you just seal it rather than rebuild the flashing?

Sealant buys a season at most. It is applied over a joint that is moving, so it cracks at the first full temperature cycle. Where flashing has genuinely failed, rebuilding it is the repair; caulk is a way of paying twice.

Could the water be coming through the brickwork rather than the roof?

It can. A cracked crown, a missing cap, or spalled brick lets water into the stack and it shows up inside looking exactly like a flashing leak. Worth checking both — they are different trades and different fixes.

Other roofing work in Baraboo

Everything we cover in Baraboo →

Chimney and flashing leaks nearby

All areas for chimney and flashing leaks →

Describe what you are seeing

You will get a straight answer on whether Baraboo needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.

Call (706) 696-1888
Call (706) 696-1888