Nobody looks at a roof until it leaks
A roof is the one part of a house that almost nobody sees up close. It gets checked when it is installed and then, typically, not again until water is on the ceiling — at which point the cheap repair has become an expensive one and the insurance question has become complicated. Most of the expensive roofing failures we are called to in the Mid-South started as something small that nobody saw for two or three years: a cracked pipe boot, a lifted shingle on the windward slope, a valley that filled with leaves, a piece of flashing that pulled away from a chimney.
A roof inspection is an hour of someone competent walking the roof and the attic, photographing what they find, and writing it down. It costs little and it changes the outcome: the pipe boot gets replaced for a small sum instead of a ceiling coming down; the hail damage gets documented while it is still claimable; the roof that is genuinely fine gets a clean bill of health and the owner stops worrying about it.
We inspect roofs at any age and of any type, and we are straightforward about what we find. An inspection that turns into a sales pitch is not an inspection. If the roof needs nothing, the report says so.
- Roof walked, not viewed from the driveway. Every slope, every penetration, every flashing detail, the ridge and the valleys.
- Attic checked for water trails on the decking, daylight, ventilation and insulation condition.
- Photographed report of everything found, with a plain-language verdict: fine, maintain, repair or replace.
- Storm inspection after hail or high wind, documented in the format an insurance adjuster expects.
- Pre-purchase inspections for buyers who want to know what they are getting before closing.
- Maintenance service: resealing exposed fasteners, replacing cracked boots, clearing valleys and gutters, re-securing lifted shingles.
How an inspection runs
The roof
We walk it. Shingle condition, granule loss, lifted or missing tabs, cracked or brittle areas, the state of every pipe boot and vent, the flashing at walls, chimneys and skylights, the ridge cap, the valleys and the drip edge. On a metal or tile roof, the fasteners, seams, battens and underlayment condition.
The attic
From underneath, water stains on the decking tell the story of every past leak. We also check ventilation and insulation, because poor ventilation is what quietly shortens a Memphis roof's life.
The gutters and drainage
Where the water goes when it leaves the roof, whether the gutters are pitched and secure, and whether granules in the gutters point to a shingle that is wearing out.
The report
Photographs, findings and a clear recommendation. If it is a storm claim, the documentation is in the format the adjuster needs. If it is nothing, you have a dated record that the roof was sound.
Why homeowners choose LASIM for inspections
A report, not a pitch
If the roof is fine, the report says so and we leave. Plenty of the roofs we inspect need nothing more than a cleared valley.
Storm documentation that holds up
Hail and wind damage photographed and described the way adjusters need to see it. We have had denied claims reversed with it.
The attic, every time
The underside of the decking is where the history of the roof is written. We always look.
Maintenance that is actually cheap
A new pipe boot and a resealed flashing cost a fraction of the ceiling repair they prevent.
Roof Inspection Questions
Once a year is a sensible baseline, and after any storm with hail or damaging wind. Roofs over fifteen years old benefit from an annual look because that is when the small failures start. A spring inspection catches winter damage before the storm season; a fall inspection clears the valleys and gutters before the leaves and the ice.
Yes. The inspection and the written estimate for any work we recommend cost nothing and carry no obligation. If the roof needs nothing, that is what the report will say and you owe nothing.
Yes. Hail damage on asphalt shingle is bruising in the mat that is nearly invisible from the ground and often invisible from the roof to an untrained eye, and it fails one to three seasons later. Insurance policies also have time limits on filing a storm claim. An inspection after a storm either documents claimable damage while it is claimable, or gives you peace of mind.
The small things that fail first: replacing cracked rubber pipe boots, resealing exposed nail heads and flashing edges, re-securing lifted shingles, clearing valleys, gutters and downspouts of debris, and trimming back branches that scrape the roof. It is an hour or two of work that prevents most of the leaks we are otherwise called to.
Yes, and it is worth doing. A general home inspector usually looks at the roof from the ground or a ladder and reports its apparent age; we walk it and the attic and tell you its real condition and remaining life. On a Mid-South house that is often the single largest unknown in the purchase.
Yes. A good share of the roofs we inspect need nothing, or need a boot replaced and a valley cleared. The report says exactly that, with photographs, and you have a dated record that the roof was sound. We would rather earn the call when the roof does need work than sell you something now.