A roofer who glances up from the driveway and says "looks fine" has not inspected your roof. A real inspection looks at every part of it, up close, and ends with something you can keep: photos and a written report. Here is what that should cover.
When to get one
- After a hail or wind storm passes over your street.
- When the roof is 10 years old or more, once a year.
- Before you buy or sell a house.
- When you see a water stain, grit in the gutters, or a shingle in the yard.
What gets checked on the roof
- Shingles. Hail marks, cracks, curled edges, missing pieces, and bare spots where the grit has worn off.
- Flashing. The metal where the roof meets a wall, a chimney or a valley. Loose or rusted flashing is one of the most common leak spots.
- Pipe boots. The rubber collars around the pipes. Texas sun cracks them.
- Vents and caps. Dents, rust and loose fasteners. Dents on soft metal are also a clue about hail.
- Valleys. The low lines where two slopes meet. They carry the most water.
- Ridge. The cap shingles along the peak, which take the most wind.
- Gutters and drip edge. Dents, sagging, and how much shingle grit has collected.
What gets checked from the inside
If you let them, a good inspector also looks in the attic with a flashlight. Water stains on the wood, damp insulation, daylight through the boards, and poor airflow all show up there first. A hot, stuffy attic bakes a roof from below and shortens its life.
Drone or ladder?
Both have a place. A drone photographs every part of the roof, including steep slopes that are risky to walk, and gives you clear pictures from above. A hand check up close tells you if a mark is soft, cracked or only cosmetic. The best inspections use the drone first and a closer look by hand wherever something needs it.
What the report should show
- Photos of each slope of the roof, with the date on them.
- A close photo of anything worth noting, with a plain note on what it is.
- What needs fixing now, what can wait, and what is fine.
- The age and type of roof, as best the inspector can tell.
If the roof is fine, a good report says so. Be careful with anyone who finds a problem on every roof they look at.
What to do next
Legacy Roofing offers a free drone roof survey. Someone needs to be home for the flight. You see the pictures before we leave and get a written photo report that is yours to keep. If anything needs work, we tell you what it is and what it costs to fix. Read what hail damage looks like to know what the photos may show. We work across Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Burleson and Cleburne.
