Roof inspections

What we look at

Slopes we can walk safely, plus eaves and details we can see from a ladder when the pitch or the tile says we should stay off. Penetrations, valleys, wall flashings, chimney and skylight curbs, ridge and hip, attic ventilation if the attic is accessible, and the gutter line if gutters are part of the complaint.

We note soft deck only where it shows — from the attic, from a spongy step, or once a tear-off starts. An inspection does not x-ray the plywood.

• Roof type, approximate age if it can be supported, and what we cannot date
• Active leaks versus old stains
• Flashings and penetrations, called out one by one
• Ventilation observations, not a blower-door test
• A recommendation: maintain, repair, or plan a replacement
• Photos that match the sentences

The report you take home

You leave with a photo report organized slope by slope, not a single picture from the street. Where it helps, we mark test squares: a measured patch of shingles checked for bruises and fractures, the same kind of chalk marks you can see in the hail photo on this page. Finished roofs in that gallery are there so a recommendation has something to point at.

The report includes an estimated roof age and condition when the product and the wear support it, and a plain statement when they do not. We also note collateral damage we can see from the roof and the ground: gutters, downspouts, screens, siding, window cladding, air-conditioning units, paint chips, fences, garage doors, and mailboxes. Those notes are observations. They are not a full exterior appraisal.

Recommendations are good, better, and best when there is a real choice of material or detail. Repair stays a repair when that is the honest fix. Replacement is named when the field is done. We do not invent a third price for the same scope.

Buyers and sellers

On a sale, the useful inspection is specific. “Roof is older” does not help a negotiation. “Pipe boots are cracked, the south slope has granule loss to the mat, the north slope is fine” does. We will not invent a crisis to restart a price talk, and we will not wave off a failing valley because the seller wants a clean form.

If you already have a general home inspection that flagged the roof, send it. We are the second look on that trade, not a replacement for the inspector’s whole report.

After hail, and once a year

Post-storm inspections are about functional damage, documented in a way you can hand to an insurer if you decide to call them. Annual looks are quieter: boots, sealant that has given up, gutters full of maple and cottonwood, a lifted edge on the windward slope. On the east benches and in Woodland Hills, debris and shade matter as much as the shingle brand.

What it costs

The inspection that comes with a written estimate for work we might do is free. A stand-alone written condition report — for a sale, or for a roof you do not intend to hire us to touch — is scheduled as its own visit so the expectation is clear. Ask which one you are booking.