Roof Inspection near you

There is no single right schedule, but a few moments come up again and again.

A thorough inspection looks at the roof from outside and from inside. The outside tells you about the covering and the details where most leaks begin; the attic shows whether water, frost or heat loss is already doing damage underneath.

Not every inspection means someone walking on the roof. Many roofers start from the ground and from a ladder at the eaves, and some use a drone or a camera on a pole to photograph slopes that are steep, fragile or hard to reach. These views are good for spotting missing shingles, damaged flashing and debris, and they leave a photo record for insurance and later comparison.

Walking the roof lets an experienced roofer feel soft spots in the deck, lift a shingle edge to check whether it is still sealed and examine flashing up close, but it takes proper equipment, fall protection and judgment about when the surface is safe. A good inspection often combines both. Leave either approach to professionals: homeowners shouldn't climb onto a roof to inspect it, whatever the pitch or the weather.

You can learn a lot without leaving the ground. Walk around the house on a clear day with a pair of binoculars, look at each slope from a few angles, and take photos to compare with next season. Then look from inside: a glance into the attic with a flashlight, from the hatch and without stepping onto the joists or the insulation, can reveal what the outside hides. Don't use a ladder to get onto the roof, and keep well away from power lines.

An ice dam is a ridge of ice along the eaves that holds back meltwater, which can then back up under the shingles and into walls and ceilings. Natural Resources Canada's Keeping the Heat In explains that an attic above freezing warms the roof sheathing and melts the snow resting on it, and that a well-sealed, well-insulated attic keeps the roof cold and generally doesn't get ice dams. It presents sealing attic air leaks and insulating thoroughly as the best prevention.

That is why a roof inspection after an ice dam should include the attic. The inspector looks for the paths warm air takes into the roof space, such as unsealed recessed lights, holes around plumbing and wiring, the attic hatch and bathroom fans that exhaust into the attic, as well as insulation that is thin or packed against the soffit intakes. Repairing damaged shingles and adding eave protection treats the symptom; air sealing and insulation, often by an insulation contractor, treat the cause. Don't chip at the ice or climb up to clear it; if water is already coming in, see the emergency roof repair page.

After a hailstorm or windstorm, damage isn't always visible from the ground: hail can bruise shingles and knock off granules, and wind can break the seal on shingles without tearing them away. A roofer's inspection, with dated photos, gives you a clear record of what the storm did. The Insurance Bureau of Canada recommends reporting a claim to your insurer as soon as possible, taking photos of the damage and keeping receipts, and it notes that policyholders are obligated to protect their property from further damage if it is safe to do so, for example by having a professional tarp an opening.

Coverage depends on your policy, so ask your insurer or broker what applies to hail and wind before any permanent repair, and whether they want their own adjuster to see the roof first. Keep the roofer's report, the photos and the invoices for temporary work together. Be wary of crews who knock on doors after a storm offering free inspections and pressing for a signature on the spot.

A useful report is more than a list of checked boxes. It should describe each part of the roof, show the problems found in photos and sort the findings by urgency: what needs repair before the next storm or winter, what should be monitored and what points toward replacement in the coming years. Ask the inspector to explain anything you don't understand and to separate what they saw from what they are assuming.