Roof Inspection in Southfield, MI

NRCA, the national roofing contractors' association, recommends inspecting a roof at least twice a year, ideally in spring and fall. A maintenance inspection works best as a list of small fixes with a price on each, so you can decide which ones to do now.

A general home inspection may give the roof only a limited visual check. A roofer's pre-purchase inspection goes on the roof and into the attic and estimates how many years the roof has left. A roof certification is a letter stating the roof's condition and expected remaining life. HomeGuide says a roof generally has to be leak-free with 2 to 5 years of useful life left to be certified, and prices the letter at $75 to $200. Buyers use it in negotiations. Sellers use it to answer questions before a buyer asks.

A drone photographs a steep, tall or fragile roof without anyone walking on it. That's useful on slate and tile, which crack underfoot, and on a two-story colonial with a 12:12 pitch. The FAA requires anyone flying a drone for business to follow its Part 107 rules and hold a Remote Pilot Certificate, so ask whether the operator has one. A drone sees the surface well. It can't feel a soft deck or a hail bruise, and it doesn't go in the attic, so on most homes it complements a hands-on inspection rather than replacing it.

Much of what a roof inspector needs to see is under the roof. In the attic: the underside of the deck for stains, delamination or rusty nail tips, frost on the sheathing in cold weather, rafters for cracks or sag, and whether the insulation buries the soffit vents. Ventilation gets measured against the code. The Michigan Residential Code calls for at least 1 square foot of net free vent area per 150 square feet of attic, or 1 per 300 when 50 to 80 percent of it is high on the roof and the rest at the eaves. An attic short of that runs hot in summer and collects frost in winter.

A new roof deserves its own inspection before the final payment. Check that the ridge vent is open, the drip edge sits over the ice barrier at the eaves, and step flashing has a kick-out where the roof meets a wall. Check that pipe boots and vents are new, not reused, and that no shingles were nailed above the nail line. Keep the Southfield re-roof permit with the rest of the paperwork.