Free Roof Inspection in North Canton, Ohio

What does a free roof inspection in North Canton check?

Everything that decides whether a shingle roof has years left or months. The owner works through the same list on every house.

• Shingles. Curling, cupping, cracks, lifted tabs and bare spots where the granules are gone.
• Flashing. The metal at chimneys, side walls, dormers and skylights, and whether it is real metal or old tar.
• Valleys. Where two roof planes meet and the most water runs.
• Pipe boots and vents. The rubber collars on plumbing vents, plus bath fan and furnace vents.
• The roof edge. Whether there is drip edge, and whether the fascia behind the gutter is solid.
• The ridge. Ridge vent or older box vents, and whether air can actually move.
• The deck. Soft spots underfoot and dips between rafters.
• The attic side, where a hatch allows. Stains on the wood, rusty nail tips, damp insulation and daylight where there should be none.

What do the three ratings mean?

The report ends with one of three ratings, so you do not have to decode roofing talk.

A Good or a Watch is a fine result. It means you keep your money, and you have dated photos to compare against later.

What is in the photo report?

Photos first, words second. Each slope gets a wide shot. Each problem gets a close-up with a short caption that says what it is and where it sits on the house. The report notes the pitch and how many shingle layers show at the edge. If a repair would solve the problem, the report names the repair. If the roof needs replacing, one flat written quote follows, good for a year.

What does the inspection look for on each kind of North Canton house?

The checklist is the same everywhere, but the first place the owner looks depends on when your house was built.

• 1920s to 1940s houses near Main and Maple: chimney flashing, dormer walls, and whether a second layer of shingles is hiding under the first.
• 1950s to 1980s ranches and split-levels: the roof edge, attic airflow and the long low valleys at an added family room or garage.
• 1990s two-story homes: pipe boots, the valley above the garage, and first-generation shingles that are reaching the end together.

The area pages go deeper on each: the older core near Main and Maple, the mid-century ranch streets and the 1990s subdivisions.

When is the best time to have a roof inspected?

Any dry day. Fall and winter are useful because the leaves are down, the roof is easy to see and there is time to plan before spring. A roof cannot be walked when it is icy or covered in snow, so a winter visit may wait a few days for a clear one. An inspection also makes sense before you list a house, after you buy one with an unknown roof, or the first time a ceiling stain appears.

What happens after the report?

That is up to you. There is no follow-up visit to close a sale and no price that runs out on Friday. If the report recommends a small fix, see roof repair in North Canton. If it rates the roof Replace Soon, see what a full roof replacement includes and how a new roof is priced. Either way the written price stays good for a year. The whole process, start to finish, is laid out on the how it works page.