How to Assess Roof Condition to Avoid Costly Leaks in Rainy Climates

The roof is an essential part of any home and the first line of defense against moisture entering the structure itself. This is an especially concerning matter in rainy climates where your home is at constant risk of costly leaks if the roof were to fail. Therefor it is important to make sure that your roof is in good condition and able to stand up to regular exposure to the elements. In today’s blog we will be looking at how you can assess the condition of your roof and avoid costly leaks and other issues.

Safety Considerations

The first thing to remember when assessing the condition of your roof is to stay safe while doing it. While you will need to get a good look at your roof to assess its condition, walking on the roof can be both unsafe for you and can risk damaging the roof itself. Most assessing can be done from the safety of a ladder leaning against the eaves, if you require overhead views or have areas of your roof that you can’t view with a ladder consider making use of a drone or getting a professional roof assessment done.

Inspecting the Exterior

The first step of assessing your roofs condition is knowledge, that is understanding what materials were used for your roof and how long they last. Every roofing material has its own average lifespan, with typical shingles lasting between 20 and 30 years, metal roofs lasting 40 to 80 years and tougher materials like slate or clay lasting from 60 to over a hundred years. When it comes to the actual inspection you will want to Inspect your roofing materials for signs of damage or wear and tear, this varies based on what your roof is made of. For Shingles you should be looking for cracks, splits, curling or missing granules, for slate or tiles you should primarily check for cracks and chips and for metal roofs you are looking for rust, corrosion or split seams. You will want to look for any indications of sagging or rotting on the roof as these can indicate water damage or greater structural problems. Lastly, in rainy climates it is important to check your flashing and sealants for any cracks or damage as these help prevent water from entering your home.

Inspect your Attic

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do everything with an exterior inspection so you should also check your attic when assessing your roofs condition. You will want to be on the lookout for water stains, mold or other indications of excess moisture entering the home’s interior as these could indicate leaks. It is important to take note of the temperature and humidity of your attic, if it feels overly warm or damp it may indicate an issue with ventilation. You will also want to check your beams and rafters for any indications of cracks or splintering to ensure that the structure of your roof is intact.

When to call the professionals

While there are many elements of your roof that you can assess yourself there is a great deal of experience and expertise that goes into fully assessing the condition of a roof. You may want to consider getting a professional inspection performed when your roof is reaching the end of its average lifespan, when you are planning on selling or renting the property or if you are planning on buying a property. Many professional inspectors also have advanced tools like drones and thermal imaging which can help spot hidden or out of reach problems that you may not notice in a DIY assessment.

We hope we have been able to provide you with some useful advice on assessing the condition of your roof to avoid costly leaks and repairs. If you have any questions about professional home inspections, please feel free to contact us.

The Inspectors is a group of very experienced home inspectors who bring reliability and integrity to the practice of home inspection. These inspectors follow closely the established standards of the Canadian National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about home inspection, we encourage you to call us at (778) 788-5301.