A roof certification inspection is an inspection of a home’s roofing system for insurance purposes. This short inspection usually takes about 30min to an hour to complete onsite and tells the insurance company the condition of your roof.
In most cases, the roof certification inspection is only required when the insurance company believes the roof will need to be replaced soon.
The form is broken down into a multitude of factors.
An Overview of the Roof Certification Inspection
A home inspector will have to report on the following:
The beginning of the form asks for generic information about the roof, such as, its age, any repairs, evidence of replacement, or permitting information. The inspection also asks for the roof type and estimated life expectancy.
Next, the home inspector will report on damages, leaks, or repairs. For instance, the report may show evidence of leaks in the attic. On the other hand, the report could exhibit pictures of lifting shingles, broken tiles, missing tiles/shingles, or simply evidence of repairs.
The purpose of this report is so the insurance agent can determine the total condition of the roof and life expectancy. In total, the report is typically about 3-4 pages depending on how many images are needed to show the roof properly. A picture of each roof plane is typically required.
In Florida, this information is especially useful to insurance underwriters in order to determine possible payouts during the next hurricane season.
What an Insurance Company Looks For
Based on the information provided by the home inspector, the insurance company will decide next steps.
An insurance agent will want 3 to 5 years of life left in the roofing system! If the home inspector reports less than 3-5 years life left, the insurance company will more than likely ask for replacement.
If you do have roof damages, repairs, roof leaks…
Again in most cases, insurance agents will require these damages, repairs, and leaks be fixed by a licensed professional. The insurance company may even require a re-inspection by a home inspector for proof of proper repairs.
Home inspectors have heard rumors that some insurance underwriters will not even accept roof repairs. This may be something you will need to talk to your insurance agent about.
Roof Inspection Process by Home Inspectors
The process of the inspection is as follows:
- Walking the roof taking pictures of all planes.
- Inspecting the roof for damages, repairs, leaks, etc.
- Inspecting the attic to look for signs of water intrusion/leaks.
- Taking photos of any signs of leaks in the attic.
- An inspector might as well examine your interior ceilings for staining.
As stated above, the process should take about 30min to an hour.
Important Notes
If you are needing a roof certification inspection, be sure to hire a home inspector. Home inspectors are non-biased, third-party informers. Hiring a licensed roofer may seem like a good idea, however, not all roof inspectors are non-biased. Ultimately, a roofer might be able to sell you on a new roof so they can make more money.
If you are looking for home inspectors, here are a few depending on your given area:
Central Florida – Atkinson Inspection, Check our their page on roof inspections.
West Central Florida – Waypoint Property Inspection
East Central Florida (Space Coast & Indian River) – Obviously us! 😀
If you insurance company is requiring a roof certification inspection, and you have questions, feel free to comment below!
In Florida, we have lots of contractor licenses which can be complicated. Most people do not fully understand what a general contractor’s license is or what it means. We have Division 1 and Division 2 contractors. Division 1 consists of General Contractors which are unlimited in scope, where Building Contractors are limited to three stories and Residential Contractors which are limited to two habitual residential stories. They also come as State Certified or County Registered contractors, State contractors can work anywhere in the state where County Registered are usually limited to the county they are Registered in.
Division 2 licenses are plumbers, electricians, air conditioning (mechanical) and roofers.
Contractors
- Alarm Contractor
- Alarm II Contractor
- Aluminum Specialty Structure Contractor
- Demolition Contractor
- Drywall Contractor
- Electrical Contractor
- Electrical Sign Contractor
- Excavating / Land Clearing Contractor
- Fencing Contractor
- Floor Covering Contractor
- Floor Covering with Tile Contractor
- Framing Contractor
- Garage Door Contractor
- HARV Contractor
- Irrigation Contractor
- Limited Energy System Contractor
- Marine I Contractor
- Marine II Contractor
- Masonry Contractor
- Mechanical Contractor
- Painting Contractor
- Plumbing Contractor
- Roofing Contractor
- Sheet metal Contractor
- Solar Contractor
- Storm Shutter Contractor
- Stucco Contractor
- Swimming Pool Contractor
- Swimming Pool Finishing Sub-Contractor
- Swimming Pool Service Contractor
- Underground Utilities Contractor
- Window and Door Contractor
When contractors advertise or provide an estimate they must provide their license number. When most unlicensed contractors advertise they will simply state they are licensed and insured. Those licenses should be check and insurance should be verified. Unlicensed contractors can cause huge financial problems for homeowners. If you are in the Space Coast Area we can inspect the work or even just help you verify a contractor. Like many things, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Verify all licenses through the county or www.myfloridalicense.com.
As the top inspection company in Brevard County, we do more termite inspections than anyone else in the area. Termite inspections are done usually at the sale of a home, yearly or more when under a termite bond, and at the request of a homeowner. Our inspectors are trained at the University of Florida, Pest Management University on the latest techniques and learn time tested processes for finding evidence of termites. Evidence can be found in many ways including galleries, exit holes, frass, wings, mud tubes and of course, termites. For most inspections, there are limitations to what can be seen or inspected. Sometimes the owner’s belongings will be blocking access and we just might not fit in an area of the crawlspace or attic. We use knowledge of conducive conditions and sounding wood with other techniques to find the evidence. Once we find the evidence we report it and make recommendations. Depending on the type of termites there are several treatment options. Treatments can include fumigation, local treatments of an area, chemical barriers and baits. The question usually comes up, should we treat? The answer is not always simple but unless there has been a recent treatment then a preventative treatment is advised. Termites can go unnoticed even with a great experienced inspector so preventative treatments can make sense. We do offer chemical treatments but only when necessary. In many occasions, we recommend Sentricon® bait stations for Termite Colony Elimination. This works without pouring chemicals around your home and comes with a bond for years.
