Exterior · high safety risk
Inspect the roof from the ground
Use a ground-level visual check to spot obvious roof damage without climbing.
- How often
- Twice a year and after major storms
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Editorial status
- Awaiting human review
Before you begin
Tools
- Binoculars
- Camera
How to do it
- Choose dry, calm daylight and walk the accessible perimeter from firm ground.
- Use binoculars to look for missing, lifted, cracked, or displaced roofing and damaged flashing that is visible from below.
- Look for sagging lines, damaged vents, loose gutters, tree impact, or debris without standing beneath hazards.
- Photograph changes from a safe position and arrange a professional roof inspection when needed.
Stop and get help when
- Sagging roof line
- Loose material overhead
- Storm impact
- Interior leak
- Downed electrical line
Use a qualified roofing professional for all roof access, suspected leaks, structural change, storm damage, or repairs. Treat downed electrical lines as an emergency and stay away.
Sources and review
Written by Upkeeping editorial team. This draft is awaiting human subject-matter and safety review and is not eligible for search indexing.