The short answer
Look over your roof at least once a year, ideally in autumn before the wet months, and again after any severe storm. Roofs with stone slates, old slates, lead details or flat coverings need a closer look more often than a newer tiled roof. A specialist visit every few years suits a sound roof; a yearly one suits an ageing roof.
A yearly look is the baseline for most roofs
For a typical pitched roof in reasonable condition, one proper look a year is a sensible habit. Autumn works best, because gutters are full of leaves and a slipped tile is found before the rain sets in. The check does not have to be a specialist's job every time. Standing in the garden with binoculars, you can spot missing tiles, a sagging ridge line, and gutters that overflow or sprout weeds.
What a ground check cannot do is see the detail. Flashings, valleys and the mortar along the ridge sit out of sight, and so does the underside of the covering. That is why a visit by someone who goes up and into the loft earns its place every so often, even when nothing looks wrong. Our seasonal roof inspection guide plans a full year of visits if you want a calendar to follow.
Which roofs need looking at more often
Age and material change the answer. A roof fitted recently over a sound underlay can usually go longer between specialist visits than one that has been up for generations. These are the ones we would not leave for more than a year.
Stone and old slate
Cotswold stone slates hang from oak pegs over timber battens, and pegs and battens tend to give out long before the stone does. MyBuilder's 2026 slate guide puts natural slate at 80 to 100 years or more, and Cotswold District Council's 2000 guidance says stone can reach 100 years with regular maintenance. Both figures assume someone catches slipped courses early.
Flat roofs and details
A flat roof has joints, upstands and outlets that wear faster than the main covering, and ponding water shows up between visits. Lead flashings at chimneys and abutments can lift, split or be dragged away by movement. Nearly all of this is quicker and cheaper to fix when found early.
Gutters and fascias
MyBuilder's 2026 guide to fascias and gutters suggests inspecting uPVC fascias about every five years, though gutters themselves deserve a clear-out each autumn.
Roofs after building work
Any roof disturbed by a new chimney stack, aerial, solar fixing or loft conversion deserves a look soon afterwards, because penetrations and re-laid courses are where later leaks begin.
When a storm means checking sooner
Strong wind, heavy snow or a spell of hard frost can do in an afternoon what age would take years to do. After a severe storm, walk round the house and scan the ground for fallen tiles, slate fragments and lumps of mortar, then glance along the roofline for gaps. Indoors, check upstairs ceilings and the loft for fresh stains or drips.
Do not climb up yourself. If something looks wrong, ring a roofer. We put leaks and storm damage at the front of the queue, make the roof safe first, and schedule the lasting repair for when conditions allow. If you are weighing up which kind of inspection suits the problem, our comparison of a roof survey and a full building survey helps.
Wind tends to lift edges first. Ridge and hip tiles, verge tiles along the gable ends and the lead at chimneys are the likeliest places for a gust to get a grip, so they are worth a second look from the ground even when the main slopes seem untouched. After a long wet spell, a stain that spreads overnight on a ceiling tells you the roof is letting water in right now, and that cannot wait for the autumn visit.
What each kind of visit gives you
A quick check and a written survey are different jobs. The table sets out where each fits.
| Kind of check | Who does it | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Ground look with binoculars | You | Yearly, and after storms |
| Gutter clear and outside check | You or a roofer | Each autumn |
| Roofer's visit with loft check | A roofer | Older roofs, or every few years on sound ones |
| Written survey with pictures | A roofer | Buying, selling, claims, or planning major work |
MyBuilder's 2026 inspection guide gives £150 to £500 as the range for a roof survey, with a standard survey at £150 to £250. Roof size and access move the price, so a tall house on a steep lane that needs scaffold sits nearer the top.
Matching the gap to your own roof
As a rough guide, a fairly recent roof in a covering with a long track record can have a specialist visit every few years if you keep up the yearly ground check. A roof with a known weak spot, a history of patching, or a covering close to the limit of its expected life is better looked at every year. Where you are unsure of the age, a roofer can often estimate it from the wear.
Position matters as well. Trees overhead mean leaves and moss build up sooner, and one with a long valley or a parapet gutter collects water in the same places year after year. Keep a dated note of each look with a few pictures. A stain that was not there last autumn, or mortar that has crumbled further, shows up clearly when you compare. Our survey photographs of your roof can go straight into that record.
Next step
If you cannot remember the last time anyone looked, that is your answer: it is time. Send us your address and what is visible from the garden, and we will say whether a visit is worth booking now or can wait for the autumn. A written 10-year workmanship guarantee covers any repair we make. For the wider service, see how long a roof inspection takes, or start from the main roof inspections and surveys page.