Roof inspection with written findings
Free, about 45 minutes, and it produces a document you keep, even when the answer is that your roof is fine.
A roof inspection from Red Hammer Roofing is free, takes about 45 minutes, and produces a written document: what we found, where, photographed with the date attached. You get that document whether or not the roof needs work and whether or not you hire us.
That is the entire offer. There is no inspection that exists to produce a claim, because what your policy covers is your insurer’s decision and a roofer is not permitted to make it.
Last reviewed 15 August 2026
What we actually look at
- Field of the roof: granule loss, mat exposure, bruising found by feel, cracking, cupping and thermal splitting.
- Penetrations: plumbing vent boots, HVAC curbs, satellite mounts. The most common leak source on Texas roofs and the easiest to miss from the ground.
- Flashing: chimneys, wall abutments, skylights, step flashing installation method.
- Valleys: cut length, underlayment, debris, water concentration.
- Ridge, hip and rake edges: lifted or missing cap, exposed fasteners, seal-strip failure.
- Soft metals: vents, gutter apron, gutters. Where hail leaves evidence that dates the event.
- Ventilation: intake and exhaust balance. Under-ventilated attics cook shingles from underneath, which is why two identical roofs installed the same week can age five years apart.
- Decking, where visible, from the attic side, for sagging, staining and daylight.
When to book one
- After any hail event you know reached your area, even if the roof looks untouched from the ground. Hail damage frequently is not visible from the driveway.
- Before buying a house. A general home inspection includes a roof note, not a roof inspection.
- Around year 10–12 of an asphalt roof in this climate, to establish where you are in its life.
- Before a policy renewal, if you want documentation of the roof’s current condition.
- When a leak appears, because the leak is rarely directly under the failure.
What you receive
A written summary of findings, dated photographs of each finding, and where work is recommended, an itemised estimate. It is yours. If you are submitting an insurance claim, you submit it, the documentation is in the format adjusters expect, and we can meet your adjuster on site and walk the roof with them.
Why a documented inspection is not a sales trick here
It usually is, in this industry, and that is worth naming. The mechanism is well documented: documented inspection, “significant damage” found, a form to sign at the door, and a contractor who benefits from a particular finding. It is the pattern the City of Arlington built its homeowner guidance around.
Ours produces a written document that says what is there, including when the answer is that the roof is fine for another eight years. A written record of that is worth having, and a roofer whose documents can be checked against the next roofer’s has an incentive to make them accurate.
Questions about this service
Is the roof inspection really free?
Yes, including the written findings and the photographs.
You get the document whether or not the roof needs work and whether or not you hire us.
How long does an inspection take?
About 45 minutes on a standard residential roof.
Longer on complex roofs with multiple planes, dormers or several penetration clusters.
Can you tell me whether my insurance will cover it?
No, and any roofer who tells you otherwise is describing something they are not permitted to do.
Whether damage meets your policy’s threshold is your insurer’s decision. What we can tell you precisely is what the roof needs and what that costs.
Do I need an inspection if the roof looks fine after a hail storm?
Frequently yes. Hail damage often is not visible from the ground.
Bruising is found by feel rather than sight, and granule loss reads as ordinary wear from a driveway. Dented soft metals, vents, gutter apron, are usually the clearest ground-level clue.
Will you ask me to sign something at the inspection?
No. Not a contract, and not a form described as an inspection authorisation.
If you decide to proceed, you do it after you have read a written itemised estimate, with time to compare it against another one.
Book the inspection.
We come out, walk the roof, photograph what we find with dates attached, and put an itemised estimate in writing. No pressure, and no contract signed on the doorstep.
Book an inspection
Tell us about the roof and we will come and measure it.
We never ask you to sign anything at the inspection. Texas law prohibits any roofer from paying or absorbing your insurance deductible, we will not offer to, and you should walk away from anyone who does.
Get a real number on your roof.
Measured, itemised, in writing.
A on-site inspection with dated photographs of what we find, followed by a written itemised estimate you can hold, compare, and submit yourself.