Amazingly, the eyeball rule applies even to the roof. The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), a professional organization with around 5,000 members whose guidelines have been adopted as the industry standard, says its member inspectors must "observe" the roof, but it doesn't say they actually have to go up there.
Even some veteran home inspectors think inspectors should closely check the roof. "A really bad roof can look good from the ground. When you see it at an acute angle, you don't always see the defect. But when looking straight down, you can see it better," Stone says. An inspector can make excuses for not getting to the roof, saying it's fragile or slippery. But there are often ways around those hurdles. Stone says you could set up a ladder to look at the roof without actually stepping on it. Or if you stand far enough away from the house, you can get a better perspective by using high-powered binoculars.
Stone recommends asking an inspector how he checks the roof before hiring him. If he won't go up, for whatever reason, you might want to try someone else.
A Typical Home Inspectors Roof Inspection list
____ Composition shingles: no curling, no cupping, no loss of granulation particulate, no broken, damaged or missing shingles, no more than two layers of roofing
____ Wood shingles or shakes: no mold, rot or decay, no cracked/broken/missing shingles, no curling
____ Flat roofs: no obvious patches, no cracks or splits, minimal blisters/"alligatoring" and wrinkles, no silt deposits (indicates improper drainage), sealed tar at flashings
____ Flashing around roof penetrations
____ No evidence of excess roofing cement/tar/caulk
____ Soffits and fascia: no decay, no stains
____ Exterior venting for eave areas: vents are clean and not painted over
____ Gutters: no decay or rust, joints sealed, attached securely to structure, no bending or sagging, no sections of gutter or downspout missing, gutters clean, no mud deposits
____ Chimneys: straight, properly flashed, no evidence of damaged bricks or cracked joints, mortar/cement cap in good condition
