Commercial Roof Inspection With a Written Report You Can Use
A commercial roof inspection earns its keep before you buy a building and after a storm you’re not sure about. What you get is a photo report and a plain read on how much life the roof has left, with no replacement pitch attached unless the roof actually needs one.
Veteran BuiltCypress, Texas
We start inside, because the building tells you where to look. Ceiling tile stains, rust on the underside of a steel deck, and water marks along walls point to problem areas before we climb. On the roof we walk the field and every edge: membrane condition, seams, blisters, splits, ponding, and how the surface has aged on the sunny side compared with the shaded side.
Then the details, which is where commercial roofs fail. Parapet flashing and coping, curb flashings at every rooftop unit, pipe penetrations, pitch pans, drains and scuppers, overflow paths, and the edge metal that holds the perimeter down in wind. Where the condition of the insulation matters, we take core samples, small cuts that show the layers under the membrane and whether they’re wet, and patch each one before we leave. A roof can look fine from above and be soaked underneath.
The report is written to be used, by an owner budgeting for next year, a buyer negotiating a purchase, or a property manager deciding which leak to fix first. It lists what we found with photos, separates urgent items from things to watch, and says plainly whether the roof needs repair, a planned replacement, or routine maintenance. An inspection before June is a good time to get loose edge metal and open seams closed up ahead of tropical storm season, since wind finds the weak spots first. A second visit in the fall catches what the summer storms did.
Houston roofs live hard. Spring hail, hurricane season from June to November, summer storms that throw straight-line wind, and attic temperatures that cook shingles from underneath. Algae streaks the north slopes. None of that means every roof needs replacing, but it does mean an inspection has to look at the attic, the vents and the flashing, not just the shingles you can see from the yard.
The straight answer on commercial roof inspection
The honest version, including the cases where you should spend the money somewhere else.
- You’re buying or leasing a building and want to know what the roof will cost you over the next few years before you sign.
- Hurricane season is coming and nobody has been on the roof since last year.
- A storm passed through and there’s no leak yet, but you want to know whether the roof took damage.
- If water is coming through the ceiling right now, you need a repair visit, and we’ll do the tracing and the fix instead of writing a report about it.
- If you already know the roof is past saving, skip the inspection and ask for a replacement scope with core samples included.
- If the original installer or the membrane maker is still responsible for the roof, call them first so their obligations aren’t affected.
How we run it
- I
Interior walk
We look at ceilings, deck undersides and walls for the water marks that tell us where to focus on the roof.
- II
Roof field and edges
We walk the whole roof, photographing membrane condition, seams, ponding and edge metal.
- III
Details and cores
Curbs, penetrations, drains and parapets get a close look, and core samples are taken where insulation condition matters.
- IV
Written report
You get photos, a list of findings ranked by urgency, and our plain read on repair, replacement or maintenance.
What we ask before we price it
- How old is the roof, and has it been repaired before?
- Any ceiling stains, and do they come back after every rain or only in a storm?
- Is there an HOA with rules on shingle color or material?
- Are you talking to an insurance carrier about this roof, or paying out of pocket?
- Do you know who installed the current roof, and is there any paperwork from it?
How often should a commercial roof be inspected?
Twice a year is a good habit here: once in spring before storm season and once in fall after it. Add one after any storm with hail or high wind.
What’s a core sample?
A small cut through the roof layers that shows the membrane, insulation and deck in cross-section and whether anything is wet. We patch each one before leaving. It’s the most reliable way to know what’s under a roof.
Is an inspection useful when buying a building?
Very. The roof is one of the most expensive systems on a commercial building, and a report with photos gives you facts to negotiate with or plan around. We report what we find, including the parts nobody wants to hear.
Will you try to sell me a new roof?
If the roof needs replacing, the report will say so. If it needs a few repairs and regular maintenance, it’ll say that instead. A straight report is the whole point of hiring an inspector.
Do you check rooftop equipment?
We check how equipment meets the roof: curbs, flashings, condensate lines and service traffic damage around it. The equipment itself belongs to your mechanical contractor.
Can the report be shared with my insurance carrier or lender?
It’s your report, so you can share it with anyone. We write it plainly enough that someone who wasn’t on the roof can follow it.
Who you are hiring
Leland Cannon spent 21 years in the Army and retired as a First Sergeant. Geoff Schardien served in Air Force Security Forces and has more than twenty years in residential construction. One of them walks every job before it starts, and you keep one phone number from the first visit to the last day.
We are a service-disabled veteran-owned company based in Cypress, verified by the Texas Veterans Commission. The person who writes your scope is the person you call if something is not right.
Google reviewers have given us 5.0 across 19 reviews, and the word that keeps coming up is honest. We would rather talk you out of a job than sell you one you do not need.