Roof and Chimney Inspection

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Roof and roof valley inspection checklist:

 

There are several methods inspect roof. We recommend the following:

1. Walk the roof from the ground. (Do not walk on any roofs)
2. View roof from a ladder in different locations around the home.
3. View roof from the ground using binoculars.
4. View roof from a window inside the home.

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79 Roof and Chimney Pictures and Descriptions!

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Different types of roofing:

Even if you are told a new layer of shingles has been installed on the roof it is very important to view the shingles because depending on the area you live such as Florida (Southern State) shingles have been known to fail in 12 to 14 years. In most northern states with a higher pitched roof the shingles can last 25 or more years. Roof with two layers normally never go bad in 12 to 15 years.

 

1. Asphalt Shingles – They are the most common type of shingles used in the country today. Most of these shingles are sold by the length of their warranty (i.e. 20-year, 25-year and 30-year. The difference is the weight and the design of the shingles.
2. Rolled Roofing – Is fabricated the same way as asphalt strip shingles. Rolled roofing is generally installed on roof with less than a 4/12 slope. We found the life of the product to be approx. 10yrs.
3. Wood cedar Shake, terra cotta tile or slate shingles, metal – we recommend due to the expense of these types shingle you hire a professional who is knowledgeable with each different roof covering.
4. Rolled rubber roofing– Always check for ponding of water, seams separating, signs of allegrating and check very carefully around the chimneys and vents for any separation or loose open joints.
5. Metal roof – Metal roofing generally comes in two different types, either flat seam or standing seam. A standing seam metal roof generally last 75 to 100 years if properly maintained. Maintance pertains to periodic scrapping and painting with rust resistance paint.

 

The following photos represent several different problem areas found in roofing. Always check for water stains and water leaks around chimneys (common area for water leaks).

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Common problems with asphalt shingles:

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Properly installed roof shingles.	Deteriorating shingles due to age, what youare actually looking at is shingles that arestarting to bubble up in different areas.
Cracked shingles deteriorating due to age. Depending on how severe the cracks are will determine the life remaining. These shingles have approx. 5 years life remaining.	Shingles loosing excessive amounts of granular. This is sometimes only viewable from on top of a roof or from a ladder. It is always important to look at the shingles on a roof as close as possible

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Properly installed roof shingles.	Deteriorating shingles due to age, what youare actually looking at is shingles that arestarting to bubble up in different areas.
Cracked shingles deteriorating due to age. Depending on how severe the cracks are will determine the life remaining. These shingles have approx. 5 years life remaining.	Shingles loosing excessive amounts of granular. This is sometimes only viewable from on top of a roof or from a ladder. It is always important to look at the shingles on a roof as close as possible
These shingles are in terrible conditionand should be replaced. When shingles get this bad we recommend never to add another on top of them. (Possible FHA Concern)	Shingles damaged due to poor attic ventilation, time to have the shingles replaced and have proper ventilation installed in the attic. (Possible FHA Concern)
All the little black spots you see on the shingles are granular pitting, depending on how severe the pitting is it will determine the the actual life of the singles.	Asphalt shingles with nail popping, this is only viewable by getting on top of the roof. If you find only a couple nail pops that is ok (just repair) but if you find several it is time to call in a professional roofer, it is a good chance the shingles will have to be replaced.
This is a properly installed ridge shingle placed on top a ridge vent	This roof ridge was finished by cutting the roof shingles to fit over the ridge, this is not defective but we do recommend that best way to roof a ridge is to install ridge and hip shingles. They are specially designed for the ridge and hip area
The metal strip hanging from the ridge is a zinc strip what this does is help keep you shingles clear of moss and mold. As it rains the water hits it and washes off the roof.	When you see a gable roof like this hanging over another roof you should always look below the over hang to see if their is any open areas to enter the attic.
When you find a roof area like this, it is common that you will get ice build up, this photo also has some wire in it that is actually heat wire for ice. (Newer Home)	We recommend to always keep all debris cleared from the shingle.
We found several missing shingles on this roof, when seeing this check several shingle tabs and see if they are sticking down.These shingles had to e removed and new shingles installed. (Possible FHA Concern)	Deteriorating shingles due to age. When you see shingles that look like this it is timeto replace the shingles. Most states allow of to 2 layers of shingles but we always recommend to remove all the old shingle sand have new installed. (Possible FHA Concern)

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Rolled asphalt roofing:

Fabricated the same way as asphalt strip shingles. Rolled roofing is generally installed on a roof with less than a 4/12 slope. We typically find the life of the product to be approx. 10 yrs.

