This is a checklist for the building side of a commercial roof inspection: what to arrange, gather and decide before the inspector arrives.
The fee is the same whether or not you prepare. The difference lands entirely in what you get back.
Two weeks before
| Do | Why |
|---|---|
| Agree the brief in writing | So the report answers the question you actually have |
| Confirm the scope and method | Visual, infrared, drone, core sampling |
| Confirm the deliverable | Format, timescale and what it will include |
| Give tenant notice | Where leases require it, with dates |
| Book any permit to work | Buildings that operate one need lead time |
| Ask whether core sampling is wanted | And whether you are willing to permit it |
One week before
| Do | Why |
|---|---|
| Test the roof access yourself | Hatches seize, keys disappear, ladders age |
| Find every key | Hatch, gate, plant room, service riser |
| Check the safe route | Fall protection, anchor points, fragile areas |
| Clear obstructed access | Stored material in front of a hatch is common |
| Confirm who will attend | From the building, and from the inspector |
| Arrange interior access | Including tenant areas and plant rooms |
The records to have ready
| Document | What it tells the inspector |
|---|---|
| Roof plan | Where everything is, and how to describe a location |
| Original specification | System, insulation, deck, attachment |
| Repair invoices, five years | Whether failures recur in one place |
| Maintenance records | Whether anybody has been on the roof between failures |
| Previous inspection reports | What was found last time, and whether it was acted on |
| Warranty certificate and conditions | What cover exists and what it requires |
| Leak reports from occupants | The evidence the roof itself will not provide |
| Rooftop equipment list | Who owns each unit and who services it |
The brief
| State | Why |
|---|---|
| The decision this supports | Budget, purchase, claim, or maintenance planning |
| Whether a moisture survey is wanted | It is a separate exercise with its own conditions |
| Whether indicative costs are required | Changes the work and the fee |
| The areas of known concern | So they get the time they deserve |
| Any access constraint | Tenanted areas, operating hours, live plant |
| Who receives the report | And whether it will be shared externally |
On the day
| Do | Why |
|---|---|
| Walk the roof together if practical | The conversation is worth as much as the report |
| Point out the known problems | There is nothing to be gained by testing the inspector |
| Introduce the facilities staff | They know where it drips and in which weather |
| Make sure the interior is walked | Half the evidence about a roof is inside |
| Take notes during the walk | Spoken detail gets compressed on paper |
| Agree next steps before they leave | Deliverable, timescale and any return visit |
What to do with it
- Write the brief as a decision, not a request. The decision determines the document.
- Test the roof access a week ahead. The hatch is the commonest reason a visit fails.
- Write the leak list. It is the most useful record and the least often kept.
- Walk it with them. And take notes while they are talking.
- Make sure they go inside. A roof inspection that never enters the building is half an inspection.
Want the reasoning behind this? Read what a roof inspection covers and what a report should contain.
Walked by Date Roof
Common questions
Why does preparation change what an inspection is worth?
Because an inspector who arrives with the roof plan, the repair history and a clear brief spends the visit looking at the roof, while one who arrives without them spends the first hour establishing what everybody already knew and the rest of it working blind.
- A roof plan turns findings into locations rather than descriptions
- Repair history shows whether failures recur in one place
- A clear brief stops the inspection answering the wrong question
- Access arranged in advance avoids an hour lost at the start
- Known problem areas get the attention they deserve
The fee is the same either way, so the whole difference lands in the quality of what you receive. Half a day of preparation, most of which is gathering documents that already exist somewhere in the building, routinely converts a general condition report into something specific enough to price work from. Keep the gathered documents together afterwards, since the same folder serves the next inspection, a warranty claim and any future sale of the building.
What access needs arranging?
Keys, hatches, ladders, permits, tenant notice and anything that requires somebody to be present. Each one is trivial on its own and each one has stopped an inspection, usually the roof hatch nobody has opened for a year and the key that left with a previous facilities manager.
- Keys for hatches, gates and plant rooms, tested in advance
- Permit to work, if the building operates one
- Tenant notice where leases require it
- Safe ladder or stair access, checked rather than assumed
- Somebody available to open interior areas on the day
Test the roof access yourself the week before. A hatch that has not been opened for a year is frequently painted shut, seized, or opens onto a ladder nobody has looked at since it was installed. Finding that out in advance costs ten minutes; finding it out on the day costs the visit and the fee. Where a lift or scaffold is needed to reach a lower roof, book it in the same conversation rather than discovering the need on the morning.
Which records should be ready?
The roof plan, the original specification, repair and maintenance invoices, previous inspection reports, the warranty, and any record of leaks reported by occupants. Together they tell the inspector what the roof has already done, which the roof itself will not.
- A roof plan, ideally with areas already numbered
- The original specification or installation details
- Repair invoices, five years, with dates and locations
- Previous inspection or survey reports
- The warranty certificate and its conditions
- A list of leaks reported inside the building
The leak list is the one most often missing and the one most often useful. Facilities teams usually hold it informally, as emails or as something the maintenance supervisor remembers, and half an hour spent writing it into a single list before the visit will often direct the inspection more effectively than anything else on this page. Send the documents ahead of the visit rather than handing them over on the day, so the inspector arrives having read them.
What should the brief actually say?
What decision the inspection is meant to support. A report for a capital plan, a report for a purchase, a report after a storm and a report for a warranty claim are different documents, and an inspector who knows which one you need will produce it.
- Name the decision: budget, purchase, claim, or maintenance
- State whether a moisture survey is wanted
- Say whether indicative costs are required
- Agree the deliverable format and the timescale
- Confirm whether core sampling is permitted
The commonest mismatch is a general condition report commissioned when what was needed was a remaining life figure with a defensible basis, or the reverse. Both are legitimate pieces of work and they involve different amounts of time on the roof. Saying which one you want takes a sentence in the instructing email. Put the brief in the instructing email rather than discussing it by phone, so both sides can point at the same words if the report arrives in the wrong shape.
What should happen on the day?
Somebody from the building should walk the roof with the inspector if they can, and the interior walk should happen as well as the roof walk. An inspection that never goes inside the building has looked at half the available evidence.
- Walk the roof together if it is safe and practical
- Point out the known problem areas rather than testing the inspector
- Make sure the interior is walked, including plant rooms
- Introduce whoever works under the roof every day
- Agree what happens next before the inspector leaves
The conversation on the roof is frequently worth as much as the written report, because an inspector will say things aloud that get compressed into a phrase on paper. Take notes during it. If there is a disagreement about what something is, that is the moment to resolve it, not six weeks later by email. Photograph anything you are shown as well, because your own images are the ones you will have to hand when the report is still two weeks away.