Is It Safe to Inspect Your Own Roof?

Why roofs are dangerous for amateurs

A tiled roof is steep, uneven and made of materials that break when stood on. Concrete and clay tiles crack under a boot, and slate is slippery, particularly with moss or a damp film. The edge of the roof has no guard, and the gutter is not a handhold. A slip on a pitched roof can be unstoppable.

Flat roofs have their own traps. A deck that looks firm may be soft with rot, and a rooflight can give way without warning. Many serious falls happen when someone steps backwards to look at something. Working at height has rules for professionals for good reason, and the home is not exempt from physics.

Falls from height remain among the most common causes of serious injury at work and at home. Part of the reason is overconfidence. A short roof or a single-storey extension seems harmless until the footing goes. No inspection is worth a hospital visit.

What you can do safely

Walk round the outside and look up at each slope. Binoculars bring the detail closer. Take photographs with a zoom lens or a phone. Check the gutters from the ground, look at the fascias and the downpipes and note any staining on the walls beneath the eaves. Look for gaps, sags and tiles out of line.

Inside, look at the ceilings and the top of the walls for stains, and go into the loft if you can do so safely. Step only on the joists or on boards, never between them. Use a torch and look at the underside of the roof for daylight, damp and mould. Our page on whether a roof can be inspected from the ground explains what you will and will not be able to judge.

Take care with the ladder at the hatch, and never go into the loft alone if you are unsteady.

Choose your day. Dry, calm weather with good light suits a ground check best. Avoid frost, rain, high wind and fading evening light, which hides detail and adds to the risk. If you wear glasses, make sure they are clean, and take a notebook so you can record what you see.

A camera on a telescopic pole or a phone with a long zoom can get a better view of the gutter line than a ladder, with none of the risk.

What to leave to someone else

Anything that needs you to be on the roof, at its edge or on a ladder reaching beyond your balance should be left. That includes checking flashings, valleys and ridges, clearing gutters on an upper storey and walking on a flat roof. It also includes lifting tiles, which should never be done without edge protection.

A professional has the equipment, which may include a tower, edge protection, harnesses and a drone, and the training to use it. They also know where a roof is likely to be weak. If you spot something that worries you, such as a missing tile or a stain, photograph it and call for a survey. See our page on whether a roofer or a surveyor should inspect your roof if you are not sure whom to call.

Be careful with other people's property too. Neighbours may be affected if you drop something, and a falling tile from a roof can injure someone below. Keep children and pets away from the work area whenever anybody is at height.

If a roof has a fragile rooflight, a translucent panel or an asbestos cement sheet, nobody should step on it. Those materials give way without warning, and they are a particular hazard on garage and outbuilding roofs.

What we do when we come to look

We choose the safest method for the roof, which may be a ladder, a tower, a drone or the loft alone, and we do not take risks to save time. We photograph the faults on your own roof and give you the pictures, so you can see what is going on without leaving the ground.

There is no charge for the survey, and a fixed written quote follows for any work. If you would simply like to know how the process works, read the page on roof inspections in Basingstoke.

If the roof does need attention, we tell you what is wrong, show you the evidence, and give a fixed price. You stay on the ground throughout.