What should a roof survey include?

What should a roof survey include?

A proper roof survey should include a full external inspection of the covering and every joint and edge, an internal inspection from inside the loft, and a written report that sets out what was found, how serious it is and what needs doing. On the outside that means the condition of the tiles or slates, the mortar along the ridge, hips and verges, the flashing and leadwork, the chimney, the valleys, and the gutters, fascias and soffits. On the inside it means the roof timbers, the battens and underlay, the insulation and ventilation, and any sign of water getting in. The report should then grade the roof’s condition, back it up with photographs, and prioritise the work rather than lumping everything together.

The internal part is the half that gets skipped and the half that matters most. The earliest signs of a failing roof show up inside long before a tile is visibly out of place from the street, so a survey that never leaves the ground is only telling you half the story. It is also worth being clear that a survey is not the same as a quote. A good survey tells you the true condition of the roof, including the parts that are fine and do not need spending on, rather than working backwards from a job someone already wants to sell you. The rest of this guide breaks down each part of a thorough roof survey and the different forms one can take.

The external inspection

This is the part most people picture, and it covers everything visible on the outside of the roof.

• The covering. Tiles or slates are checked for slipping, cracking, delamination, missing units and general wear, and for whether the type and age suggest life left or a covering near its end.
• Ridge, hips and verges. The mortar bedding along the top and edges is where a great many faults begin. Cracked or missing pointing and loose tiles are flagged here, which is why the condition of the ridge pointing is a standard survey item.
• Flashing and leadwork. The seals where the roof meets walls, chimneys and valleys are common leak points, so the lead flashing is checked for splits, lifting and failed pointing.
• The chimney. Pointing, flaunching, the pots and the stack’s general condition, since chimneys are tall, exposed and often the oldest part of the roof.
• Valleys. The internal angles where two slopes meet and channel a lot of water, prone to blockage and lead fatigue.
• Rainwater goods. Gutters, downpipes, fascias and soffits, because water managed badly at the edge rots the roof structure quickly.
• Any flat roof areas. Extensions and dormers checked for pooling, splits and failed seams.
• Moss and vegetation. Heavy growth holds water against the covering and blocks drainage, so it is noted as both a symptom and a cause.

The internal inspection

A survey that stops at the eaves is incomplete. Inside the loft, a surveyor is looking at the parts of the roof you cannot see from outside and often cannot see until they fail.

That means the condition of the rafters and joists, any sagging or movement in the structure, the state of the battens and the underlay or sarking felt, whether the insulation is adequate and correctly laid, and crucially whether the roof is properly ventilated, because poor ventilation causes condensation that is regularly mistaken for a leak. The surveyor also looks for the direct evidence of water ingress, damp timbers, staining, rot and daylight visible through the covering. On older properties this internal look frequently turns up the issues that define the sort of older and period homes we work on, where the covering looks passable but the structure beneath tells the real story.

The written report

The inspection is only as useful as the report that comes out of it. A thorough roof survey should give you a clear written record rather than a verbal summary and a rough figure. At a minimum it should include an overall condition assessment of the roof, photographs of the key findings so you can see what is being described, an honest indication of the roof’s likely remaining lifespan, and a prioritised list of recommended work that separates the urgent from the desirable from the merely cosmetic. Where costs are given, they are best presented as a separate quotation so the survey findings stand on their own merits.

The different types of roof survey

Not every survey has the same purpose, and the right one depends on why you are asking.

A pre-purchase survey is for anyone buying a property who wants to know what they are taking on. A standard RICS Home Survey covers the whole building and gives a general view of the roof, so a specialist roof survey is worth commissioning on top when the roof is old, unusual or clearly a concern. Guidance on the RICS survey levels is available from RICS directly.

A condition or maintenance survey is for owners who simply want to know the state of their roof and plan ahead rather than react to a failure.

A storm damage or insurance survey documents damage after bad weather, with the photographs and detail an insurer needs to process a claim.

A defect or leak investigation is the targeted one, tracing a specific problem such as a recurring leak to its actual source rather than the spot where it happens to appear inside.

How the roof is accessed

A survey is limited by how well the surveyor can actually see the roof. Ladder access to the eaves and gutters, binoculars for the higher slopes, and a loft inspection cover most domestic roofs. For steep, high or complex roofs, a pole-mounted camera or a drone gives a close view of areas that cannot be safely reached, and occasionally scaffold or a tower is justified for a detailed hands-on inspection. What matters is that the method suits the roof, rather than the whole thing being judged from the pavement.

What a good survey should not be

A roof survey should be an assessment, not a sales pitch with a clipboard. In our experience, an independent survey that includes proper loft access works better than a quick visual check from the ground by whoever hopes to win the re-roof, because the ground-level look consistently misses the timber and underlay problems that decide whether a roof needs a repair or a replacement, and those are exactly the findings that change the price by thousands. A survey that is honest about what does not need doing is worth far more than one that finds a reason to recommend the biggest job.

That honesty cuts both ways. Sometimes a survey confirms a roof is sound and needs nothing more than minor roof repair and a clear of the moss. Sometimes it confirms the covering has reached the end of its life and a new roof is the sensible investment. A good survey gives you the information to decide, not a foregone conclusion.

Getting a proper survey

If you are buying a property with an ageing roof, dealing with a leak you cannot trace, or simply want to know where you stand before budgeting for work, a proper survey is money well spent because it turns guesswork into a plan. From working with clients across West Sussex, we have found that the owners who survey before they spend almost always spend less overall than those who react fault by fault.

Rated Roofers are a family-run firm with over 20 years of experience working on roofs across West Sussex, fully insured and vetted through Approved Roofers, the Roofing Register and Checkatrade. If you would like your roof surveyed properly, inside as well as out, rated roofers will give you an honest assessment of its condition. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote and we will take it from there.