Most roof trouble does not arrive without warning. A slipped tile, a gutter packed with leaves or a lifting flashing is usually visible weeks or months before a ceiling shows a stain. The trouble is that nobody looks. A roof sits above eye level, out of mind, until the first wet week of winter makes it everyone's business.
An annual roof inspection fixes that by tying the look to the season. Each time of year puts a different strain on a roof and leaves a different kind of evidence, so each visit has its own checklist. This guide takes them in order, starting with autumn because that is when a check pays back most. It plans the year. If you want to decide whether a particular storm justifies a call, read our answer on inspections after a storm. The wider service is on our roof inspections and surveys page.
Autumn: the check before the wet months
Autumn is the single most useful visit in the year. Leaves have fallen, gutters are at their fullest, and the weather is still mild enough to work safely. Anything found now can be put right before the rain, wind and frost of winter make it harder and more expensive.
Gutters and downpipes
We start at the edge, because the edge is where autumn does its damage. Gutters packed with leaves, moss and silt spill over the face of the wall or push water back beneath the first course of tiles. We clear and flush each run, watch where the water travels so it reaches the outlet and does not pool in the bed, and examine the joints, brackets and fixings. Makers suggest a gentle slope towards the outlet, between about 1:600 and 1:350 depending on the make. Once a gutter has sagged past that holds water, which freezes and strains the brackets.
The covering and the details
On the roof itself we look for slipped or cracked tiles and slates, and gaps where some have gone, for moss thick enough to hold water against the covering, and for ridge and hip pieces that have loosened. We look at the pointing or dry-fix clips along the ridge, at the verges, at lead flashings round chimneys and abutments, and at valleys, which carry the water from two slopes and clog first. We look at the chimney stack too: crumbling pointing, a cracked flaunching and leaning pots all get worse in frost.
The roof space
From the loft we check for daylight, damp patches on the timbers, droplets under the covering, and insulation that has been pushed into the eaves and is blocking ventilation. Winter condensation often starts there.
After a storm: a short, targeted look
A storm check is a different kind of visit. It is not a full inspection. It is a quick, focused look for damage that the wind, a fallen branch or driven rain has just done. It happens when the weather has passed and it is safe to work, and the aim is to find what has changed.
What the wind moves
High wind lifts, slides and snaps. We check the edges first, because they take the most uplift: ridge and hip pieces, verge tiles and the eaves course. We look for tiles that have lifted and dropped back out of line, for cracked or missing pieces on the ground, for bent flashings and for displaced chimney pots or cowls. A flat roof gets a separate look: the covering at its edges, seams that have lifted and any debris that has blown onto it and could block an outlet.
What the storm leaves
A fallen branch can crack a tile without leaving an obvious hole. Look in the loft for fresh daylight or damp after a wet night. Check the garden for slate or tile fragments and for pieces of ridge. Ceiling stains that appear within days of a storm are a sign that water is already inside.
If you spot damage or a leak, tell us what it is and where on the house. a wet ceiling or a storm-hit roof jumps our queue. We stop the water first, then set out the lasting repair.
Keep photographs from the ground with the date; they help if you later make an insurance claim.
Winter: watching, not climbing
Winter is not the time for a full inspection. Frost, wet surfaces and short daylight make it riskier to be on a roof and harder to see what is there. It is the time to watch from the pavement or garden and from the loft, and to act the moment something changes.
From the ground
A pair of binoculars on a dry afternoon shows a lot. Look for tile lines that have stopped being straight, dark patches where water runs down brickwork, gutters that overflow in rain, and ice that builds in one spot, which usually means a blocked or leaking outlet. In snow, a patch that melts faster than its neighbours can point to heat escaping through thin insulation or a gap in the ceiling.
From the loft
On a cold, still night, shine a torch round the roof space for condensation beaded on nails, timber and the covering's underside. Condensation points to warm air getting into the roof from the rooms below, or to poor ventilation. Both can be solved, but they are easier to diagnose when you can see the evidence. Take photographs, and make a note of the dates.
