Ann Arbor Roofing Co.: Roof Replacement, Metal Roofing, Flat Roofs & Storm Damage Repair

A replacement starts with a tear-off. Under Michigan's code, a roof replacement removes every existing layer down to the deck. That's when soft or delaminated plywood gets cut out and replaced. Next comes the ice barrier. Ann Arbor's January mean is 24 °F, under the code's 25 °F trigger, so the self-adhering membrane is required from the eave edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall. Underlayment covers the rest of the deck. Drip edge goes on at the eaves and rakes, and new step flashing, pipe boots and a ridge vent finish the job before the first course of shingles.

Most Ann Arbor roofs are asphalt. Three-tab shingles are flat and the cheapest. Architectural (dimensional) shingles are laminated in two layers, which gives the shadow lines you see from the street, and HomeGuide puts them at 20 to 30 years against 15 to 20 for three-tab. Two ratings are worth reading on the wrapper. ASTM D3161 Class F means the shingle passed a 110 mph fan test. UL 2218 Class 4 means it survived a 2-inch steel ball dropped from 20 feet, and some insurers discount for it. Michigan's code wants at least four nails per strip shingle, and asphalt can't go on a pitch flatter than 2:12.

Standing seam steel comes in long panels from ridge to eave, joined by raised seams with no screws through the face. Snap-lock panels click together. Mechanically seamed panels get folded shut with a seamer and hold better on long runs and low pitches, which suits low-slope roofs like the ones on many mid-century houses. Metal shingles are the other route: steel pressed to look like shingles, slate or shake. HomeGuide gives metal a 30 to 80+ year life. On a roof over a door or a deck, ask about snow guards, because 61 inches of snow a year has to land somewhere.

Porches, garages, dormers and rear additions often have a roof too flat for shingles. Those get a membrane. EPDM is the black rubber sheet, glued or held down, with seams taped. TPO is a white sheet whose seams are welded with hot air into one piece. Modified bitumen is the torch-down or peel-and-stick option. HomeGuide puts EPDM at 15 to 20 years and TPO at 10 to 25. Flat roofs fail where water sits, so the fix for chronic ponding is often tapered insulation under the membrane to push water toward the drain or scupper.

Almost one in five Ann Arbor homes was built in 1939 or earlier, and some of them still carry natural slate. Good slate outlives most of what's nailed to it. The National Park Service puts Vermont and New York slate at about 125 years, so a leaking slate roof usually needs flashing work and a few replaced pieces. Tearing it off is rarely the answer. Synthetic slate is the lighter stand-in when slate is past saving, at $9 to $12 per square foot installed against $10 to $30 for natural slate. In a historic district, a change of material goes to the city first (more on that below).

NOAA's storm records list 60 hail reports in Washtenaw County from 2015 through 2024. Forty-four of them were an inch or larger, and 1.5-inch hail fell in Ann Arbor in April 2020 and again in July 2023. Hail knocks the granules off shingles and bruises the mat underneath, which shortens the roof's life even when nothing leaks yet. Wind does the obvious damage: lifted tabs, creased shingles, limbs through the deck. Photograph the damage before anything is repaired. Michigan insurers have to tell you within 30 days what they need for a claim, and pay within 60 days of proof of loss.

Most leaks start at a joint. The open field of shingles is rarely the problem. Chimneys, sidewalls, skylights and vent pipes all depend on flashing, and the rubber boot around a plumbing vent tends to crack long before the shingles around it wear out. Valleys carry the most water on the roof. Nail pops and missing tabs come next. A good repair finds where the water gets in, which can be several feet uphill from the stain on your ceiling, and replaces flashing instead of smearing sealant over it.

When a limb comes through the roof or wind peels off a section, the first job is keeping water out. A crew tarps the opening, battens the tarp down with wood strips and clears debris, and the permanent repair waits for dry weather and the insurance adjuster. If water is coming through a ceiling, turn off power to any fixture it's near and put a bucket under it. On 24 August 2023, NOAA's storm log estimated 61-knot (about 70 mph) thunderstorm winds in Ann Arbor, with trees down on cars.

A roof inspection covers the surface and the attic. Outside: worn or missing shingles, granule loss, flashing, the condition of vents and gutters, soft spots on the deck. Inside: water stains, daylight around penetrations, frost or mold on the sheathing in winter, and whether the attic is vented and insulated.

Seamless aluminum gutters are rolled on site to the length of each run, so the only joints are at the corners. K-style is the common profile; half-round suits older and historic houses. Downspouts should land water several feet out from the foundation. Gutter guards cut cleaning under mature trees. One thing to know: gutters don't cause ice dams, but a clogged gutter full of ice makes one worse and can pull the gutter off the fascia.

Michigan State University Extension puts the cause of ice dams plainly: unwanted heat in the attic, from too little insulation or too little ventilation. Air sealing and insulation keep house heat out of the attic. Ventilation pulls cold outside air in at the soffits and lets it out at the ridge, which keeps the roof deck cold enough that snow doesn't melt and refreeze at the eaves. Michigan's code asks for at least 1 square foot of net vent area per 150 square feet of attic (1 per 300 under listed exceptions).

A skylight leak is almost always a flashing leak. Deck-mounted skylights use a manufacturer's flashing kit that weaves into the shingle courses. Curb-mounted units sit on a raised frame and suit flat roofs and replacements of older units. If a roof replacement is coming within a few years, swap aging skylights at the same time: the flashing gets replaced anyway, and you avoid cutting into a new roof later.