Roof inspection in Littleton

What fails on a Littleton roof, by age

A roof at 5,400 feet ages on a different clock than the shingle wrapper suggests, and unevenly. The south and west slopes take the UV and the afternoon hail; the north slope takes the ice dams. By year five, the pipe boots on the south side are checking. By year twelve, the chimney sealant and the skylight kits on a Ken Caryl two-story have let go, and a Chinook has lifted shingles on the west slope that nobody noticed from the ground. By twenty, the south slope is shedding granules faster than the gutters can carry them and the corners have cupped enough for hail to bruise the mat beneath.

None of that shows up as a leak until the March thaw or the July storm that makes it one. A roof inspection Littleton homeowners book before that day is the cheapest thing they'll ever spend on the roof.

Why the other looks miss it

A general home inspector spends a few minutes on a ladder and writes "recommend evaluation by a qualified roofing contractor" — on roughly half the homes changing hands in Highlands Ranch. Your carrier's drone sees color and shape from 200 feet, which is how a 15-year-old roof gets flagged as "aged" without anyone touching it. A storm chaser finds damage whether it's there or not. Nobody on that list opens the attic hatch.

We walk every slope, lift shingles by hand, and then go inside.

Four reasons people call

Under contract on a house. The objection window on a Colorado contract is seven to ten days, and the roof is the biggest line on it. A roof estimate Littleton buyers can attach to their objection turns "roof appears worn" into a dollar figure the seller has to answer.

Selling. A report showing eight years left, with the two small faults already fixed, keeps the buyer's inspector from turning the roof into a $15,000 concession.

Insurance renewal. More Colorado carriers are asking for roof age and condition, and some won't write a policy on a roof past 15 or 20 years without documentation. The underwriter wants the install year, the shingle line, whether it's Class 4, and photos. That's the report.

After a storm, before a claim. Not sure whether the June hail did real damage? We'll say yes or no from the roof. Yes means the look is free because we're scoping the repair; no means you kept a claim off your record.

And from owners of 18-year-old roofs: can it go a few more years? Often yes, with two specific things fixed now, and the report says which two.

How the hour goes

We start on the ground: dented gutters, split vent caps, dinged AC fins, torn screens. That's hail collateral, and it tells us how big the last storm was before we're on the ladder.

On the roof, the south and west slopes get the most time. We lift a few shingles on each plane to see whether the seal strip is still bonded, run a hand over the field for the soft spots that mean hail bruised the mat, and read whether granule loss is uniform age or a pattern of hits. Every boot, vent and satellite mount gets a look. At the chimney we check for real step flashing under the shingles versus a strip of aluminum and old caulk. Skylight kits get their corners pressed. Along the eaves we look for the lift and rust that ice dams leave, and feel for decking that gives.

Then the attic. Water leaves a dark trail on the underside of the decking, following the rafter downhill, and it often ends at a penetration that looked fine from above. We look for daylight, a ridge vent never cut through the deck, soffit vents buried under blown-in insulation, and in winter frost on the nail tips — the surest sign an attic isn't breathing. On the 1980s houses that started life under cedar shake, we check whether the skip sheathing was overlaid or just shingled straight over.

What you get, and what it costs

A written report within a day: each issue photographed and explained plainly, a repair price against each, and a straight estimate of years left. A roof that's fine gets a report that says so. The fee is $150–$300 depending on size and pitch, and it comes off the bill if you hire us for anything in it. Storm inspections where we're scoping a repair don't carry a fee.

We fly a drone on roofs too steep or icy to walk, but a drone can't lift a shingle or feel a bruise, so it's a supplement, not the inspection. Our post on finding a roof leak from inside shows the attic side; the roof repair page covers what happens after the report.