Walking the Roof With a Home Inspector

Walking the roof is one of the more dangerous parts of a home inspector’s job, but it’s an important one.

When you choose a home inspector to look at a property you intend to purchase, make sure they either walk the roof or have a drone license to conduct an aerial inspection when a roof can’t be accessed safely. The roof is one of the five major parts of a house that you need to be concerned with at the inspection stage, so it’s important that you get a clear picture of this crucial and expensive home system.

Here are some interesting finds from roof inspections:

Hiding in Plain Sight

@greenscenehome

Everything looks great on this roof until a hhigh wind or a storm rolls through and these shingles just blow right off. Something you’d want to know about before the home changes hands. homeinspection roofing roof #dallasrealestate #askahomeinspector #homeinspector

♬ original sound – Green Scene Home Inspections – Green Scene Home Inspections

It’s an unfortunate truth that people will try to hide problems to avoid having to complete expensive repairs. From a distance, this roof looks in perfect condition, but up close, you can see the problem clearly.

The next storm or high wind that blows through will take these shingles with it. Hopefully, the current owner’s warranty will cover the repair, but this is something the buyer will want to take care of before purchasing the property.

Whoops

When you think you’re going in a straight line and then… This might not seem like that big of a deal, and you’d probably never see it from the street, but a mistake like this could void the warranty on the roof. The best thing to do would be to have the contractor who installed this fix it properly right away so that there won’t be any problems in the future.

New Roof, Same Old Problems

@greenscenehome

Even a brand new roof may have problems. Get your new construction homes inspected. #newconstructionhome #newconstruction #dallasrealestate #askahomeinspector #homeinspector

♬ original sound – Green Scene Home Inspections – Green Scene Home Inspections

Just because it’s a brand new house with a brand new roof doesn’t mean you don’t need an inspection. Case in point: Inspector Adrian found multiple problems on this new construction. The drain spouts are aimed to drain directly onto the roof. There are end caps in place preventing plumbing vent pipes from venting properly. And there’s a hole plugged with a wood cap that isn’t going to prevent water or anything else from entering the structure.

---

When we talk about having a home, the phrase “a roof over our heads” is often used. It comes down to the roof because it’s just that important to the home as a whole. So when you’re purchasing a home, make sure you find out as much as you can about the roof so you know what to expect as it ages.