How much does a roof inspection cost?

Free estimate or paid inspection?

If you have a leak, missing shingles or a roof you think is finished, you want an estimate, and that is free. We look at the problem, photograph what failed and give you a written price for the repair or the replacement. Read what a roof repair costs.

If you need a written report on the whole roof, because you are buying or selling, because an insurer or a lender asked for one, or because you want to plan for a replacement before it becomes a leak, that is an inspection. It takes longer, it covers everything rather than the one problem, and it is quoted as its own job.

What moves the price of an inspection

• Size and shape. A plain gable roof is quicker to walk and document than a cut-up roof with dormers, valleys and three chimneys.
• Pitch. A steep roof needs fall protection and may have to be examined from a ladder rather than walked, which changes the time and what can be seen.
• Storeys and access. A three-storey roof or one with no ladder access from the ground takes longer to reach safely.
• Attic. An attic inspection is where early leaks show first. Including it adds time and is usually worth it.
• Flat roofs. Seams, drains and every penetration get checked individually, so the count of details matters more than the square footage.

What you get for it

The roof is walked where it is safe to do so and examined from a ladder where it is not. Shingles, flashing, valleys, penetrations, ridge, gutters and the visible deck condition are photographed. Attic access is used where there is one. Then you get a written report with the photographs attached, separating what is urgent from what can wait, and how many years the roof is likely to have left.

That report is what a buyer, a seller, an adjuster or a lender can act on. A verbal opinion from the driveway is not.

How it differs from a home inspection

A home inspector looks at the roof among a hundred other things, often from the ground or with a quick look from a ladder at the eave. This is a roofer on the roof, looking only at the roof. If a home inspection flagged the roof and you want to know what it actually means and what it costs, that is the inspection to book.

When the inspection pays for itself

• Before you buy. A roof near the end is a negotiating item, not a surprise six months in.
• Before you list. A roof with a dated report and photographs answers the buyer's question before it is asked.
• After a storm. The report documents what the storm did, from the roof, which is what a claim needs.
• On a flat roof, every year. Twice-yearly inspection and minor repair costs a fraction of the leak call that follows from neglect.

Tell us why you need it when you call, and we quote the inspection in writing. If it turns up something that needs fixing, the repair is priced separately and you decide. See roof inspections.