Why a written report and not a conversation
Three situations in this region now regularly call for something on paper. An insurer has written asking about the age or condition of the roof and wants documentation back. A house is going on the market and the roof is the item most likely to reopen a negotiated price. Or a homeowner simply wants to know how many winters are left before committing to a replacement that runs into five figures.
None of those are answered by a verbal opinion from the driveway. What they need is a dated document that states what was found, where, and by whom, with photographs attached to the findings, so that it still means something in six months when somebody else is reading it.
What gets looked at
- Covering type, approximate age, and the number of layers apparent at the edges and penetrations
- Granule loss, cracking, curling, lifted courses and creased tabs, recorded by slope
- Flashing at every wall junction, chimney, valley, skylight and vent penetration
- The eave: drip edge, gutter attachment, and evidence of past ice damming
- Sheathing condition where it can be assessed, from the surface and from the attic
- Ventilation actually present at the soffit and the ridge, not what was specified
- Attic evidence: daylight through the deck, staining, compressed or displaced insulation
What a report is not
It is a roofing contractor's assessment of condition and nothing more. It is not an insurance adjustment and does not determine what a policy covers, which is a matter between you and your carrier under the terms of your own policy. It is not a warranty on the remaining life of the covering, because nobody can guarantee that. And it is not a structural engineering report; where framing rather than roofing is in question, that is a different professional.
It is also worth saying that a condition report and an estimate are different documents doing different jobs. An estimate prices a defined scope of work. A report describes the current state of the roof without assuming any work follows from it. Some contractors will produce both; the two should not be the same piece of paper.
The layer count is the finding that matters most
Of everything in the report, the number of existing coverings on the deck has the widest consequences. It decides whether a recover is legally available at all, since the code Connecticut works from does not permit one over two or more applications. It changes tear-off labour and disposal volume, which is a large share of the price. And on older houses it is a fair proxy for how much abuse the sheathing beneath has taken from repeated fastening. It is also the single question homeowners most often cannot answer about their own roof.
Roof inspection reports by town
- HartfordZIP 06103, 06105, 06106, 06112, 06114, 06120
- West HartfordZIP 06107, 06110, 06117, 06119
- New BritainZIP 06051, 06052, 06053
- East HartfordZIP 06108, 06118
- ManchesterZIP 06040, 06042
- BristolZIP 06010
- GlastonburyZIP 06033, 06073
- NewingtonZIP 06111
- WethersfieldZIP 06109
- WindsorZIP 06095, 06006
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is this different from a home inspection?
- A general home inspector covers the whole building and looks at the roof from the ground, from a ladder at the edge, or through the attic, with a report that reflects that scope. A roofing condition report is written by someone whose trade is the roof, from on the roof where the pitch allows it, and it goes into layer count, fastening, flashing detail and ventilation at a level a whole-house report does not attempt.
- What does the report actually say?
- It states what covering is on the building and its approximate age, how many layers appear to be present, the condition of the sheathing where that can be established, the state of the flashing at every wall, chimney, valley and penetration, what ventilation exists at the soffit and the ridge, and what was found in the attic. Findings are set out with photographs attached to the locations they describe.
- Does a report obligate me to have work done?
- Not at all, and a report that reads as a sales document should be treated with suspicion. The point of putting condition in writing is that it holds still: you can take it to a second contractor, keep it on file for a renewal, hand it to a buyer, or simply use it to decide how many more winters the covering has. What you do next is your decision.
- My carrier asked for documentation. Will this satisfy them?
- That depends entirely on what they asked for, and it is worth asking them precisely. Some requests are answered by dated photographs, some by a contractor's written condition assessment, and some by evidence that specific work has been completed. Find out which of those you are being asked for before commissioning anything, because supplying the wrong document costs time you may not have.
- We are selling the house. Is this worth doing beforehand?
- Frequently yes, because the roof is one of the items a buyer's inspector will raise and one of the few that can reopen a negotiated price. Knowing the covering's age and layer count before the listing lets you decide deliberately whether to replace, to price accordingly, or to hold the documentation ready. Finding out during the inspection period removes all three options.