Roof Inspections

Florida Roof Inspections Service

Roof inspections is recognized by the roofing industry as a vital component of successful Roof Construction Management. Many important areas of a roof installation are not visible for inspection upon completion and often are already covered before periodic site inspections can be made.

Full-time Quality Roof Inspection provides a set of ‘eyes’ during all installation phases. Critical areas such as fastening patterns of underlying insulation, mopping techniques, or glue application and drying times can be monitored for compliance with the contract documents and manufacturer’s standards.

Count On EMA Trained Roof Inspections Engineers

EMA’s roof inspections by PE engineers provide extensive experience in observing all roof installation phases to ensure materials comply with project documents. Before the start of work, our inspectors are provided specifications, drawings, shop drawings, and submittals. The inspector’s attendance at the Pre-Job Conference with respective contractual parties allows a thorough understanding of the system installation, set-up areas, and anticipated internal disruptions. The inspector generates Daily Roof Inspection Reports, delineating starting material and installation compliance, and documents any unforeseen contingent items to the contract. Non-compliance issues are immediately addressed with the roofing contractor, design professional or building owner to ensure proper installation of the specified roofing assembly.

The roof and roofing system are checked as part of a Professional Engineer’s roof inspection. The roof keeps rain and other weather elements from the home or building. The Professional Engineer evaluates the general condition of the roof during roof inspection and estimates the remaining life on the top. Evidence of past or present roof leakage is also assessed. The engineering report includes an expense analysis of upcoming roof repair or replacement costs.

Most roofs are made of either asphalt, cedar, slate, or clay tile. If a building has a pitched roof, the roof can be viewed from the site. (It is not advisable to climb onto this type of roof during inspections to check it. Climbing on the roof can damage roof shingles, especially older shingles. A leakage problem can be created simply by walking on a pitched roof surface.)

Roof Inspections by Licensed P.E

When the Professional Engineer finds that a roof leaks, needs repairs, or will soon need replacement, roof inspections are required to analyze the necessary maintenance and replacement. This helps you plan for any upcoming roof replacement.

If the building has a pitched roof and an accessible attic, the Professional Engineer looks for evidence of roof leakage or damage to the sheathing. The Professional Engineer also looks for problems in the attic such as the amount of insulation present, water damage, and insufficient attic ventilation.

Some roof inspections advocate walking on pitched asphalt, slate, and terracotta tile roofs. Some Inspectors lift asphalt roof shingles to determine how they were installed. This damages the roof. The slates, cedar shingles, or terracotta tiles suffer damage that can causeanalyzes   leakage. cause

Asphalt roof shingles are self-sealing. Lifting an asphalt roof shingle damages the seal. Roofing manufacturers will void a roof warranty if they determine a roof inspection damage was caused by such an inspection on the roof.

Our Professional Engineers determine the condition of the roof by visual examination. If a Home Inspector needs to walk on the top or lift the shingles, you should ask: Why can’t this Home Inspector determine the roof’s condition visually?  Can’t this Home Inspector see that the roof shingles are old?

In some cases, it is impossible to observe the roof before or during a roof inspection safely. If the roof is not visible, we use available satellite images of the roof to assess the roof inspections. This includes historical satellite images, which can allow the roof history to be determined.

How to Inspect Roof Types

The first protection any house has against the elements is the roof, and there are a variety of roofing materials. You can learn a few basics about each material to help you spot damage that needs to be repaired or roofing that should be replaced, as reported in roof inspections.

Asphalt Shingle Roof Inspections

Asphalt roofing surfaces are granular. When asphalt shingles age they become brittle from the sun and other elements. Then, bare spots, the granules can detach from the shingles. Check in the gutters and at the end of the downspouts for asphalt granule deposits. Inspect the roof for bare areas where all the granules have detached and been washed away. Also, inspect for missing, torn, or warped shingles. When the edges or corners of shingles rise or curl, they have outlived their usefulness and will need replacing. Also, knowing the many layers, look for indentations or punctures from hail damage. This can be far more costly than simply adding shingles, so knowing the many layers on the roof and the legal limitations can be valuable. During roof inspections, you can commonly determine how many layers are present by examining the roof’s edge roof’s age.

Metal Roof Inspections

Metal roofs are commonly steel, copper, aluminum, or galvanized iron. Most metal roofs have a life expectancy of about 50 years. Perforations, pits, rust, or corrosion can help determine the age of the roof. Check the seams, corners, and joints for loose, dried-out concrete, peeling caulk, or other seam material while inspecting the roof.

Slate or Clay Tile Roof Inspections

Roof Inspections of the three most common tile roof materials are concrete tiles, clay or terracotta tile, and composite or lightweight tiles. The most common tile is made of concrete, and you can identify these roofs by the thickness and absence of color on the bottom or underside of the tiles. They often have 75-year or lifetime warranties. However, they can leak sooner, depending on the quality of the artistry. Local codes and the country’s area will require these tiles to be attached with nails, construction adhesives, battens, screws, foam, or a combination of fasteners noted during roof inspections.

Composite tile roof inspections are not as popular and are made to resemble clay tiles. They are principally installed on homes without the structural ability to hold much heavier concrete. Composite tiles also cost less to install.

Clay tile roof inspections come in two types: terracotta and sand cast. Terracotta tile looks just like the material of clay flower pots. Sand cast tiles come in different colors noted during roof inspections.

Slate and clay tile roofs and even cement shingles are designed to last as long as the structure when cared for properly. However, they can be broken by hail, ice, or walking on them. Avoid walking on these materials and use a drone or binoculars to look for any missing tiles or ones that are chipped or broken roof inspections.

Wooden Shakes or Shingles roof inspections

This is another roofing material you should not be walking on. Inspect these roofs from a ladder with binoculars or a drone camera. Wooden shakes are split by hand, and wood shingles are sawed and tapered. Weather will deteriorate wood shakes and shingles over time. See if rotted, warped, or broken shingles or shakes are missing. As a general rule of thumb, the whole roof needs replacement if a third or more of these roofs are damaged.