“Free roof inspection” can mean two very different things. From some firms it’s a sales visit with a ladder — the finding is always dire and the quote always big. Done properly, it’s a diagnostic: what state is this roof actually in, what needs doing now, what can wait. Here’s what ours involves, so you know what to expect from anyone you invite up.
The conversation first
Before anyone climbs anything, we ask what prompted the call: a leak, a sighting of a slipped tile, a survey comment during a house purchase, or just age. History matters — a roof that’s leaked before tells us where to look, and how long a problem’s been developing changes what we expect to find underneath.
Outside: what we look at
From ladder and ground level with binoculars where appropriate: the covering itself (slipped, cracked or delaminating tiles or slates), ridge and hip lines, flashings around chimneys and junctions, valleys, and the roofline — gutters, fascias, soffits. On flat roofs: ponding, blistering, seams and edge details.
Inside: the loft tells the truth
If there’s loft access, we use it. Daylight through the covering, staining on timbers, damp or slumped insulation, and condensation all show up from inside long before they’re visible from the street. Ten minutes in a loft often settles the repair-or-replace question more decisively than an hour on the roof.
What you get afterwards
Photos of anything we found, an explanation in plain language, and — if work is needed — a written, itemised quote. If work isn’t needed, we say so. If a repair will do the job for a few hundred pounds instead of a re-roof for several thousand, we say that too; the number of times honesty has cost us short-term and won us a customer’s whole street long-term is exactly why we work this way.
What it doesn’t involve
No on-the-spot decisions, no “price valid today only”, no invented urgency. If someone inspecting your roof announces catastrophic findings and needs your signature within the hour, show them the gate and get a second opinion.
Book yours whenever suits — get in touch or call 0117 214 1175. Free, written up properly, no obligation.