Will I get photos of my roof after an inspection?

A useful set starts wide and finishes close. Wide shots show each slope and the roof as a whole, so you can see where the findings sit. Close shots show the detail: a loose tile, a split slate, a lifted flashing, a gap in the mortar at the ridge, a blocked outlet. A defect photographed from a metre away tells you more than any description.

The loft needs its own set. Pictures of the underlay, the battens, the rafters, any damp staining and any daylight showing through give a view of the roof from the other side. These are often the most telling images, since they show what the weather has been doing out of sight. Our guide on what a roofer looks for in your loft sets out those checks.

Stills do most of the work, but moving images help in some cases. A short video can show how loose a flashing is or how water runs along a valley. Where a roof is steep, tall or fragile, drone images give a view without anyone setting foot on the covering. MyBuilder's 2026 guide puts drone surveys at £200 to £400 against £150 to £250 for a standard one, so they suit roofs where access is the problem.

A short clip of a sagging gutter or of water spilling at a joint often explains a problem faster than a page of text. Whatever the method, the images should be dated, clear and linked to the report. A folder of unlabelled pictures is hard to use. Each one should sit beside the note it supports, so that a line saying a ridge needs re-bedding has the picture of that ridge next to it.

They make the report checkable. If a roofer says a slope needs replacing, you can see the evidence and ask a second roofer to study the same images. They stop quotes being compared on trust alone. Dated images also help if a dispute ever arises about when a fault first appeared. They also keep a record: if a stain appears later, you can look back and see whether the area was sound at the time.

They carry weight beyond the home, too. Anyone buying, lending against or insuring the house will want evidence of the roof's condition, and dated pictures are easier to accept than a spoken opinion. Our answer on reading roof condition report findings shows how pictures and wording fit together.

After a survey the quote is clear and easy to check, running from scaffolding and stripping, taking in materials and labour, and ending with rubbish removal and making good. The pictures show the reason behind each, so a charge for re-bedding a ridge sits beside an image of that ridge. For a second opinion, pass the same set to another roofer and ask for a price on the same scope.

National ranges for common jobs are published before any visit, with sources named, so you can judge a quote against them. For example, MyBuilder's 2026 guide quotes £300 to £600 to re-bed or replace ridge tiles. When work is finished we photograph it again, leave the site tidy and remove the rubbish, and the job is covered by a written 10-year workmanship guarantee.

When you book any roof inspection, ask what you will receive. A good answer includes photographs of each slope, close images of defects, loft pictures, and a written summary that refers to them. If a free check offers only a spoken verdict, you have little to act on, which we weigh up in our answer on whether free roof inspections are worth having.

Keep the files with your house papers, ideally in two places. If you sell, they go in the pack for the buyer. A set from a survey two or three years ago also lets the next roofer see how fast a defect has moved, which helps them judge whether a repair will hold. Our roof inspections and surveys page lists the kinds of survey we carry out, and every one ends with pictures of your roof.

Seeing your own roof from above can be a shock. Moss that looked like a green tint from the lawn turns out to be a thick mat; a ridge you took for solid shows gaps in the bedding. Do not panic. Most of what a close photograph shows is wear, and the report should say which items are cosmetic, which will need work in time and which are urgent.

If an image alarms you, ask the roofer to talk you through it, pointing to exactly what they are looking at and what they think caused it. A fair roofer will explain, not hurry you. Ask what happens if you wait, and whether the fault will get worse in a month or in a year. If the cause is a leak, stopping the water comes first and the repair is planned after.

You are also entitled to keep the pictures whether or not you take the work further. They belong to you, and a second roofer can use them to give a like-for-like quote on the same findings.