Wait for the snow to go, then look properly
Winter leaves evidence. Wind lifts tabs, ice works at flashing, freeze-thaw opens up anything that was marginal in October. The useful window is after the last snow has cleared but before the heavy spring rain settles in, which in most of the country means some point in April or May, later in the north.
Everything below is done from the ground or from inside. Walking a roof is how homeowners get hurt, and wet or frosted shingles in spring are worse than they look. A pair of binoculars and a flashlight will get you most of the way.
From the ground, all four elevations
- Scan each slope for missing, lifted or slipped shingles. Pay attention to the windward side and to the first course above the eave.
- Look for dark patches where the granules have worn through, and for curling at the corners of the tabs.
- Check the ridge cap along its whole length. It takes the most wind and is often the first thing to go.
- Look at the flashing where the roof meets a chimney, a dormer or a wall. You want to see metal sitting flat and tight, not lifted, rusted or sealed with a smear of black caulk.
- Check plumbing stack boots for cracked rubber collars.
- Look at the vents: missing caps, crushed housings, screens torn open by squirrels.
- Sight along the ridge and the slope planes. A sag or a wave means something structural, and that is a phone call, not a note for later.
Gutters and the ground below
Clear the debris first, then look at what is left. A thin sludge of granules in the bottom of the gutter is normal for a new roof shedding loose material, and a steady accumulation under a roof past its tenth year is not. Check that downspouts discharge at least a couple of metres from the foundation, that the hangers have not pulled out under ice loading, and that there is no ice damage to the fascia behind the gutter. While you are there, look up at the soffit: the vents should be open and unpainted.
Twenty minutes in the attic
This is the part that finds problems before they reach the ceiling.
- Turn off the light and look for daylight through the sheathing or around penetrations.
- Check the underside of the deck at the eaves for water staining, which is where ice dams show first.
- Look for dark mould blooms, rusted nail shanks and any insulation that is matted, discoloured or displaced.
- Press the sheathing between rafters here and there. It should feel solid, not spongy.
- Confirm the bathroom and kitchen fans actually duct to the outside, and that the ducts are insulated and still connected.
- Check that insulation is not jammed into the soffits and that baffles are still in place.
- Look for nesting material and chewed wiring near the gable ends.
Trees
Branches that rub a roof in the wind sand the granules off a strip of shingles within a season or two, and branches over the roof keep it damp and drop debris into the valleys. Spring is the right time to get them cut back. Moss growing in a north-facing valley in a humid region is a sign the slope stays wet too long; that too is usually a shading problem.
What should prompt a call
Bring in a roofer rather than making notes if you find any of these: a visible sag, springy or stained sheathing, water staining at the eaves, more than a few shingles missing, flashing that has lifted away from a wall, or active moisture in the attic. Everything else goes on a list you can work through at your own pace.
Doing this twice a year, in spring and again in late autumn before the snow, takes under an hour and turns most roof emergencies into scheduled maintenance.