What should a thorough roof inspection include?
The word inspection covers a lot of ground. It can mean a home inspector looking at the roof from a ladder during a sale, a salesperson glancing up from the driveway, a drone flyover, or a roofer walking every slope and crawling through the attic. Those are very different levels of scrutiny, and knowing the difference keeps you from making a big decision on thin evidence.
A home inspection is not a roof inspection
If you bought your house recently, you may think the roof has already been inspected. Look closely at what that meant. The InterNACHI Standards of Practice, which many home inspectors follow, require the inspector to inspect the roof covering, gutters, downspouts, vents, flashing, skylights, chimney and other penetrations from ground level or the eaves. The same standard says the inspector is not required to walk on any roof surface, predict the roof's remaining service life, or confirm proper fastening or installation of the roofing.
That is a reasonable scope for a home inspection, but it means nobody may have checked whether the shingles are still sealed, whether the nails are placed correctly, or whether the bruises on the south slope are hail. A dedicated roof inspection fills that gap.
What a thorough inspection covers
From the ground
- The overall shape of the roof: sagging ridgelines or dips in the deck.
- Gutters, downspouts and fascia for rot, separation and overflow staining.
- Soft metals such as gutters, downspouts, vents and the AC unit for hail dents. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) calls this collateral evidence, and it confirms whether hail actually fell at your house.
- Siding, window screens and soffits on each side of the house.
On the roof
- Field shingles on every slope: granule loss, cracks, curling, nail pops, and missing or creased tabs.
- Sealing: whether shingle edges are still bonded to the course below or lift freely.
- Impact marks: IBHS describes hail damage as a random pattern of impact marks, bruises you can feel as soft spots when pressing on the shingle, and cracks, with ridge caps especially vulnerable.
- Flashing at walls, chimneys, skylights and dormers, plus counterflashing and sealant joints.
- Penetrations: pipe boots, exhaust vents and any satellite or solar mounts.
- Valleys, ridges, hips and edges, including the drip edge and starter course.
In the attic
- Stains, damp spots or dark rings around nails on the underside of the decking, which the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) recommends checking with a flashlight.
- Daylight where it should not be.
- Ventilation: whether soffit intake is blocked by insulation and whether intake and exhaust are balanced, both of which ARMA flags as common problems.
- Bath and kitchen fans that vent into the attic instead of outside.
Drone vs walk-on inspections
Drones have become common, and they are genuinely useful. They are also not a full replacement for a person on the roof.
| Drone | Walk-on | |
|---|---|---|
| Steep or tall roofs | Safe and fast | Requires fall protection |
| Overall view and layout | Excellent | Limited perspective |
| Finding soft hail bruises | Cannot feel them | Can press and feel |
| Checking whether shingles are sealed | Cannot test | Can check carefully by hand |
| Close-up flashing details | Good with zoom | Best |
| Roof wear from foot traffic | None | Minimal when done carefully |
The best inspections use both: a drone for the overview and the slopes nobody should walk, and a person on the roof for the details that need touch. Anyone flying a drone as part of a business must follow the Federal Aviation Administration's Part 107 rules for small drones, so it is fair to ask whether the pilot is certified.
A word on safety. ARMA advises homeowners not to climb on their roofs, because it is dangerous and can damage the shingles. Leave the walking to the inspector.
How long it takes
For an average single-family home, a thorough inspection usually takes under an hour, longer if the roof is steep, complex, or needs a close hail count on several slopes, or if the attic is hard to reach. An inspection that takes ten minutes from the driveway is not the same product.
What you should receive
- Photos of every problem, dated and labeled by slope or location, so you can see what the inspector saw.
- Photos of the good areas too, so you have a baseline for the future.
- A plain summary: sound, needs repair, or needs replacement, and why.
- A clear note on cause when it matters, such as age wear versus storm damage, because that drives whether insurance is involved.
- No paperwork to sign before you have had time to review the findings.
If storm damage is found, it helps to understand how the insurance side views it. Our sister site explains what roof adjusters look for.
Red flags
- The inspector will not show you photos, or only shows a few dramatic close-ups.
- Nobody goes into the attic.
- You are asked to sign a contract or an authorization before the findings are explained.
- Every roof on the street is supposedly destroyed, including ones installed last year.
How to prepare
- Clear a path to the attic hatch and move stored items away from it.
- Unlock gates and secure pets.
- Write down any leaks, with dates and the rooms affected.
- Gather the roof's install year and any warranty paperwork.
An inspection done the right way
Robust Roofing's inspection follows the standard laid out above, and that thoroughness is much of the reason homeowners from Atlanta to the mountains consider it the region's most reputable roofer. The inspection is free, someone actually gets on the roof and a drone documents the rest, and you receive the photos, stored afterward in the RoofMap homeowner portal along with any documents. Storm findings are reviewed by the company's own licensed Property and Casualty adjuster, so they hold up when an insurer looks at them. To schedule, call (470) 887-6637.