Seasonal

Fall Roof Maintenance in Madison: The October Checklist

By Madison Roof Repairs · September 18, 2026 · 8 min read

The first measurable snow in Madison usually lands in November and the first real ice dams follow in December or January. Everything you can do to make the winter easier on the roof has to happen in the next five or six weeks, while the maples are dropping and the ground isn't frozen. Most fall roof maintenance you can do yourself from the ground or a stepladder. Two things are worth paying for.

1. Clean the gutters — twice

Madison's silver maples drop seeds in May and leaves in October, and the oaks hold theirs until the first hard freeze. Gutters packed with leaves freeze into a block of ice at the first cold snap, and that block is the foundation of every ice dam that forms on top of it. Clean them once now and once after the oaks let go, usually early November.

While you're there, run water through the downspouts. A downspout that drains onto the driveway or the front walk is a skating rink by January; extend it onto the lawn.

2. Clear the valleys

Leaves and seeds pile up where two roof planes meet, hold moisture against the shingles all winter, and give snow something to grab. A leaf blower from a ladder handles it on a one-story; on a two-story, leave it to whoever's doing the gutters.

3. Look at the trees

Every summer storm brings down silver maple limbs, and the dead ash trees the emerald ash borer left standing come down under snow load. Any limb within six feet of the roof or hanging over it should be cut back now, before the ground freezes and the tree service's schedule fills up. Branches that rub the shingles wear them through by spring.

4. Check the attic on a cold morning

Pick the first morning it's below freezing and go up with a flashlight before the sun hits the roof. You're looking for:

• Frost on the underside of the deck or on nail tips. That's warm, wet house air reaching the roof. It melts and drips on sunny days, and it's the same heat that builds ice dams.
• Insulation depth. R-49 or more is commonly recommended here, which is about 14 inches of blown cellulose or 16 of fiberglass. Most 1960s ranches in Westmorland and Nakoma have five or six. If you can see the tops of the ceiling joists, you're well short of it.
• Insulation stuffed into the eaves. It blocks the soffit vents, which is why the attic doesn't breathe.
• Bath fan ducts that end in the attic instead of outside. Every shower pumps a gallon of water vapor onto the deck.
• The attic hatch. If it's a bare piece of plywood, it leaks more heat than any window in the house. Weatherstrip it and put a foam board on top.

Fixing what you find is the real ice dam prevention. Air-sealing the ceiling penetrations is a weekend with a few cans of foam; adding insulation is a contractor job. Focus on Energy, the state efficiency program, has offered rebates on attic air-sealing and insulation; check current offers.

5. Walk around the house

From the ground, on a bright day:

• Shingles lifted, curled or missing, especially along the eaves and on the west slope
• Flashing at the chimney that's pulled away or shows a bead of old caulk
• Pipe boots that look cracked or split (binoculars help)
• Gutters pulling away from the fascia or sagging between hangers
• Fascia and soffit boards that are stained or soft

Anything you find, photograph. Some of it is a fall repair; some of it can wait. Our post on which repairs need to happen before winter sorts them.

6. Buy a roof rake, and know how to use it

A roof rake is a wide blade on a long pole for pulling snow off the lower part of the roof from the ground. On a one-story house, clearing the first three or four feet above the eave after every heavy snow removes the raw material ice dams are made of. It's the most effective $50 a Madison homeowner can spend on the roof. Rules: stay on the ground, don't scrape to the shingles, don't try it on a two-story where you can't reach, and don't knock down icicles with it — the ice behind them is attached to the shingles.

7. The two things worth paying for

A roof inspection in October ($150–$300 is typical; ask whether it's credited toward work) puts eyes on the roof, the eaves and the attic before winter closes it. If the roof is over 15 years old or has ice-dammed before, it's worth it. See the roof inspection page for what it covers.

Any open leak or lifted flashing should be fixed now, while shingles can still be worked and sealed. After the first hard freeze, a repair is a temporary one until April. The roof repair page has prices; most fall repairs are $300–$1,500.

A two-weekend plan

Weekend one, mid-October. Clean the gutters and run water through the downspouts. Blow out the valleys on a one-story. Walk around the house with binoculars and photograph anything that looks off. Call about any limbs over the roof.

Weekend two, early November, after the oaks drop. Clean the gutters again. Go into the attic on the first freezing morning. Weatherstrip the hatch and seal what you can reach. Hang the roof rake in the garage where you can find it in January.

If you've never looked at a roof before

Shingles should lie flat, in straight lines from one end of the roof to the other. Look for any that stand up at the edges, sit crooked, or show a darker patch where the granules are gone. The metal around the chimney and at walls should hug the brick or siding with no gap. Pipe boots — the rubber collars around vent pipes — should be smooth, not cracked. Gutters should run in a straight line with a slight slope toward each downspout. If something looks wrong and you can't tell what it is, a photo is enough to ask about.

Mistakes that make winter worse

• Cleaning the gutters once, before the oaks have dropped.
• Leaving downspouts draining onto walks and driveways.
• Blowing new insulation over the soffit vents while topping up the attic.
• Hanging heat cable on a roof that only needs the attic sealed.
• Climbing onto a wet or frosty roof to clear leaves.

Questions to ask if you hire help

• Will you check the flashing and boots while you're doing the gutters?
• Can you send photos of anything that looks wrong?
• Are gutter guards worth it under my trees, and how do they handle ice?
• If you find a problem, will you price it in writing before fixing it?

What to have on hand before the first snow

• A roof rake with enough pole to reach the first few feet above the eave
• A good flashlight for the attic
• Binoculars for checking the roof from the yard
• A few cans of low-expansion foam, and weatherstripping for the hatch
• A tarp and a bucket, in case a thaw finds a leak
• The number of a roofer you've already talked to, so you're not choosing one during a storm

None of it is expensive, and having it ready in November means you're not driving around looking for a roof rake the morning after a foot of snow.

Signs it's more than a fall job

Some things you find in October aren't upkeep at all. Daylight through the deck, a soft spot near the eave, heavy granules in the gutter of an old roof, or stains in more than one place in the attic all point to a roof near the end. Photograph them and get a written opinion before winter, so you know whether you're planning a fix or a replacement.

Fall roof maintenance you can skip

You don't need a roof cleaning before winter. You don't need heat cables unless a roofer has told you the roof's geometry gives you no other choice. And you don't need to worry about a light algae streak on the north slope; it'll be there in spring, exactly as ugly, and no worse.

Do the gutters twice, clear the valleys, cut the limbs, check the attic on a cold morning, and get the rake. That's a Madison fall.