Roof inspection checklist: what to check and what to photograph

Printable roof inspection checklist: PDFWordExcel

Before you go up

Most of what you will find on the roof has a cause or a consequence on the ground or inside the house. Start there, and you climb up already knowing what to look for.

• The front of the house with the house number in the frame. It ties every photo that follows to the right address.
• All four sides from the ground. One wide shot per side shows the roof's shape, its slopes and anything overhanging it.
• Existing damage that isn't yours. Dented gutters, cracked siding, broken landscaping, marks on the driveway. Photograph it before your crew sets a ladder or a dumpster down.
• Ceilings inside, room by room. Stains, bubbling paint and sagging drywall point you to the leak.
• The attic, if you can get in. Water stains on the decking, daylight through the boards, wet or matted insulation, and whether the vents are clear.

Getting up safely

Follow your company's fall-protection plan on every roof, even a quick one. Set the ladder on firm, level ground, extend it at least three feet above the edge, and tie it off. Don't walk a roof that is wet, icy, covered in debris or too steep to stand on safely; inspect it from the ladder, from a lift or with a drone instead, and note that in the report.

Roof covering

• Material and approximate age. Asphalt shingle, metal, tile, slate, wood shake or a membrane. Age is an estimate unless the homeowner has paperwork; say so.
• Missing, cracked, curled or lifted shingles. Note where they are, slope by slope.
• Granule loss. Bald spots on the shingles and granules collecting in the gutters and at the downspouts.
• Hail and wind damage. Many adjusters work from a marked test area on each slope. If you mark one, chalk it, count the hits, and photograph the whole square with a tape measure in the frame, then each hit close up.
• Soft spots in the decking. Walk it carefully and note where the deck gives.
• Ridge and hip caps. Cracked, lifted or missing caps let water in at the highest point.

Flashing and penetrations

Most leaks start where something passes through the roof or where the roof meets a wall.

• Chimney flashing and counter-flashing. Gaps, rust, failed sealant, mortar coming loose.
• Vent pipe boots. Cracked rubber collars are one of the most common leak sources.
• Skylights. Flashing, seals, and any condensation or staining inside.
• Valleys. Worn shingles, debris and exposed metal.
• Step flashing where a roof meets a wall. Missing or loose pieces and staining on the siding below.
• Drip edge. Present, straight and tucked under the underlayment.

Edges and drainage

• Gutters and downspouts. Pitch, sagging sections, clogs, and where the water goes when it leaves the downspout.
• Fascia and soffit. Rot, staining and gaps where animals get in.
• Ponding on flat or low-slope sections. Standing water, or the dirt rings it leaves behind.
• Signs of ice dams in cold climates: staining along the eaves and damage at the lowest course.

Wrap-up

• Measurements. Say or write them on the spot, with what they are for.
• Overall condition, slope by slope, in plain words.
• Repair or replace, and why. One or two sentences the homeowner can follow.
• The homeowner's signature if you are leaving an agreement or an estimate behind.

Which photos to take

For every finding, take three shots: a wide one that shows where on the roof it is, a medium one that shows the problem in its surroundings, and a close-up. Put a tape measure or a coin in the close-up so the size is clear. Shoot the same views on every inspection, and an adjuster or a homeowner can follow your report without you there to explain it. The guide to photos that hold up in a dispute goes into more detail.

Repair or replace: what to weigh

Homeowners want a clear answer, and adjusters want the reasons. The usual factors are:

• Age against the material's expected life.
• How widespread the damage is. A few lifted shingles on one slope is a repair; granule loss and curling across every slope usually isn't.
• The decking. Soft or rotted sections mean the covering has to come off there anyway.
• Layers. How many layers are already on the roof, and what your local code allows.
• Matching. Whether replacement shingles will match closely enough on a visible slope.

Write the recommendation down with the two or three reasons that drove it, and point to the photos that show them.

Writing up what you found

A finding should say what, where, how bad, and what to do. Compare:

• Vague: "Some flashing issues."
  Useful: "Chimney counter-flashing on the north side is pulling away from the mortar for about 18 inches; staining on the attic decking below matches. Re-flash the chimney."
• Vague: "Hail damage."
  Useful: "South slope: 11 hits in a 10-by-10-foot test square, bruised mats with granule loss. West slope: 3 hits."

Specific findings are faster for the office to price, easier for the homeowner to trust, and harder for anyone to dispute.

Common mistakes

• Close-ups with no context. A shot of a cracked boot is useless if nobody can tell which vent it was on.
• Skipping the inside. A ceiling stain photo ties the leak on the roof to the damage the homeowner actually cares about.
• Writing it up that night. Details fade fast; note findings on the roof or in the truck.
• Not recording what you couldn't inspect. If a slope was too steep or wet to walk, say so in the report.

Doing it in FieldPix

This list is built into FieldPix as the Roof Inspection checklist: load it on a job in one tap, with a photo asked for wherever it matters, or copy it and make it your own. Record a walkthrough while you inspect: say what you find and take photos as you go, and FieldPix writes notes for each area with the photos under them. Every photo carries the time, date and location burned into the image, and one tap turns the job into a PDF report with your logo. See FieldPix for roofers.

Source for the ladder rule: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(1).