Ice Dams, Hail, or a Roof Reaching Its Age?
GAF Certified and family-owned in West Allis, the city directly north of you. Roofing Milwaukee County since 2003.
GAF Certified | Insured & Bonded | Lifetime Workmanship WarrantyRoofing Contractors in Greenfield, WI
Family-Owned in West Allis | GAF Certified | Roofing Milwaukee County Since 2003
All City Contracting roofs homes throughout Greenfield from our shop in West Allis, the city directly north of you. Roof replacement, repair, storm damage and insurance claims, siding, gutters, and windows.
Greenfield is a postwar city. It incorporated in 1957 and filled in through the sixties, and the median home here dates to 1968. That means most of this city's roofs are running on the same clock, and most of them are carrying attic ventilation designed for a house that has since been re-insulated. That combination is why ice dams are the defining roofing problem in Greenfield.
We get on the roof, check the layer count, decking, flashing, and ventilation, and hand you the numbers in writing before you decide anything.
GAF Certified, fully insured, fully bonded, family-owned since 2003. Every roof carries our lifetime workmanship warranty. Request your free estimate.
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Roofing in Greenfield, From a Crew Based on the Other Side of the City Line
Greenfield is a city of roughly 37,800 people packed into about eleven and a half square miles of Milwaukee County, and it has an unusual history for a suburb. It was the last municipality in the county to incorporate, in 1957, by which point it had been reduced to about a third of its original size as neighboring communities annexed pieces of it on their way to becoming cities themselves.
What that history left behind is a housing stock that went up in a compressed window. The median home in Greenfield was built in 1968. There are older pockets and there is newer infill, but the bulk of this city is postwar and mid-century, and that has a direct consequence for roofs: Greenfield's roofs are largely on the same clock. When a neighborhood here starts needing roofs, it tends to need them all at once.
All City Contracting is based in West Allis, the city directly north of Greenfield, at 3044 South 92nd Street. We have roofed Milwaukee County homes since 2003, we are GAF Certified, a credential fewer than 7% of U.S. roofing contractors hold, and we are fully insured and fully bonded. Every roof we install carries our lifetime workmanship warranty on top of the manufacturer coverage.
A City Built in One Generation Has One Generation's Problems
A roofer working a city with two hundred years of housing has to diagnose from scratch every time. Greenfield is not that city. The median build year here is 1968, and that single number tells you most of what a roof in this city is likely to be dealing with.
Attics designed for one house, now serving a different one
Homes from this era were built with attic ventilation sized for the insulation levels of their day. Nearly all of them have since been re-insulated, often several times, and blown-in insulation has a way of burying soffit vents that were already marginal. The attic stops breathing, and nobody notices until the symptoms show up on the roof. This is the single most common underlying condition we find in Greenfield, and it is the reason a lot of second roofs here failed early.
Warm attic, cold eave, water backing up under the shingles
When warm air collects in the attic it melts snow on the upper roof. That water runs down to the cold overhang, refreezes, and builds a ridge of ice that pushes meltwater back up under the shingles and into the house. Homeowners blame the shingles. The shingles are rarely the cause. Nailing a new roof over an unfixed airflow problem just resets the clock on the same failure, which is why we assess intake and exhaust balance as part of every Greenfield estimate rather than treating it as an upsell.
A lot of these homes got a lay-over in the eighties or nineties
A house built in 1968 is on its second or third roof by now, and many of them received a second layer laid over the first during a period when that was routine practice. Wisconsin caps a roof at two layers. If your home already carries two, the next roof is a full tear-off with no shortcut available. Knowing your layer count before you take quotes changes which quotes are even legitimate.
Long-tenured owners and roofs nobody has looked at closely
Greenfield skews older than most of the metro, with roughly one in five residents aged 65 or over. A lot of these are original or long-tenured owners, which means roofs that have been maintained but not necessarily inspected, and paperwork on past work that may be decades old. We offer military, first responder, and senior discounts, and annual roof inspections on request at no charge, because the cheapest roof problem is the one found early.
Greenfield Handles Roofing Inspections Differently Than the City Next Door
This catches out-of-area contractors constantly. Greenfield does not inspect everything in-house, and the office that handles your roof is not the office that handles your siding. A crew that does not know that will call the wrong number, or skip the call entirely.
Roofing inspections are contracted out Third party
The City of Greenfield contracts roofing inspections along with decks, garages, alterations, electrical, and several other categories to SafeBuilt, an outside inspection agency, rather than handling them through its own staff. Siding, fencing, plumbing, and gas piping stay with the city's Inspection Services Division. Two different offices, two different phone numbers, depending on what is being done to your house.
