What to look for on your roof from the ground

Roof trouble rarely arrives without warning. Many of the early signs can be spotted from the ground with binoculars or the zoom on a phone camera, well before water reaches a ceiling. The best time to look is on a clear day, when the light falls across the surface and shows shingles that are lifting, cracked or bare. Stay on solid ground, keep ladders and equipment well away from overhead power lines, and treat what you see as a way to decide whether a roofer needs to look more closely.

Make a safe, consistent view

Walk the full perimeter of the house and look at the roof from several angles, because a problem on the back slope may not show from the front. Take photographs with the zoom at the same distance and from the same spot each time, and save them with the date. Photos taken from the same position in the same season are far easier to compare than memories, and they help a roofer see what has changed since the last look.

Do not climb a ladder to get a closer look at the roof surface. Ladders can slip on lawns and soft ground, and roofs are slippery when wet, icy or dusty. Keep ladders and tall equipment at least ten feet from overhead power lines. If a closer look is needed, arrange for a licensed roofer to inspect it from the roof, which is the safer route.

Look at the shingles and the granules

On asphalt shingle roofs, the most visible signs are missing shingles, shingles with curled or lifted edges, and bare patches where the dark surface looks dull and smooth. A missing shingle exposes the layer beneath to rain and wind, and a lifted edge can flap in a storm and break further. Look for tabs that stand up at odd angles, which can mean the adhesive has failed.

Granules are the small mineral particles that protect the shingle surface from sun and weather. A steady sprinkling of granules in the gutters or at the downspout outlets, or a grainy layer on the ground below the eaves, suggests the shingles are wearing. Dark streaks down the roof are usually algae, and thick green or brown patches can be moss. Moss holds moisture against the shingles and can lift their edges, so treat it as a maintenance issue rather than a cosmetic one. How long a roof lasts depends on the material, the climate and the quality of installation, so the age of the roof matters as much as what you see on it.

Check the flashing and roof penetrations

Flashing is the metal or rubber material that seals the joints where the roof meets something that projects through it or runs into it, such as a chimney, a vent pipe, a skylight, a valley or a wall. From the ground, look for flashing that is bent, lifted, separated or rusted, and for dark sealant around a chimney base that has cracked or pulled away. Those spots are common routes for water.

Plumbing vent pipes are a frequent source of leaks. The rubber collar around the pipe can crack or split as it ages, and a crack lets water run down the pipe into the attic and the ceiling below. Look for a collar that looks shrunken, split or pulled away from the shingles. Also check the chimney crown, the concrete or metal top of the chimney, for cracks, and confirm that the chimney has a cap at all. A missing or damaged chimney cap lets rain and debris into the flue and the masonry. Skylights deserve a glance as well: a dome that is cloudy or cracked, or a frame that looks separated, can admit water around its edges.

Watch the lines and the roof edge

A straight roofline should look straight. Stand back and look along the ridge, the peak where two roof surfaces meet, and along the eaves at the bottom edge. A ridge or eave line that dips or waves is a sign to call a professional promptly. Sagging can come from rafters or sheathing that have weakened, from water held on the roof for a long time, or from heavy weight added at some point, and the cause cannot be judged from the ground.

The roof edge also shows problems early. Fascia boards along the eaves should be straight, painted and firm. Soft, dark or swollen fascia suggests water has been getting behind the gutter or along the roof edge. Shingles at the eave that look lifted or bent can be the result of wind or of ice damming in winter, and a roofer can check whether the underlayment and attic ventilation need attention.

Decide what to do with what you see

Sort what you find into three groups. Minor debris, a few dirty gutters and light algae can be handled as routine maintenance. Missing or lifted shingles, cracked flashing, a split vent collar, a damaged chimney cap and dark streaks that keep spreading can be scheduled with a roofer within a reasonable time. Any sagging line, soft or rotted roof edge, or sign of water inside the house, such as a ceiling stain, a musty smell in the attic or damp insulation, calls for prompt attention from a licensed roofer.

When you call a roofer, bring the dated photographs and a short list of what you saw and where. Describe whether the problem appeared after a particular storm, and whether any spots inside the house showed up at the same time. A roofer who can see the photographs and the history can often give a clearer answer and say whether a repair or a replacement makes more sense. A dated set of images taken from the ground is also the easiest way to show, the next time you look, whether a problem is growing or has held steady.