Roof Inspection

A roof inspection is a contractor on the roof, not a man with binoculars in the driveway. He walks every slope, checks the shingle condition and the seal, looks at every flashing and boot, checks the valleys and the ridge, and then goes in the attic to look at the underside of the decking for stains, daylight and soft boards. He comes down with a written report and, if there is anything wrong, an estimate.

There are three times an inspection earns its keep. Buying a house, when a general inspector has flagged the roof and you want somebody who actually does roofs to say what it needs. After a storm, when you need the damage documented before an insurance claim. And when the roof is past fifteen years and you want to know whether you are looking at one more repair or a replacement next year.

An inspection should never be a sales visit in disguise. A contractor who finds nothing wrong should say so. If an inspector tells you the whole roof needs replacing and cannot show you photographs of why, get a second opinion.

Whatever the problem turns out to be, the first step is the same: describe it, say where the house is, and one independent roofing contractor working in your town contacts you to look at it. No charge for being connected, and no obligation once he has.