The roofing permit requirement is narrower than you might expect Verify per address
Greenfield's published permit list specifies roofing permits for commercial properties, condos, apartments, and residential homes with three layers which is a narrower requirement than several neighboring municipalities apply to a standard single-family reroof. That does not mean the building code stops applying. Ice barrier, layer limits, and ventilation requirements are state code regardless of whether a permit is pulled, and a contractor who reads "no permit" as "no rules" is the contractor you do not want on your roof.
Commercial plan review happens locally Delegated municipality
Greenfield is a delegated municipality, meaning it conducts commercial building and HVAC plan review itself rather than routing it through the state. For commercial roofing work in the city, that generally means a more direct process than in municipalities that send everything to DSPS.
Requirements change, and they vary by property type. We confirm the current requirement with the correct office for your specific address and pull whatever is required before we start. You should never have to make that call yourself. (414) 385-7003.
The Rules That Govern a Greenfield Reroof
Wisconsin residential construction runs under the state Uniform Dwelling Code administered by DSPS. These are the four items that decide whether a roof holds up, and the four that traveling crews skip most often.
Two layers is the ceiling. A third is not an option.
Wisconsin caps a roof at two layers of covering. If your home already carries two and in a city built in the sixties, many do the next roof is a full tear-off, full stop. A crew offering a third layer to save you the tear-off cost is offering you a failed inspection, a voided manufacturer warranty, and a problem at resale.
Ice barrier is not optional in this climate.
State code requires an ice barrier membrane at the eaves for homes in our climate zone. Given that ice damming is the defining roofing problem in Greenfield's housing stock, this is not a detail to leave to a contractor's discretion. Skipping it is the most common shortcut on a cut-rate reroof, and you will not find out until February.
Ventilation gets corrected, not covered up.
Intake and exhaust have to be balanced. Blocked soffits and undersized ridge venting are the root cause of most ice dams and most premature shingle failure in this city's postwar housing. We assess the attic as part of the estimate rather than nailing a new roof over an old airflow problem.
Flashing is stepped and counter-flashed. Never tarred.
Chimneys, skylights, and wall intersections are where roofs leak, and a smear of roof cement over old flashing is a patch with a two-year clock on it. We cut in proper step and counter flashing at every transition.
Hail Season, and the Crews That Follow It
Peak hail months across southeastern Wisconsin are May, June, and July, with storms tracking west to east. Thunderstorm downbursts here can push past 80 mph with no warning. And because hail is driven at an angle, damage concentrates on the wind-facing slopes which frequently means the north and east faces take nearly all of it while the street-facing side looks untouched. That is why so much of it gets missed.
In a city where the housing stock is the same age across whole neighborhoods, one storm can create a lot of similar-looking damage at once. Within days, out-of-state crews arrive and start knocking. Here is the difference, plainly.
The crew that knocked on your door
- closeInspects from the driveway or a ladder, quotes on the spot, wants a signature today.
- closeOften not licensed or bonded in Wisconsin, and frequently subcontracts the work to whoever is available.
- closeMay offer to cover or discount your deductible, which is not legal in Wisconsin and puts your claim at risk.
- closeDoes not know that Greenfield contracts its roofing inspections out, because they have never worked here before.
- closeLeaves the state when the season ends. The workmanship warranty leaves with them.
All City Contracting
- checkFull inspection on the roof, including the wind-facing slopes where the damage actually is, with dated photo documentation.
- checkLicensed, insured, and bonded in Wisconsin, working out of a West Allis office since 2003.
- checkWe meet your adjuster on site and run the claim from first inspection to final repair.
- checkWe know which office handles what in this city, and we make the call ourselves.
- checkLifetime workmanship warranty from a company that will still be one city away in ten years.
Storm damage you suspect but cannot see? Request a free documented inspection before you file anything.
Recent Roofing Projects
Completed roofs from around Milwaukee County and the surrounding area.
"Man these guys are awesome. From Dave the salesman, to Chuck and Tim the President, these guys were on it. My roof was completed within 10 days of signing my contract. One day I went to work and when I came home the guys were already gone and not a speck of evidence remained that they were even there, except I had a new roof. Great price. Great local company."
Bruce W.Roofing and Exterior Services in Greenfield
Roofs are most of what we do, but we handle the full exterior envelope, which means one contractor and one accountable crew when a storm takes the roof and the siding in the same afternoon.
