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Roof inspection checklist

A roof does not fail everywhere at once. It fails at the ridge, in a valley, at one chimney — and an inspection that wanders misses exactly those places. This checklist walks the roof by zone, in the order a roofer walks it, and prints as a findings sheet.

Two-colour print of a whole roof with its zones visible
The whole roof from below, every zone in view.
Roof inspection — by zone

Walk the roof in this order. Tick as you go; print the sheet for the file.

0 / 28

nothing checked yet — 28 items across 6 zones

Ridge and hips

Field

Valleys

Flashing and penetrations

Eaves, gutters and drainage

Attic and structure

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How to use the sheet

Do the attic first, before you get on the roof. Daylight through the deck, frost on the sheathing and blocked soffits tell you where to look from above and are invisible from outside. Then walk the roof from ridge downward, so anything you dislodge falls onto ground you have already inspected. Photograph every defect with something for scale.

Twice a year, and after every storm

Spring and autumn catch the two failure seasons — winter ice damage and summer heat movement. After hail or high wind, walk it again the same week, because insurance deadlines start running from the date of loss rather than the date you noticed. The storm damage guide covers what to look for, and the claim guide covers what to do with it.

Do not walk a roof you should not walk

Above 8/12, wet, frosted, mossy, tile, slate or any metal roof — inspect from a ladder at the eave, from the ground with binoculars, or from a drone. A tile roof breaks under boots and a metal roof is a slide. Check the pitch first on the pitch calculator.

What the findings mean

Two or more field-wide defects on a roof past twenty years is a replacement conversation. Defects confined to flashing, valleys or penetrations on an otherwise sound field are a repair — usually a cheap one, and usually the actual source of the leak. The repair cost guide prices each of them.

Related

Sources

  1. Fixr, Roof Inspection Cost (updated 31 January 2025) — read 2026-09-04
  2. International Building Code 2021 §1202.2.1, attic ventilation — read 2026-09-04