Roof Inspections in Sewickley, PA

We start on the roof itself, walking every accessible slope and using roof jacks or ladders where a slate or steep-pitch surface shouldn't be walked directly. We check every valley for open seams or corrosion, every flashing point at chimneys, skylights and sidewalls, every penetration for a boot or seal that's cracked or pulled away, and the ridge and hips for lifted or missing caps.

Then we go into the attic, because the roof and the attic are one system. We look at the underside of the decking for staining or soft spots, check insulation depth and whether it's blocking soffit intake, and look for daylight coming through anywhere it shouldn't. On older Sewickley homes this is often where we find the real story — a ceiling stain in the living room that actually traces back to an ice dam problem caused by inadequate ventilation, not a shingle failure at all.

We also walk the gutters and downspouts, because overflow and backed-up water cause a meaningful share of the leaks we get called out to fix, and a gutter problem often gets misdiagnosed as a roof problem. Everything gets photographed as we go — not just the bad spots, but reference shots so you can see exactly where each issue is on your actual roof.

Real-estate, buyer/seller, and documented inspections start at $300 and are quoted individually.

Sewickley's housing stock skews old, and a roof is one of the most expensive things a buyer can get wrong about a house they're purchasing. If you're under contract on a home in the Sewickley Historic District, Edgeworth or anywhere in the Quaker Valley School District area, a roof-specific inspection alongside your general home inspection gives you a level of detail a generalist home inspector — who may spend ten minutes on the roof out of a whole-house inspection — usually can't match.

We tell you plainly what you're buying: is the slate sound with a repairable flashing issue, or is it near the end of its service life; does the asphalt roof have five years left or fifteen; is there deck rot behind a chimney that isn't visible from a ladder at the eave. That's useful information whether you use it to negotiate, to plan a maintenance budget, or just to go into the purchase with clear eyes.

Sellers benefit from the same inspection in reverse — knowing what's actually on your roof before a buyer's inspector finds it and it becomes a negotiation surprise. A written report you can hand to a buyer, showing recent maintenance or a clean bill of health, can smooth a deal that would otherwise stall over an unknown.

Once a year is a reasonable baseline for most roofs in this valley, given the freeze-thaw cycling and heavy tree debris that age a roof here faster than in milder, more open climates. After any significant wind or hail event is worth a check regardless of when your last inspection was. And if you're buying or selling, get one specific to the transaction rather than relying solely on a general home inspector's roof notes.

Beyond that, trust the signs: a new ceiling stain, granules collecting in gutters, daylight in the attic, or slates and shingles showing up in the yard are all reasons to call sooner rather than wait for the annual check.