There are a lot of different circumstances in which you might want to get your roof inspected. When you suspect a leak, after a major storm, or if you’re trying to buy or sell a building, you’ll want to have an inspection done - many building owners get preventive inspections every year just to ensure that their roofs are well-maintained. We recommend a yearly inspection for commercial properties.
What exactly do roofers do during an inspection? Let’s find out:
Getting the Lay of the Land
At some point, your roofer is going to have to get onto the roof to do a thorough inspection. Before that, though, it’s helpful for them to take a look at your roof from afar via technology such as satellite images, etc. This allows them to see how the current drainage is occurring, and if there are any obvious weak points that will need addressing.
Inspector on the Roof
The visual inspection
From there, your inspector will get onto the roof to get a closer look at its condition. There can be hairline cracks or small defects in the roofing membrane that aren’t obvious. By thoroughly inspecting your roof, your inspector will be able to find these hard-to-spot problems.
This is known as a visual inspection - the inspector is looking for any issues. There can be a core sample taken to identify the roof build up and insulation values.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a roof, including:
- Accumulation of vegetation and debris
- Inadequate drainage
- Aging and deteriorating roofing membrane (blisters and splits)
- Failing seals around roof penetrations
A roofing inspection means checking for all of these problems, and more. Your roofing inspector will pay close attention to all projections, curbs, joints, drains, scuppers and terminations. These points are particularly susceptible to damage, moreover, should damage occur at these points, it can quickly weaken your roof’s overall integrity.
Beyond the visual inspection
The human eye is an incredible organ, but even it has its limitations. You can’t, for example, see moisture that’s begun to seep into the substrate if it hasn’t started to cause blisters or other visual phenomena. You also can’t see things like thermal bridging, and it’s more or less impossible to feel a change in temperature of a degree or two from one point to another.
That’s why we go beyond visual inspections here at Transcona Roofing. Our Red Seal roofing inspectors will employ both moisture meters and infrared drone technology to scan your roof for any weak points such as elevated moisture levels, thermal bridging, and more.
Checking the Interior
Roofs are designed to protect a building’s interior from the elements - an essential piece of what’s known as the building envelope. That means that when a roof is damaged or defective in some way, the most obvious signs of that damage will often be indoors. Water can seep through and cause damage to the roof deck, walls, and other interior structures.
A thorough inspection of the building's interior will help your roofing inspector evaluate whether or not there’s damage that they couldn’t spot on the roof - some roofing inspectors prefer to do this step first, so they can identify possible leaks before they go on the roof to scout them out. Mould, damp spots, and sagging in your building’s interior are all signs that your roof may be in need of repair.
Reporting Back to You
Once the inspection is over, you’ll receive a comprehensive report, detailing the cost of any repairs, should they be necessary. When no repairs are necessary, you’ll get a roof condition report detailing what was done during the inspection, and what was found.
Looking for roof repair Winnipeg can trust? Get in touch with us. We were founded right here in the city, so we know the devastating toll summer storms and winter blizzards can take on a roof - we can fix it well.