What Is a Roof Survey?

What a survey includes

A survey starts with the outside. The inspector looks at the roof covering, whether tiles, slates or a flat membrane, and the ridges, hips, valleys, verges and eaves. They check the flashings and any chimneys, vents, roof windows and dormers, and the gutters, fascias and soffits. On a pitched roof, they note the line of the slope for any dips or bows.

It then goes inside. In the loft, the inspector looks at the underlay, battens, rafters and insulation, and for signs of damp, condensation, rot or pests. They note anything that cannot be reached or seen. The result is a picture of the whole roof, including the parts you cannot see from the garden.

Tools can add detail. A damp meter, a drone or thermal imaging may be used where the roof calls for it, and our page on thermal imaging roof surveys explains one of them.

The inspector also takes note of the roof's structure where it can be seen, such as the rafters, purlins and wall plates. A bowed rafter or a sagging purlin tells you something about the loads the roof has carried over the years, and may point to a repair that goes beyond the covering.

Access is noted, too. If a flat roof has no safe way up, or a loft is full of stored belongings, the survey says that part was not inspected. A report that is open about its limits is one you can rely on.

Who carries one out

Roofers and surveyors both do roof surveys, and they differ in approach. A roofer knows how roofs fail and how to fix them, and can quote for repair. A surveyor is independent and may be better placed for a purchase or a dispute. Our comparison of hiring a roofer against hiring a surveyor sets out the differences.

A general building survey, such as a homebuyer report, includes the roof but only briefly, usually from the ground. A roof survey goes deeper. It is a specialist piece of work, and the quality depends on the person doing it. Ask what will be covered, how long it will take and whether photographs are included.

Check what you are paying for. A free survey from a roofer is common, and a paid report from a surveyor is also common. Both can be good. What matters is that the scope is agreed in advance and that you get photographs and a written finding at the end.

When a survey is useful

There are many occasions. Before you buy or sell a house, a survey gives an informed view of the roof and its likely cost. After a storm, it records damage for an insurance claim. When you see a stain on a ceiling, it traces the source. Before solar panels, a loft conversion or an extension, it confirms the roof can take the work.

A survey also helps with planning. If a roof has some years left, you can budget for the day it will need replacing. If it needs repair now, you can compare a repair with a re-roof. It turns a feeling that the roof is probably fine into a decision based on evidence.

Landlords and managers use surveys to set a maintenance schedule across a number of buildings.

Surveys are less useful if nobody acts on them. A report on a shelf does nothing for the roof, so decide beforehand what you will do with each of the likely outcomes.

Insurers, lenders and solicitors often ask for a survey when a roof is part of a claim or a sale, and having one ready can save weeks.

What you should get

A good survey leaves you with a record. That should include photographs of each fault, a plain description of what is wrong and where, an estimate of urgency and a recommendation. Ideally it also tells you the remaining life of the covering, and what could not be inspected. Our guide on what a roof report should include lists the sections.

Ours is free. We take photographs of the faults on your roof, write a plain finding and follow it with a fixed written quote for any work. Where repair works we repair, and we say if the roof has years left. See the page for roof inspections in Basingstoke for more.

Ask how long the findings can be relied on. A roof can change quickly after a storm, so an old survey is a guide, not a guarantee.