Every page on this site

Everything published on Free Roof Inspection STL, newest first. This site covers St. Louis and the greater St. Louis area, and every page on it is written to be useful on its own rather than to lead somewhere. Keys Roofing is the contractor behind it and the phone number on every page reaches the Keys office directly.

A homeowner reading any one of these is usually part way through a decision and short of one specific fact. The list below says what each page answers, so you can go to the one you need instead of reading the site.

• A Clean Roof Report Still Lists Every Area It Checked A report with no defects should still name each slope, flashing, vent and attic space the inspector looked at, and say what could not be seen.
• A Drone Can Photograph Your Roof, but It Cannot Press on It Learn when drone images are useful, what they miss, and when a St. Louis roof still needs a hands-on inspection.
• A Frozen Plumbing Vent Belongs on Your Roof Inspection A plumbing vent that ices over in a cold snap can slow drains and hide a flashing problem, so ask the inspector to check its top before winter.
• A Roof Inspection Does Not Promise Five More Years Learn what a roof inspection can establish, what a remaining-life estimate leaves uncertain, and what to ask before relying on either.
• What lands in your inbox after the ladder comes down What arrives after a Keys roof inspection in St. Louis: the photograph set, the written scope, and one of three outcomes. Plus the county permit position and the one thing nobody can know in advance.
• Ask How Many Shingle Tabs Your Inspector Lifted Ask how many shingle tabs were lifted, which slopes they came from, and whether the sample was photographed, so the findings mean something.
• Hot upstairs rooms and ice at the eaves are the same fault Upstairs rooms that run hot and ice at the eaves are both ventilation. What Keys checks at the ridge, in the soffit and inside the attic on a St. Louis roof inspection, and why mixed exhaust makes it worse.
• Blistered and Cupped Shingles: What an Inspection Measures Blisters and cupped tabs look minor from the ground, but an inspector measures how many shingles are affected and whether the tabs still seal to the roof.
• Bring Two Winters of Utility Bills to a Roof Inspection Your heating and cooling bills can point to attic air leaks before the roof is walked. This page shows what to pull and what to ask.
• Carpenter Ants at the Rafter Tails: What an Inspection Finds Sawdust-like frass, soft rafter tails and dark sheathing edges show an inspector where moisture has been working inside your eave.
• Each Roof Slope Ages on Its Own Schedule in St. Louis The sun-facing and shaded slopes of a St. Louis roof wear differently, so the inspector should read each one on its own terms.
• Water at your foundation usually starts at the gutter line Keys does gutters and downspouts as well as roofing, so the trough, hangers, seams, guards and the point where the pipe lets go all get read and photographed on the same visit as the roof.
• Keep a Roof Log Between Inspections, and Start It With the Date A dated roof log, kept between inspections, tells the next inspector what changed and when, and what to photograph first.
• Leaves in the Valleys Can Hide What the Inspector Needs to See Fall leaves packed into a roof valley can hide rust, lifted shingle edges and water stains, so clear the valley or ask the inspector to before the visit.
• Nail Tips in the Attic Tell You Something About the Roof Above Nail tips poking through attic sheathing show how the deck is aging and what to ask the inspector to photograph.
• Read the Roof Inspection Report Before You Call Anyone Back A roof inspection report sorts findings into what is urgent, what to watch, and what is only a photo, and each label means something different.
• Show the Inspector Where Your Roof Was Already Repaired Learn what an inspection can establish about an old roof patch, what may require opening it, and what to ask before paying for another repair.
• Give us the storm date and the soft metal gets read first Give Keys the storm date and the gutter faces, downspouts, vent caps and condenser fins get read and photographed before anyone touches a shingle. Soft metal keeps the record a shingle can hide.
• Sun Angle Decides What a Roof Inspection Can See Low sun shows lifted tabs and granule loss, while noon glare can hide them. Here is how to time a St. Louis roof inspection around the light.
• Tell the Inspector Who Has Been Walking on Your Roof How an inspection checks shingles after rooftop work, what surface marks can mean, and when a closer look is worth scheduling.
• The Attic Hatch Is Part of Your Roof Inspection An open attic hatch can let warm air reach the roof deck all winter, so ask the inspector to check it, photograph it, and write it down.
• The Dish Is Gone, but Its Holes Are Still in Your Roof An inspection can show whether an unused satellite mount should stay, come off, or be removed during the next roof replacement.
• Get your roof photographed now, while it is still intact April and May carry about 56 per cent of this metro's hail reports. A dated set of your roof taken now is the comparison you will want next spring. What a useful set contains, and how to get one.
• The Roof Surface Is Only Half the Inspection An attic visit can show whether a stain is active, where air is escaping, and what the roof deck looks like from below.
• Get it in writing before anybody quotes you a number Get slope areas, pitch, layer expectation, a penetration count and a decking unit price in writing before anybody quotes a number. What a Keys written scope contains, and why an all clear is one too.
• Walk the Yard With a Phone Before the Inspector Comes What to photograph from the street, driveway and eave line before a roof inspection, and what those photos can and cannot show.
• Eight things at the door that should stop the conversation Eight things said on St. Louis doorsteps after a storm that should stop the conversation, what each one really means, and the honest version of the same moment to hold everybody to.
• Four sentences a legal Missouri roofer will never say to you Four sentences a Missouri roofing contractor is barred by RSMo 407.725 from saying to you, how to use them at the door after a storm, and everything a contractor may still do.
• Nine stops, walked in order, every one photographed Nine stops on a St. Louis roof, in the order they are walked and photographed: ground line, eave, field, penetrations, flashings, valley metal, fasteners, ventilation, discharge.
• Four reasons to be on the schedule before April Four occasions worth booking on, the NOAA hail record for this metro, the 2025 Missouri claim figures, and the RSMo 135.445 credit that takes no new claims after 15 October 2026.
• Which Roof Slopes Hold Snow Longest, and What to Ask About Them Before the first snow, ask your inspector which slopes keep snow and frost longest, and what to have written down for each one.
• Why a Roof Inspection Waits for a Dry Day, and What Wet Shingles Hide Wet shingles are slippery and can hide wear, so a careful inspection waits for a dry day. Here is what to ask and what the walk can still check.

Nothing on this site is advice about an insurance claim. Under RSMo 407.725 a roofing contractor in Missouri may not represent or negotiate a homeowner's claim, and may not offer anything about a deductible. What Keys does is document the damage, put a written scope with photographs and measurements in your hands, and attend as the contractor. You deal with your own insurer.