Roof Covering Decision Preparation Checklist

Photograph each roof slope with as much of it in frame as possible, then take a longer view from further back or from an upstairs window opposite.

Photographs taken from directly beneath a roof show almost nothing; distance is what makes a covering readable to somebody else.

Note whether the covering looks the same across every slope, or whether a rear addition, a dormer or an outrigger is covered in something different.

Mixed coverings are extremely common, and they change what a decision about the main roof actually involves.

Record where pieces are visibly slipped, missing, cracked, curled or patched, and note whether those areas are concentrated in one place.

Do not climb up to look; anything needing close access belongs with a qualified professional using proper equipment.

Note what you can see of the ridge, the hips and the verges from ground level, including any mortar that has cracked, opened or fallen away.

Mortar at the ridge and verge is where a pitched roof tends to show its age first, and it can be seen from the ground with no equipment at all.

Look into the roof space with a torch from the hatch and photograph the underside of the covering without stepping off any boarded area.

Never walk between ceiling joists or disturb unfamiliar material in a roof space; ask a qualified professional what is present first.

Record where water has come in, on which ceiling, at what point in the building and in what kind of weather it happened.

The path between a leak indoors and its origin outside is rarely direct, so the timing and conditions matter as much as the position.

Note whether pieces of tile, slate, mortar or flashing have been found on the ground, where they landed and roughly when.

Fallen material is often the first honest evidence a roof gives, and where it lands narrows down where it came from.

Photograph any staining, visible daylight or discoloured timber you can see from the roof space hatch, noting where you were standing.

The condition of roof timbers must be assessed by a qualified professional; discolouration seen from a hatch means little on its own.

Record how many separate repairs have been carried out and whether the same area of the roof keeps returning as a problem.

A roof repaired repeatedly in one spot is a very different conversation from one that has never been touched at all.

Note whether birds, squirrels, bats or wasps have been getting into the roof, and where you have seen them going in and out.

Where something has been getting in is visible only to somebody living there, and it can change the sequence of a job considerably.

Wildlife in a roof can be subject to local protections; confirm what applies before anything is blocked, sealed or disturbed.

Ask what the roof structure would have to carry if a different kind of covering were used, and how that would be established rather than assumed.

Whether a roof can carry a different covering is a matter for a suitably qualified professional and must never be assumed by an owner.

Ask whether what is on the roof now is likely to be the original covering, and what changing it would mean for everything beneath it.

Roofs are frequently recovered with something different from what they began with, which changes the shape of the whole conversation.

Note whether the roof space has ever been boarded, converted, opened up or had a water tank installed, and mention all of it.

Things added to a roof space over the years are relevant to a professional and are usually forgotten by the time one visits.

Ask what would be examined and at what point, given that most of the structure only becomes visible once the covering has come off.

The moment a roof is stripped is the only time anybody can see what is really there, so the plan for that moment matters enormously.

Ask what would happen, and who would decide, if something unexpected were found once the roof is open and the household is committed.

Arrangements for unforeseen work should be agreed in writing with a qualified professional before any stripping begins.

Walk around the building and note every point where the roof meets a wall, a chimney, a neighbouring roof or a change of level.

Abutments are where most roofs actually let water in, and naming them all makes two written offers far easier to compare.

Photograph each chimney from the ground and note anything that appears loose, open, leaning or patched around its base.

Chimneys, flashings and anything at height must be assessed by a qualified professional rather than judged from a photograph.

Note where two slopes meet in a valley and whether leaves, moss or debris have visibly collected along it.

Valleys catch everything the roof sheds, and they usually need discussing separately from the main slopes.

Record where your roof meets a neighbour's roof or a shared parapet, and consider whether they should hear about the proposed work in advance.

Roofs meeting at a shared structure can bring obligations towards the adjoining owner; take advice locally on what your situation involves.

Ask how ridges, hips and verges would be finished, and what of that would actually be visible from the ground once the work is complete.

These edges define how a roof reads from the street far more than the open field of the slope does.

