We do a lot of roof inspections on homes across the Puget Sound, and most homeowners are surprised by how much we're actually looking at. It's not a five-minute glance from a ladder. A real inspection takes 45 minutes to an hour, covers dozens of individual components, and tells you more about your roof's future than its past. Here's the actual checklist we work through, in roughly the same order we walk it.
## On the roof surface
**Ridge caps.** These are the shingles running along the peak where two slopes meet. They take more wind than anything else on the roof. We're checking for lifted edges, cracked caps, and exposed nail heads. If a ridge cap blows off during a storm, water has a straight shot into the attic. Minor if it's one or two. Worth scheduling a repair if several are loose.
**Shingle condition.** We look at granule coverage first. Bald patches or heavy granule loss in the gutters means the shingles are aging out. Curling edges, cracking, and nail pops (nails backing up through the shingle face) all tell us how much life is left. A few nail pops are a quick fix. Widespread granule loss means the clock is ticking.
**Valleys.** Where two roof slopes meet and funnel water downhill. Valleys carry more water volume than any other section, so they fail first when something goes wrong. We check the valley metal for rust, lifted edges, and debris dams. Fir needles packed into a valley will push water sideways under the shingles every time it rains.
**Pipe boot flashings.** Every plumbing vent that pokes through the roof has a rubber boot around it. These boots crack and split after 12 to 15 years, and they're one of the most common leak sources we find. Easy to replace, easy to miss if nobody looks.
**Kick-out flashing.** Where a roof slope meets a sidewall (like where a dormer wall meets the main roof), there should be a small metal kick-out diverting water into the gutter instead of down the wall. Missing kick-outs cause wall rot. We see this a lot on older Ballard and Wallingford homes where the original install skipped it.
**Drip edge.** The metal strip along the eaves and rakes that directs water into the gutter trough. If it's rusted, bent, or missing entirely, water wraps around the edge and rots the fascia board from behind. Easy to spot, easy to fix, often ignored.
## PNW-specific items
This is where a Seattle inspection differs from what you'd get in Phoenix or Atlanta.
**Moss buildup patterns.** We check the north-facing slopes and any section shaded by trees. Moss holds moisture against shingles, lifts the edges, and accelerates granule loss. Light surface moss is cosmetic. Thick mats growing between courses mean it's time for a soft wash treatment before it does real damage. We wrote a full breakdown on why moss is such a problem here: what Seattle homeowners should know about roof moss.
**Cedar shake delamination.** If your home has cedar shake (common in Kirkland, Sammamish, and older Seattle neighborhoods), we're looking for splits, cupping, and delamination where the wood layers separate. Cedar that's soft when you push on it is past its useful life. Well-maintained cedar lasts 20 to 25 years here. Neglected shake can fail in under 15.
**North-slope algae.** Those dark streaks running down the shaded side of the roof are Gloeocapsa magma, a type of algae that feeds on the limestone filler in asphalt shingles. It's mostly cosmetic, but heavy growth holds moisture and can shorten shingle life. Algae-resistant shingles help prevent it on a new install.
## Flashings and penetrations
**Chimney flashing and cricket.** The base flashing, step flashing, and counter-flashing around a chimney are all separate pieces that can fail independently. We also check for a cricket (a small peaked diverter on the uphill side of the chimney). Without one, water and debris pile up behind the chimney and eventually find a way in.
**Skylight curb flashing.** Skylights are a common leak point because the curb seal degrades with UV exposure. We check the flashing lap, the sealant condition, and whether the weep system is clear. A skylight leak caught early is a tube of caulk. Caught late, it's rotted framing.
## From the attic side
If we can access the attic, we check three things. Staining on the underside of the sheathing (old or active moisture). Daylight visible through the deck (a hole is a hole, no matter how small). And ventilation: are the soffit vents open, is the ridge vent functional, and is there enough airflow to prevent condensation? Poor ventilation causes more hidden deck rot in the PNW than most homeowners realize.
**Soffit venting and gutter attachment.** Back outside, we check that soffit vents aren't blocked by insulation or paint, and that the gutters are securely attached to the fascia. Loose gutters pull away from the roof edge and let water behind the drip edge. It's a slow rot problem that compounds over years.
## What the findings mean
Not every issue is urgent. Here's how we categorize what we find.
**Monitor it.** Light moss, minor cosmetic wear, a few granules in the gutter. Normal aging. Check again in a year or two.
**Schedule a repair.** Cracked pipe boots, a few lifted shingles, loose ridge caps, minor flashing separation. Fix these on your timeline, but don't let them sit for more than a season. The repair process is usually quick and straightforward.
**Needs replacement.** Widespread granule loss, multiple active leaks, soft decking, shingles past 25 years with visible failure across the whole surface. At that point, patching is just buying months. A post we wrote on when to repair vs. replace walks through the decision in more detail.
## What a good inspection report looks like
You should get photos of every finding, a written summary with a condition rating, and a clear recommendation. Not "your roof needs work." More like "the pipe boot on the east slope is cracked and should be replaced this year, the north slope has moderate moss that should be treated by spring, and the shingles have roughly 8 to 10 years of life remaining." Specifics you can act on.
## When to get one
**Buying a home.** Always. A general home inspector checks the roof, but not like a roofer does. We catch things they miss every week.
**After a major storm.** Wind and hail damage isn't always visible from the ground. If your area got hit, it's worth a look. Our post on getting your roof ready for fall rain covers seasonal timing.
**Every 2 to 3 years on roofs over 15.** That's the sweet spot for catching problems before they get expensive.
**Before an insurance renewal.** If your carrier is asking questions about roof age or condition, a current inspection report with photos gives you something concrete to send them.
If you want a straight answer on where your roof stands, get a free quote or give us a call. We'll tell you what we find, good or bad.
