Inspections

A roof inspection is the professional evaluation of a licensed roofing contractor regarding the conditions of your roofing. Based on whether it will leak in the next two years or the approximate life expectancy. It is a visual inspection of the ceiling, eaves, facia boards, and the roof. After evaluation, it can be determined if the property needs maintenance, repair or a full replacement.

How much does a roof inspection cost?

In San Diego County, a typical roof inspection costs $150.00. However, if you are thinking about purchasing a home or property there are other services that you may want to consider. These include:

• Roof Report for $300 - The main difference between a roof inspection and a roof report is a detailed inspection of the roof including pictures. It provides an in depth explanation of the roof covering, future problems and life expectancy in writing with an estimate as opposed to a roof inspection which is a verbal explanation along with an estimate.
• roof certificate for $200: A roof certificate is commonly requested for real estate transactions. The certificate is sometimes needed when the property owner refinanced their home or is in the process of putting their property on the market. The roof certificate is a professional opinion by a licensed roofing contractor document stating that the roof is in good condition and will not leak in the next two years. This allows for peace of mind to the new homeowners or banks that are refinancing the home/mortgage.

It is important to have these done as early as possible as they are often missed by home inspectors but they can be the difference between.a small quick job or a larger expensive one. There are many DIY projects and house flippers who do not perform the work properly and can cost the new homeowner thousands.

Lots of homeowners or house flippers simply install a new roof over an existing one to cut cost then sell the property. Unfortunately, home inspectors often overlook this as they are not roofing experts and only inspect the new outer layer without checking what is below

Once you are the owner of the property you are then responsible to fix these problems, which can cost thousands. When buying a new home, you want the peace of mind knowing that your roof was installed properly.

Common practice here in San Diego is shingling over wood shakes or cedar shakes. This means shingles are not installed on a plywood deck, it is installed over a roof that has skipped sheathing

Wood shakes require skipped sheathing to be installed on the roof to allow for the cedar shake to be well ventilated. Wood absorbs water and needs to be dried out. Shingles need to be installed on plywood at least ⅜ thick. To fix this problem you would have to remove the shingles and the shake. There will be a lot of debris that will fall into the attic space and ruin your insulation with dust, wood chips and debris. So you also have to hire an insulation contractor to remove all debris from the attic and replace it with new.

This is just one of the examples of what you can get yourself into if you purchase a home without a licensed roofing contract to educate you on your future home or investment. Although shingles can look good from the outside, if installed over a shake roof it can be change the price to replace from $15,000 job to $30,000 job.