List everything that comes through the roof, including a soil vent pipe, a flue, an extract terminal, an aerial mast or a cable entry.

Anything serving a flue or an appliance where it passes through a roof must be handled by a suitably qualified professional.

Note where any rooflight sits and decide whether one should be replaced, moved or added while the covering is off rather than afterwards.

A rooflight is far less disruptive to deal with while the roof is already open, and that opportunity closes quickly.

Record whether panels, brackets or any equipment are fixed to the roof, and establish who owns each item and who maintains it.

Panels and brackets on a roof usually involve their own specialist; ask who takes them off, who refits them and who answers if they stop working.

Note where an aerial or dish sits and whether it is fixed to the roof, to a chimney or to a wall, since each involves a different conversation.

Whoever takes an aerial down is rarely the person who puts it back, so writing down what it is fixed to closes an obvious gap.

Ask what happens to loft insulation, the hatch and anything stored up there while the roof is open, and who is responsible for moving it.

Roof work sends dust and debris into the space below, and the belongings up there are the owner's problem unless it is discussed.

Look along the street and note whether the roofs read as consistent or varied, photographing two or three that appeal to you.

Roofs are seen collectively from a distance, and a photograph of what you like is far easier to hand over than a description.

Ask whether any of the existing covering could realistically be taken off and reused, and what would happen to whatever cannot be.

How much existing material survives removal cannot be known in advance; ask a qualified professional rather than relying on an estimate.

Decide whether it matters to you that a new covering will look conspicuously new for a while, and note that alongside your other preferences.

New roofs look new, and owners who have not thought about it in advance are often unsettled by the first sight of the finished work.

Ask the local authority whether anything controls the appearance of the roof at your property, before you settle on something admired elsewhere.

What may be altered on a visible roof slope differs from place to place, and the relevant local authority is the only source worth relying on.

Note whether the front and back of the roof are seen quite differently, and decide whether you would treat the two the same way.

Many owners treat the slope people see more generously than the one they do not, which is a legitimate approach but a better one made openly.

Record how access equipment could reach each slope, including whether a rear elevation can only be reached through the house or over other land.

Standing equipment on ground that is not yours needs the agreement of whoever controls it, sought well before the work is planned around it.

Note where materials could be stacked and where a waste container could stand without blocking a path, a driveway or a shared access.

Roof work produces a great deal of heavy waste quickly, and nowhere to put it slows everything down and wears out the neighbours.

Ask how the roof is kept weathertight overnight and if the weather turns while it is stripped, and who carries that responsibility.

Temporary weather protection is a contractor responsibility that should be written into what you agree before any stripping starts.

Note what sits directly beneath the roof edge outside, such as a conservatory, a greenhouse, a glasshouse, planting or a parked vehicle.

Whatever stands under the eaves is at risk during stripping, and moving it in advance is far easier than repairing it afterwards.

Record whether anyone is at home during the day and would be badly affected by continuous noise directly overhead.

Roof work is relentless for whoever is underneath it, and saying so early lets the sequence be discussed rather than simply endured.

Agree in writing what is included, what is expressly excluded and how anything discovered once the roof is open would be handled.

The scope of a roof job is defined as much by its exclusions as its inclusions, and that is exactly where disputes tend to start.

Ask what would be photographed while the roof is open, and request copies of those images for your own property records.

That is the only occasion anybody can see the structure, and the photographs remain useful for many years afterwards.

Record what warranty is offered on the covering, whether it sits with the contractor or with the material supplier, and what it asks of you.

Warranty terms often differ between the trade and the material supplier; ask each of them separately what they are answerable for.

Ask what routine attention the finished roof would need and who would carry it out, since roofs are rarely looked at until they leak.

A covering that needs occasional attention is fine if somebody knows that; it is not fine if the first anyone hears of it is a stain on a ceiling.

Note anything you were told verbally on site and confirm it back in writing, since roof conversations happen at ground level and fade quickly.

Most discussion about a roof happens standing in a garden pointing upwards, and very little of it survives into anything written down.