Annual roof checks & maintenance visits
In short
A scheduled look at the roof, the flashings, the chimney and the rainwater goods, with photographs and a note of what needs doing. It catches the slipped slate and the cracked flaunching while they are still small, which is where nearly all the savings in roofing are.
Also called: Roof maintenance · Roof check · Yearly roof inspection · Preventative roof maintenance
Signs you need this
- A roof of unknown condition that has never been checked
- Trees overhanging the roof or heavy moss on the covering
- An exposed property that takes the weather
- A rental property where faults are found late
- A house that is going on the market
- Coming out of a hard winter
Almost every expensive roof repair started as a cheap one. A single slipped slate soaks a batten; the batten rots; the fixings around it let go; four more slates come down; the rafter foot beneath goes. Every step of that is months or years apart, and any one of them could have been dealt with for a fraction of the last.
That is the entire argument for a scheduled check. Not because roofs need constant attention — they do not — but because the failures are slow and invisible from the ground, and by the time a homeowner notices something it has usually been going for a while.
A proper check covers the same ground as a leak investigation, in the same order, because that is where failures cluster. The chimney and its flaunching, pointing and flashings. The ridge and hips, for cracked bedding and movement. The valleys, cleared and inspected. The abutments and any dormer junctions. The verges. Then the general covering, then the guttering, downpipes and gullies. And the loft, for underlay condition, daylight, damp and ventilation.
Frequency should be honest rather than commercial. A house with trees over it wants the gutters doing annually and the roof looking at every couple of years. An exposed roof up the hill benefits from a look after a serious winter rather than on a calendar. A sheltered modern roof in good order may genuinely need nothing for years. Anybody selling an annual contract regardless of the property is selling a subscription.
There is one clear seasonal case, and it is autumn. Getting gutters cleared and any loose material dealt with before the wet and windy season is worth considerably more than doing the same work in March. Wind damage in a February gale usually starts somewhere that was already loose in October.
The other real value is documentary. Photographs on file, dated, showing the state of the roof, are what settles an argument with an insurer about whether damage was storm or wear, and what a purchaser's surveyor is answered with. For a rental property that record is worth having whether or not anything ever goes wrong.
What the job covers
- Chimney, flaunching, pointing and flashings inspected
- Ridge, hips, valleys, verges and abutments checked
- General covering assessed for slipped and broken units
- Gutters, downpipes and gullies cleared and checked
- Loft inspection for underlay, damp and ventilation
- Dated photographs and a written note of what needs doing and when
What it costs
We don't publish a price for this yet, because a number pulled out of the air is worse than no number at all — your roofer has to honour it. On roofing it would also be close to meaningless: access is often the biggest single factor, and it varies enormously house to house. You'll get a firm price for your actual job when they ring you back, before any work starts. The quote itself is free and there's no obligation either way.
Common questions
How often does a roof actually need checking?
Less often than it gets sold. With trees over it, gutters annually and the roof every couple of years. Exposed up the hill, a look after a hard winter. A sheltered modern roof in good condition can genuinely go several years. The honest answer varies by property, and a fixed annual contract for everybody is a subscription rather than a schedule.
When is the best time of year?
Autumn, clearly. Clearing the gutters and dealing with anything loose before the wet and windy season is worth far more than the same work in spring — most February storm damage starts at something that was already loose in October.
Is it worth it if nothing is wrong?
The value is in the photographs as much as the findings. A dated record of the roof's condition is what answers an insurer arguing that storm damage was really wear and tear, and what a purchaser's surveyor gets shown. On a rental property it is worth having regardless.
Will you find work every time?
No, and a check that always finds work is not a check. Plenty of visits end with a photograph of a sound roof and a note to look again in two years. That is a legitimate outcome and it is what an honest report says when it is true.
Need this doing in Macclesfield?
Tell us the job and it goes straight to our local roofer — one call back, usually the same day. Free quote, no obligation.