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This is a photo of rolled roofing that is found on flat or low pitched roof under 4-12 pitch.	The rolled roofing on the upper half of this page is in very poor condition and will need to be replaced. We find that the rolled roofing life to be approx. 10 – 15 years.(Possible FHA Concern)
Rolled rubber roofing:
Rolled Rubber Roofing is generally found on flat roofs, it is a excellent product and last approx. 20 to 25 years.	The rolled rubber roofing is cracking, if you see this we recommend to have roofing expert inspect this.(Possible FHA Concern)

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Wood cedar shake, terra cotta tile or slate shingles:

 

Wood Cedar shake shingles	Clay tile roofing.
Slate shingles

 

Metal roof:

Metal roofing generally comes in two different types, either flat seam or standing seam. A standing seam metal roof generally last 75 to 100 years if properly maintained. Maintenance pertains to periodic scraping and painting with rust resistance paint.

 

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Three different types of roof valleys properly installed:

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Closed valley, most commonly used today.	Open Valley / Open Metal Valley
Butterfly valley

 

View common roof valley problems:

Open valley that has been heavily tarred due to a possible water leak. This valley has limited life remaining.	Both closed valleys have been caulked,this generally represents a leaking roof valley.
Deteriorating open shingle valley should be repaired or replaced.	The valley has not been properly installed it appears that this was probably done by a homeowner trying to save money by roofing the home themselves.
Both these valleys have been heavily tarred this will work as a temporary bandage only.We recommend to have the valleys replaced by a professional roofer. (Possible FHA Concern)	It is very important to look close at all roof valleys, very common to find these in poor condition. We recommend to always have them repaired by a professional.

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Determining how many layers of shingles your roof may have:

The white area the arrows are pointing to is a drip edge, when you see this it generally indicates that you have only one layer of shingles. This is not a 100% guaranteed, you still have to look close at the shingles and the roofs edge to make your best educated decision.

The brown area you are looking at directly under the shingles is what is called a C-channel, when you see one of these directly below your shingles it is a very good chance you have 2 layers of shingles on your home. You will sometimes see them much wider than this, then you may have 3 or more layers of shingles.

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Roof Ventilation Inspection:

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Roof Vent: Located on top of the roof and depending on the size of your roof you could have several of these.	Ridge Vent: One continuous vent across the ridge of your home
Gable Vent: A home that has gable vents will generally only have two of these, one on each side of the home.	Roof Turbine Vent: A turbine vent is a passive ventilation device. This vent works off of the air flow in your attic and is normally found on metal roof.
Thermatically controlled attic vent: Generally used on homes where no matter what type of ventilation has been tried the home does not operate properly. This unit is wired to your electrical system and automatically turns on with a thermostat control for hot and cold. These work great but they can be a little loud.

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Common Gutter Problems:

Missing downspout diverter	Gutters need cleaning
Damaged downspout	This gutter is missing the end cap at the end of the gutter.

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Skylight Inspection:

Skylights add light and beauty to the home but are subject to leaks and other problems. We recommend you look closely around the exterior perimeter of the skylight for heavy caulking that may have been installed because of water leaks.

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Common chimney problems:

Many homes in the United States use fireplaces as their primary or secondary heat source. It is very important that such items as flues and chimneys operate properly and are inspected / cleaned on a regular basis depending on the usage. Every fireplace, and every fossil fuel burning appliance for that matter, must have a separate chimney flu. The exception is that a heating plant or water heater can use the same flu. The water heater flu stove pipe enters above the flu of the heating plant.

