Roof Inspection by a Home Inspector

Hiring an experienced and well-rounded home inspector can make a big difference when you are trying to maximize the value of your property. A home inspector can let you know what areas of your home are deficient, where your home improvement budget should be invested, and how to avoid major issues that could cost you thousands of dollars down the road. Every homeowner should consider the services of a home inspector at least once a year, and certainly before buying or selling a home.

A home inspector's expertise is often varied (after all, they look at all areas of your property, not just one), but you should always ask your home inspector to look at your home's roof. A home inspector will use a checklist to evaluate the roof and find any potential deficiencies, and as your roof is one of the most important structures of your home (you can't even live in a house with a highly deficient roof), it is a good place to start. Ignoring this important aspect of any home can be extremely costly to the homeowner. This is where the home inspector can come in to help.

In general, there are about nine areas that a home inspector will investigate when looking at a roof. The most important areas are estimated age, remaining life, and maintenance, as these directly relate to the amount of money that you'll need to put into the structure.

Measuring a roof's remaining life can be difficult, and a home inspector may take a variety of steps to get an accurate estimate. A home inspector will usually check the angle of a roof, and when possible, they will check to see how long water takes to evaporate. This may seem like a minor point, but pooling water can be a major issue, as it can gradually weaken a roof and make sections of the roof susceptible to rot, mold, and other major problems. A home inspector usually considers a roof to be acceptable if water is able to evaporate within two days or so. This can vary by state, but if your home's roof is anywhere close to defective, your home inspector will let you know.

Every home inspector will actually get on top of your roof and walk around, checking for bad areas and incidences of rot, leaks, etc. If a roof isn't safe to walk on (the home inspector will be able to determine whether this is the case), the home inspector will usually use a ladder and binoculars, but the attention to detail is the same in every situation. Each shingle and every single foot of the roof must be carefully inspected to avoid missing a potentially major issue, and a home inspector will insist on actually feeling the materials and getting as close as possible to look for problems.

The home inspector will pay a lot of attention to the types of materials used on the roof, and the degradation of those materials. As you might expect, some materials fare better in roof construction than others. Non-asphalt shingles regularly need to be replaced on some homes, and the home inspector will inspect individual shingles from each side of the house to determine when the last replacement was made. The home inspector will determine each material that went into the roof's construction, and estimate how much time is remaining before repairs or replacements need to be made. Usually, this is the age of the roof subtracted from the potential life of the material, although a home inspector may calculate roof life differently (particularly if the roof shows exceptional signs of wear).

It's important to note that a variety of factors can affect the lifespan of your roof, from material to installation to weather and even direction. It's not uncommon for a home inspector to find out that one side of a roof is perfectly fine, while another side needs replacement or repairs. This can be attributed to differing weather conditions and sunshine for a certain side. It's another reason why a home inspector is important; even if you're able to note some issues with one area of your home's roof, there's a good chance that other parts of the roof have a different issue entirely, and only a qualified home inspector can judge whether repairs are necessary.

A home inspector will also look at the structure of the roof, to ensure that the roof meets state and local codes and will stand up to extreme weather. The roof of a home is one of the most important areas to inspect before buying a property, as repairs to bring a structure back in line with code can be very expensive. You should also hire a home inspector as soon as possible if you've noticed any unusual sounds or leaning from your roof during recent weather.

Before doing any work on your home's roof and certainly before buying a new home, it's very important to hire a home inspector to make sure that the roof is safe, and to avoid costly problems like leaks and rot. Ask whether your home inspector has experience with roofs, and try to schedule your inspection for a sunny day. Ask the home inspector for his advice on when to inspect, and be sure to get a copy of his inspection sheet, which rates your roof on a number of criteria.

A home inspector can save any homeowner thousands of dollars, but they're often avoided simply because homeowners don't want to hear any bad news about their properties. This isn't a very good strategy, however; even if you don't know about a particular issue, it's still there, and avoiding it could cost thousands of dollars in the long run. Hiring a home inspector will either result in early notification of serious issues, or you'll be able to carry out home improvement projects with peace of mind. In any case, homeowners can benefit enormously from the services of a licensed and qualified home inspector, particularly where a home's roof is concerned.