How Long a St. Louis Roof Inspection Takes, and What Stretches It

A roof inspection visit in St. Louis usually takes less time on the property than homeowners expect. A single-family roof with a simple layout can be walked, photographed and measured in one visit. What makes the visit longer is almost never the roof itself. It is the attic, the access to the house, the weather, and the number of roof planes the inspector has to reach safely. This page walks through each of those so you can plan the day and decide what to clear before the inspector arrives.

Inspection

The walk on the ground

Many visits start in the yard. The inspector walks the perimeter and looks at the gutters, downspouts, fascia, soffit and the wall below each roof edge. The chimney, vents, skylights and any other penetrations get noted so they can be checked from above. This part is quick on a clear day. It slows down when there are dense shrubs against the walls, a fence along the side yard, or a slope too steep to stand beside, because the inspector has to find a safe view of each side before writing anything down.

The roof itself

The roof walk takes longer than the ground walk because each slope is reached and checked separately. The inspector looks for granule loss, cracks, lifted tabs, curling, exposed nail heads, and damage around flashings and pipe boots. On a dry day with a roof that has only a few planes, the walk can be finished in a short block of time. A roof with several slopes, a low-pitched section, or a lot of hips and valleys adds time, because every area in the plan has to be looked at, not just the field of the main slope.

Some sections are checked from a ladder at the eave or from the ground instead of being walked. That is a limit of safety, not a shortcut. A roof that is too steep, too wet or too brittle may be checked this way. A careful inspector writes down which areas were viewed that way, so you know what was seen up close and what was not. If a section was not walked, the written report should say so.

The attic

The attic is where many visits run longest. The inspector needs the hatch open, the light working, and a clear route across the joists. Insulation can hide the framing, and a finished or partly finished attic takes extra time because the access path is narrower. The inspector looks at the underside of the deck, the rafter tails, the nail tips, the vent openings, and any wet or stained areas near the penetrations. If the attic hatch is hard to reach or the pull-down stairs stick, the visit gets longer before the first photo is taken.

Plan on clearing a path to the hatch and turning on the attic light before the visit. Moving boxes away from the opening saves time and keeps the inspector from working around them.

Weather and the calendar

St. Louis weather sets the pace of the visit more than the house does. Wet shingles hide granule loss and make the roof slippery and unsafe to walk, so an inspector who arrives after a rain may do the ground and attic work first and come back to the roof when it is dry. In winter the eave may be iced over, and in the heat of July the afternoon sun softens asphalt, so the roof walk is usually better done early in the day. Either case can split one visit into two. Ask about that before booking, not after the ladder is on the house.

Things that stretch the visit

• A locked gate, a dog in the yard or a blocked side path, which delays the walk around the house.
• A finished attic, a crawl space hatch or stored items that hide the rafters.
• More than one roof plane, a low-slope section, or a porch roof tied into the main roof.
• Rain, frost or ice on the shingles, which turns part of the visit into a ground and attic inspection.
• Specific questions from the homeowner, such as a leak in one room that needs to be traced.

None of these are reasons to skip the visit. They are reasons to tell the office about them when you book, so the inspector arrives with the right amount of time set aside.

What it costs

The cost of a roof inspection has two parts, the money and the time you give up. Whether the visit itself carries a charge, or is credited toward a later job, is a question for the office. Ask it directly and get the answer in writing. The Keys office can be reached at (314) 220-2333, and that is the right number to call about price, scheduling and what is included.

The time cost is yours to plan. Many homeowners need to be home for the start of the visit to open the gate, show the attic, and answer questions about past repairs or leaks. You do not need to walk the roof with the inspector, and you should not be on a ladder during the visit. Ask how much of the visit needs you present and whether a follow-up trip is likely if weather interrupts the roof walk.

If the inspection turns up a repair or a replacement question, the written scope that follows is the document you compare. A visit that ends with a clear list of what was seen, with photos and measurements in your hands, is worth more to you than a fast visit that leaves you guessing. Keys documents damage and puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands. If your roof damage also involves an insurance claim, that claim is yours to handle with your own insurer. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and from saying anything about paying, waiving or covering a deductible, so that conversation stays between you and your insurer.

What to ask

Ask these before the inspector arrives, and write the answers down next to the booking time.

1. Does the visit include the ground walk, the roof walk and the attic, or only one of them?
2. If weather stops the roof walk, will the inspector finish the attic and ground work and book a return visit?
3. Is there a charge for the visit, and is it credited toward any job that follows?
4. Which parts of the visit need me home, and how long will I need to be there?
5. Will I receive the photos and measurements in writing, and in what format?

Then clear the path. Open the gate, leave a clear route to the attic hatch, turn on the attic light, and move anything stored under the hatch. Tell the inspector about any leak, stain or repair you already know about, because a past repair is easier to read when it is named at the start. Keep your list of questions and their answers with the report, so that when the written scope arrives you can check it against what was agreed.