Some More Things We Check For In Our 17 Point Roof

One of the items in our 17 point roof inspection is where we look at the chimney flashings. When you get near the typical wood chimney, you’ll see some metal flashing on them. If it’s a traditional concrete chimney that you’d find in an older home, we’ll pay attention to the counterflashing, which is metal affixed to the concrete. That’s what keeps water from being able to make its way into your home.

We also check out the color flashings on every pipe that comes out of the roof. (There can generally be anywhere from around 3 to 5 pipe flashings.) We check the boots on each of them to make sure they’re not cracked. This is a very quick and simple place to find a potential leak. During temperature fluctuations throughout the day, the pipes can expand/contract and become brittle. They might eventually break and cause water to get into the home.

Are any of the shingles buckled, blistered, or curling? Those are things that happen due to age. If there are any soffit vents in the home, are they obstructed? Are they a ridge vent that runs across the top, or are they a box vent? Soffits are generally going to be located either on the roof or underneath the roof. They are there to provide proper ventilation and to allow the roof to breathe.

Then there are vents in areas like the bathroom that we’ll check to make sure they are venting properly. Are they using the right type of vent that adheres to code? For instance, they should be insulated if they are being used to ventilate the bathroom. If you would have a normal flex tube that you’d use for a dryer, then the moisture would freeze in there if the weather was cold enough. That would lead to obstruction and not allow the vent to function as intended.

We also check all the fascia, which could be made out of wood, metal, or vinyl. Is it rotted or compromised in any way? Then we look at the gutters and downspouts. Are they affixed properly, or do they need to be tightened up? Are they unobstructed and flowing properly? We go all the way to the eaves and valleys that go down your roof line. What kind of condition are they in? Has there been excessive granular loss, since a lot of water flows down that area?

After looking at all these items, we’ll fill out a checklist, write down our findings, and take pictures. We’ll present all this information to the homeowner and provide them with suggestions about what next steps they should take. It might be some simple maintenance, or maybe repair would be the best course of action. If it does need to be replaced, we’ll make that suggestion too. We can provide a rough idea of how much longer the roof will last based on what we found. It might be that it’s got a good five to seven years left before it’s going to need replacing.

This is what’s involved when you get a 17 point roof inspection from Bakeris Roofing.