What to Expect During a Roof Inspection

Before anyone gets on the roof

The visit usually starts on the ground and inside. From the yard the inspector looks at the roof as a whole, the lines of the slopes, any obvious missing or dark patches, the gutters, and where the downspouts drain. A dip in a ridge or granules piling up at the base of a downspout can be spotted before the ladder comes off the truck.

Inside matters just as much. Ceiling stains, a musty smell in an upstairs closet, or daylight showing through the attic boards all point to water that has already found a way in.

If you have noticed anything like that, say so at the start. It tells the inspector where to look hardest once they are up top.

On the roof, slope by slope

Once the inspector is up there, the work turns methodical. Every slope gets walked and photographed, not just the one facing the street. The field of shingles is checked for curling, cracking, granule loss and the soft bruises that hail leaves behind, and damaged spots often get ringed in chalk so they show up clearly in the photos.

Then come the parts that leak first. Most roofs do not fail in the open field of shingles, they fail at the transitions, so the flashing around chimneys, skylights, vents and wall lines gets a close look.

The inspector checks the pipe boots, the valleys where two slopes meet, and the drip edge along the eaves. Ventilation gets checked too, because a poorly vented attic overheats the shingles from underneath and they age early.

How long it takes

On a typical Columbia house the roof part usually runs under an hour, sometimes longer on a big or cut-up roof with a lot of valleys and dormers. After that there is the part that actually helps you, which is going through the photos together. You do not have to be home for the roof to get inspected, but it helps to be there for the walkthrough so you can ask questions while the pictures are in front of you.

What you should get at the end

A useful inspection ends with a straight answer. You should come away knowing the rough age and condition of the roof, whether it has damage and how serious it is, whether that damage looks like storm or ordinary wear, and what your realistic options are. If the roof has life left, a good inspector will tell you that and leave it alone.

If there is storm damage, the slope-by-slope photos matter more than usual, because an insurance claim turns on documentation.

We scope storm damage in Xactimate, the same estimating platform your carrier prices from, and we will meet your adjuster at the house and walk the same slopes with them. What no honest roofer will do is promise you an approval, because that decision belongs to the carrier.

Questions worth asking

You learn a lot about a roofer from how they answer a few plain questions. Ask whether they got on the roof or just looked from the ground. Ask to see photos of every slope, not a general summary.

Ask whether the damage they found is storm related or wear, and how they can tell. And ask what happens if the roof turns out to be fine.

When you are ready, you can book a free roof inspection and we will call back to set a time, walk the roof, and show you the photos. If a storm just came through, the signs of storm and hail damage are worth a read first, and if the inspection points to bigger work, our roof replacement page walks through what that involves.

Not sure whether it is time yet? Our guide on when to replace a roof in Maryland covers the signs to watch for.

Frequently asked questions