Residential Roofing
Full tear-off and replacement, with shingle lines matched to your roof's pitch and architecture rather than what is on the truck.
Roof Repair
Leaks, failed flashing, wind-lifted shingles, and ice dam damage. We tell you honestly whether it is a repair or a replacement.
Storm Damage & Claims
Free documented inspection, adjuster meetings, and the full claim run from first look to final nail.
Siding, Gutters & Windows
Soffit, fascia, seamless gutters, windows, and doors. Gutter and ice dam work matters more here than most homeowners expect.
We also handle commercial roofing TPO, EPDM, and modified bitumen for the retail corridors along Forest Home and Layton and the county's mixed-use property.
From First Call to Final Walkthrough
- Free on-roof estimate. We get on the roof, not just the driveway. Decking condition, layer count, flashing, chimney, and attic ventilation all get checked, and you get a written estimate with any recommended upgrades called out separately.
- Materials matched to the house. We walk you through shingle lines and pick based on your roof's pitch and architecture rather than what we happen to have on the truck.
- The right office, the right paperwork. We confirm the current requirement for your address with whichever office handles it and pull whatever is required.
- Tear-off and install. Most Greenfield homes finish in one to two days. Jobs that turn up rotted decking or need ventilation correction can run a day longer. We protect landscaping, manage the dumpster, and magnet-sweep the property twice before we leave.
- Walkthrough and warranty. We walk the finished roof with you, register the manufacturer warranty in your name, and put the lifetime workmanship warranty in writing. Annual inspections are available on request afterward at no charge.
Greenfield Roofing Questions
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Greenfield?
Greenfield's published permit list specifies roofing permits for commercial properties, condos, apartments, and residential homes with three layers, which is narrower than what several neighboring municipalities require. Requirements change and they vary by property type, so we confirm the current rule for your specific address before we start. Be careful with any contractor who treats "no permit required" as "no code applies" ice barrier, layer limits, and ventilation requirements are state code either way.
Why does my Greenfield home get ice dams every winter?
Almost always attic ventilation, not the shingles. Homes in this city were largely built in the sixties with venting sized for the insulation of that era, and most have since been re-insulated in ways that block the soffit intake. Warm air collects, snow melts on the upper roof, water refreezes at the cold eave, and the ice ridge forces water back up under the shingles. We assess intake and exhaust balance as part of the estimate, because replacing shingles without fixing airflow just resets the clock.
Can I put a new roof over my existing shingles?
Only if your roof currently has one layer. Wisconsin caps a roof at two layers of covering, so a home already carrying two needs a full tear-off. Given that a lot of Greenfield homes received a lay-over during the eighties or nineties, this comes up often here. If a contractor offers you a third layer to save money, that roof will not pass inspection and the shingle manufacturer will not warranty it.
How much does a new roof cost in Greenfield?
We will not quote you a range here, because the ranges you find online are so wide they are useless. Your number depends on square footage, pitch, how cut-up the roofline is, the shingle line you pick, decking condition, and whether ventilation or flashing work is needed. What we will do is get on your roof, check all of it, and hand you a written estimate with the line items visible. Request one here.
My neighbors are all getting new roofs. Should I be worried about mine?
It is worth a look. Greenfield neighborhoods were largely built out together, which means the roofs went on together and tend to reach end of service life together. If several houses on your block are being reroofed, yours is probably on a similar clock. That is not a reason to panic, but it is a good reason to get a free inspection rather than waiting for a leak to tell you.
I think we got hail but I cannot see anything. Is it worth an inspection?
Yes. Hail bruises the granule surface in a way that is genuinely invisible from the ground while still cutting years off the roof's life. Hail also comes in at an angle, so damage concentrates on the wind-facing slopes, which often means the north and east faces while the street side looks perfect. An inspection is free and it creates the documentation your claim depends on.
Can you replace a roof in the winter?
Yes, and we do it every year. Modern shingles and adhesives perform reliably in cold weather when the crew installing them knows how to handle them. Late spring through early fall is easier scheduling, but if you have an active leak or storm damage in January, waiting until May is the expensive option.
How far is Greenfield from your office?
We are at 3044 South 92nd Street in West Allis, the city directly north of Greenfield close enough that we are on site fast after a storm and still here when you need a warranty call answered five years from now.
Get Your Free Greenfield Estimate
A real inspection on the roof, a written estimate you can read line by line, and the same crew from tear-off to final nail. That is how we have earned Milwaukee County's business since 2003.
Request Free Estimate Or call (414) 385-7003