1. Chimney Height: Chimneys must extend 2 feet higher than any portion of the roof or any structure within 10 feet, but must be less than 3 feet above the point where the chimney passes thru the roof.
2. Brick Chimneys: Chimneys that are one brick thick without a flu liner are a fire hazard. A two brick chimney without a flu liner is acceptable as long the chimney is in good condition. Metal flue for gas appliances should always have caps. We recommend adding metal caps over tiles chimney liners to keep animals and birds from nesting.
3. Chimney Crack: It is always very important to look on the brick of the chimney/fireplace for a crack that runs in a straight line up three four layers of brick. This is sometimes the cause of a past possible chimney fire. We always recommend having your chimney / fireplace liner cleaned and inspected by a professional before purchasing the home. This cleaning can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
4. Chimney Crowns: Chimney crowns are very important to have installed on a chimney to prevent water seepage inside the bricks and the subsequent damage this causes. Chimney crowns come in both metal and concrete.
5. Spalling Bricks: Spalling occurs when water gets into the bricks and freezes. This causes the surface of the brick to fall off. This generally happens because the chimney cap is failing.
6. Tuck Pointing: Tuck pointing is the process of repairing mortar that is falling from between the bricks.

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Chimney Inspection:

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Chimney Cap.	Metal chimney liner covers are great for keeping your chimney liners clear or debris and animals.
This chimney has a straight line crack, this ca n sometimes mean their was a past chimney fire, we recommend that a licensed chimney sweep inspect the chimney.	Chimney bricks Spalling and Loose Mortar Joints.
The chimney brick are in very poor condition we recommend to have a licensed chimney sweep make all necessary repairs.	Straight line chimney crack generally represents a past chimney fire. (Safety hazard)
Chimney cap is cracked in several areas and will need to be replaced.	Deteriorating Roof Chimney Cap.
Deteriorating Roof Chimney Cap	Chimney brick tuck pointing
Concrete between the brick has been filled (tuck pointed)	The chimney need to have approx 8 layers of bricks replaced, a new liner installed and a new chimney cap installed.
This chimney is used for either a furnace or hot water heater but it should still have a liner. We recommend to have a new metal liner installed by a licensed professional.	This chimney has a metal liner and a metal cap, but we still recommend that you do your best to look at the top of it to see if it is rusted or if it needs to be re caulked.
This chimney was leaning and was repaired by adding metal bracing on the side. We recommend that every time you see a chimney on the side of a home like this you look at it from a distance to see if it is standing straight.	Chimney liner is full of creosote, and needs to be cleaned. This is a severe fire hazard.
Cracked chimney liner, very important to have checked by a professional.	Cracked chimney liner, very important to have checked by a professional.
Chimney Liners: These are very important to inspect due to the fact that they are used for exhausting fireplaces, furnaces and water heaters. A dirty chimney liner is one of the leading causes of house fires today. We recommend when purchasing a home that every fireplace liner is to be cleaned and inspected by professional, licensed chimney sweep.

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Chimney flashing inspection:

Having your chimney properly flashed is extremely important since chimney leaks are one of the most prevalent water leak problems found in homes today.

Properly installed chimney flashing	Properly installed chimney flashing
Properly installed chimney flashing
View common problems with chimney flashing:
The chimney has been heavily tarred due to not being properly flashed.	This excessive amount of tar indicates past water leaks around the chimney.
This chimney flashing was improperly installed using wood instead of metal flashing	Metal step flashing is loose and should be repaired
Heavily tarred chimney flashing is very common but is not the proper way to install flashing.	Metal counter flashing was properly installed, but the heavy caulked flashing still indicates a possible leak
This chimney flashing looks great when you are standing on the ground but you get up close you realize that the metal flashing is nothing more that Ice and water shield. Yes it is working but it will not last for long.	This chimney flashing was not properly installed. We would recommend to have this re-flashed by a licensed contractor.
This chimney flashing was installed properly but as regular maintenance it will need to be caulked at the top of the flashing.

 

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Rubber plumbing roof boot flashing inspection

Rubber plumbing boot flashing is a very inexpensive product that can cause severe leaks inside the home if not properly maintained.

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Rubber plumbing exhaust boot.	Cracked rubber plumbing boot exhaust can cause serious water leaks.
This exhaust pipe has only been caulked and will continue to leak water. We recommend installing a new rubber boot.	This exhaust pipe is too low to the roof we recommend to connect a PVC pipe to it and raise it up approx. 1 ft.

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