DIY Roof Inspection or Professional Inspection: Where the Line Is

A storm went through last night, or the leaves are down and you are thinking about the roof for the first time since spring. You would rather not call anyone until you know something is wrong. That is reasonable, and there is a real list of things you can check yourself in half an hour without leaving the ground.

There is also a list of things you cannot check from the ground, and a shorter list you should never attempt. The company's post spot the signs of roof damage names the common signs; this guide sorts them by who should be the one looking. The rule that organizes everything below is simple: if a check needs a ladder or roof access, it is not a DIY check.

Do this in daylight, after the weather has cleared, with a pair of binoculars and a flashlight. Write down what you see and take photos with your phone; they are useful later whether or not you call anyone.

• Walk the ground around the building. Look for missing, lifted or curled shingles, granules in the beds and on the driveway, dented or lifted metal panels, rust streaks below fasteners or at cut edges, a ridge or eave line that is no longer straight, and debris piled in valleys or behind chimneys.
• Look at gutters and downspouts from below. Overflow stains on the fascia, gutters pulling away or sagging, downspouts that have separated, and plants growing in them all say water is not leaving the roof the way it should.
• Check soffits, fascia and siding. Peeling paint, dark stains or rot under the eaves, and nests or chewed openings at the soffit vents.
• Check ceilings and walls inside. New or growing stains, bubbling paint, swollen trim, a musty smell in a closet or near a chimney.
• Go into the attic with a flashlight. Look for daylight through the deck, dark trails on the underside of the sheathing, rusty nail tips, damp or matted insulation, mold on framing, and bath or dryer ducts that end inside the attic. Stay on the joists or walk boards, never on the drywall.
• Look again during rain. From a window or the attic, watch where water appears. The entry point is often uphill of the stain.

An older post on this site, can you inspect your own metal roof, suggests looking at the gutters from a ladder. This guide draws the line more conservatively, and the numbers are why. OSHA reports that falls from elevation continue to be one of the main causes of death for construction workers, accounting for 389 of 1,034 construction fatalities in 2024, and those are trained workers with equipment. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's outdoor repair checklist says falls from ladders cause injuries ranging from bruises to fractures and even death, tells anyone who does climb to have a helper hold the ladder, set it on stable ground, never stand on the highest rung and keep it away from power lines, and notes that people 65 and older are 80 percent more likely than other adults to visit an emergency room for ladder or stool injuries.

Metal roofs add their own hazards. IBHS's low-slope metal guidance says never walk, stand or sit on an unsecured metal roof panel, and any metal roof is slick when wet, dusty or frosted. The company's own roof repair and maintenance page says climbing a ladder on a multistory building to inspect or repair the roof is not a safe do-it-yourself job. A roofing crew carries fall protection, knows where the deck is soft, and is insured for the work. Those are the reasons the inspection exists as a service.

A professional inspection is not a better version of your ground walk. It is a different set of checks that need access, tools and experience. The guide on what a roof inspection covers lays out the full scope; here is the part you cannot replace.

• Get to the roof surface. Walk it with fall protection where the slope and surface allow, or fly a drone where they do not, and see the uphill side of every chimney, curb and vent.
• Lift things. Raise a shingle to check nail placement and sealant strips, check the washers and torque on exposed fasteners, open a lap on a membrane, look under flashing.
• Measure moisture. Probe decking for softness, use a moisture meter or infrared camera to find wet insulation that looks fine from above.
• Read the details. Tell a failed pipe boot from a cracked chimney crown, or a condensation drip from a leak, which decides whether you need a roofer, a mason or a ventilation fix.
• Write it up. Photos keyed to locations, severity, likely cause, a recommended action and an itemized estimate you can compare line by line.
• Document for a claim. After a storm, Anderson Metal Roofing and Shingles can inspect and document the damage and give you photos and an itemized estimate to use with your insurer; you handle the claim yourself, as South Carolina law (S.C. Code Section 40-59-25(D)) requires for residential roof claims.

Book an inspection when any item on your ground-and-attic list shows a problem, after hail or strong wind even if nothing looks wrong, before buying or selling, and when the roof has reached the age where its manufacturer's documents say to expect wear. Book one quickly when something inside is wet: EPA mold guidance says wet materials need to be dried within 24 to 48 hours to avoid mold growth.

The request-a-quote form lists a Repair Inspection, a Reroof Inspection and a New Purchase Inspection, plus General Information if you are not sure. Quotes are free. The page also offers a virtual consultation by Zoom or FaceTime, which is a good use for the photos you took from the ground and the attic; measurements are verified on site before any price is final. The company's post roofing issues you can't DIY covers the repair side of the same line.

A ground walk and an attic check a couple of times a year and after storms is a reasonable routine for most homes, and if everything looks the way it did last time, you are done. The metal roof maintenance schedule guide turns that into a season-by-season list. Keep your photos in one folder so you can compare them.

Some situations call for someone other than a roofer. Gutter cleaning is a ladder job, so hire it out if you cannot do it with a helper and both feet below the eave. Overhanging limbs are an arborist's job. A stain beside a chimney may be the crown or mortar, which a mason handles. And if water is coming in now, set the inspection question aside and read what to do about a roof leak right now.

One more reason to prefer a professional look: if your roof is still under a manufacturer's warranty, IBHS advises reading the terms, conditions and exclusions closely, and many warranties expect documented inspections. A professional report is that documentation; a phone photo from the driveway usually is not.