Winter is also when emergency leaks happen. We cannot promise a particular response time, but a dripping ceiling jumps our queue, and we stop the water before planning anything permanent. Keep our number, 01453 933613, where you can find it, and send photographs by WhatsApp if you can safely take them.
Spring: repairing what winter found
Spring is the repair window. The weather is settling, the days are longer, and whatever winter exposed can be worked through in order. It is also when moss, after a wet season, has taken hold. Planning the jobs by priority, with the leaks first and the cosmetic items last, keeps the cost in step with the risk.
The follow-up visit
If the autumn or storm visit logged something that was only made safe, spring is when it gets a permanent fix. A re-bedded ridge, a replaced valley section, a renewed flashing and a re-pointed chimney are all better done in settled weather. Dry-fix ridge systems in particular should be checked after winter movement. MyBuilder's 2026 guide gives dry ridge at £40 to £60 per metre as a national range; your own price follows our visit.
Moss and growth
Spring is the time to deal with moss on tiles and slates. Moss holds moisture against the covering, lifts the edges of tiles and fills gutters when it falls. MyBuilder's 2026 cleaning guide gives manual scraping at £5 to £10 per m² and cautions against pressure washers on fragile tiles. On old stone roofs, careful scraping is the traditional method, and the Cotswold District Council guidance from 2000 records that a stone roof cleaned of moss every twelve months may last much longer.
Flat roofs
On a flat roof, spring is when we check for ponding (standing water) that has lingered after winter, for blistering, for cracked seams and for outlets that need clearing. BS 6229 guidance designs for 1:40 so that the finished fall is no worse than 1:80; water that stays on the roof for days suggests a roof that has deflected or a fall that was never enough.
Summer: the long-lead jobs and the dry-weather checks
Summer is for jobs that need long dry spells and for looking at details that are hard to see in the wet. It is the best time to plan larger work, because a roof that has been inspected in autumn, repaired in spring and watched through winter gives a clear list of what is left.
Planned work
Re-roofing, flat roof renewal and chimney rebuilds suit the drier months because the roof is open for less risk. If the autumn visit suggested a roof is nearing the end of its life, summer is the moment to request a quote and fix a start date. Our survey before a re-roof explains how the scoping visit works. Booking ahead means you choose the timing instead of reacting to a leak.
Details worth a summer look
With dry roofs and long days, summer is a good time to inspect fascias, soffits and bargeboards, sealant and flashing joints, rooflights and their seals, and the junctions between a roof and a wall. MyBuilder's 2026 guide puts replacement of uPVC fascias and soffits at 10 to 20 years, with a look every five years. Check the sealant around roof windows and look for staining on the ceiling below them.
Wildlife
Nesting birds and bats are protected, so work near nests or roosts may need to wait. If you have a nest in the eaves, tell us before we start.
Summer sun also shows how a roof is ventilated, since a loft that stays unreasonably hot or smells damp can point to a blocked eaves vent.
Who does the inspecting, and what the visit costs
You can do part of the yearly cycle yourself: looking from the ground with binoculars, checking gutters from a safe stable ladder at the eaves where you are comfortable, peering into the loft by torchlight, and photographing anything unusual. Please stay off the roof itself. Falls are a serious risk, and tiles and slates, particularly stone, can crack under a boot.
When to book us
Book a visit in autumn if you have not had one that year. Book one after a storm if you see damage or a leak. Book one in spring if the winter left something that was made safe only. Our visit takes in the roof, the gutters and the roof space, and your own roof is photographed throughout.
What it costs
MyBuilder's 2026 roof inspection guide gives a standard survey at £150 to £250 in the UK, as a national range. Our roof survey cost guide breaks down what moves the price. Any repair that follows is quoted in writing with VAT shown. Roofing work is normally standard-rated.
What you get
The report you receive is short and illustrated. Findings come in priority order, each with a plain recommendation: act now, plan for spring, or keep watching. Repairs we carry out come with a written 10-year workmanship guarantee, and we take our waste with us.
Send us the age and type of your roof and your postcode and we can suggest when a visit would help most.