The short answer
A good roof inspection report names the property and the date, describes the roof type and covering, lists each fault with a location and a photograph, ranks them by urgency, and says what could not be inspected. It should also recommend what to do, with an indication of the likely cost. It should be in plain English, so you can act on it or pass it to a buyer, an insurer or another roofer.
The basics at the front
The report should start with who, what, where and when: the address, the date of the inspection, the name of the inspector and the weather on the day. It should describe the roof: its type, its covering, its approximate age if known and the number of slopes or levels. A short note on how the inspection was done, such as from the ground, by ladder, by drone or from the loft, sets the scene.
A summary comes next. Busy readers want to know in a few lines whether the roof is sound, needs minor repair or needs urgent work. A report that makes you read ten pages before reaching the conclusion is not helping.
It should state what the report is for. A report for your own records may be different from one written for a sale, a claim or a dispute.
Contact details and the inspector's role should be clear. You should know who wrote the report, what experience they bring and whether they will stand behind it if you have questions. An unsigned, undated page with no name is of little use.
Add the type of access used for each part of the roof. Saying which slopes were seen close up and which from a distance lets the reader judge how far to trust each finding.
Findings, photographs and ranking
The heart of the report is the list of findings. Each one should say where on the roof it is, what is wrong, why it matters and what to do about it. A photograph should go with each, ideally with an arrow or a note on where to look. Without images a finding is just an opinion.
Faults should be ranked. A cracked tile that needs replacing soon is not the same as a failing flashing that is letting water in now. A simple scale of urgent, soon and monitor makes the report usable. Our page on roof condition reports shows how such reports are structured.
The loft section deserves equal weight. Damp, daylight, condensation, ventilation and the state of the timbers should be recorded, with images.
Measurements help where they are relevant. The number of broken tiles, the length of failed flashing and the area affected by moss all make a quote more precise. Without them, two roofers can quote for different amounts of work and the comparison is meaningless.
Limits, access and honesty
A trustworthy report states its limits. If the loft could not be reached, if a flat roof could not be walked on or if parts were out of sight, it says so. It does not claim to have checked what it could not see. It also states what is outside the scope, such as the structure of the house or electrical and plumbing work in the loft.
Weather and conditions can limit what is visible, so the report should note them. Moss can hide cracked tiles, and snow or rain can cover a defect. A statement about these limits protects you as well as the author, because you know where further checking may be needed.
It should avoid vague phrases that sound alarming but mean nothing. Specific language, naming the material, the part and the cause, is the mark of a careful inspector.
Photographs should be sharp and well chosen. A wide shot to show where the fault is, followed by a close-up to show what it is, lets a second roofer verify the finding without climbing up.
Recommendations and next steps
The report should end with what to do. For each fault: repair, replace, monitor or investigate further. It should give an indication of cost, labelled as such. If the covering has little life left, the report should say so, and give a sense of how long a repair will buy you. For a view on lifespans, see how to tell how old a roof is.
A report that comes from a roofer will usually be followed by a quote. Ours is a fixed written quote, and the survey is free. If you want to see how we structure our findings, read more under roof inspections in Basingstoke.
If you are using the report to compare quotes, send the same document to each roofer so that everyone prices the same work.
A closing statement about the validity of the report is useful too. Roofs change, and a report is a snapshot of one day. Say how long you would expect the findings to hold in ordinary weather, and what events should prompt another look.
Keep a copy in a safe place with the deeds and any guarantee, so that the next owner can find it.
Every roof is different. A free survey with photos settles it for yours.
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