Roof Inspection in Portland, Maine

Good times to have a roof looked at

• Buying or selling. On a house this old, the roof is one of the bigger unknowns in the price.
• After a storm. Wind lifts shingles that settle back down and look fine from the yard.
• After a winter of ice dams. Stains at the tops of outside walls and wet insulation along the eaves are worth tracing before the next one.
• In the fall. Gutters full of leaves, a cracked pipe boot or a loose flashing is cheaper to fix before snow covers it.
• Around the 20-year mark. That is HUD's figure for asphalt laid on a bare deck, and Maine's insurance bureau uses 25 for a roof of any kind.
• Before solar goes on. Panels are much easier to install over a roof with decades left than to take off for a re-roof.

What gets checked on the roof

• The covering. On asphalt: granule loss, cracking, curling, unsealed tabs. On slate: cracked, slipped or missing pieces and rusted nails. On cedar: splitting, cupping and moss.
• Layers. Counted at the edge. Two or more means the next roof starts at the deck, by R908.3.1.1 of the code.
• Flashing. Chimneys, walls, dormers and skylights. On a wide chimney the code wants a cricket on the uphill side (R903.2.2).
• Valleys and edges. Worn valley lining, and drip edge, which the code calls for at eaves and rakes of a shingle roof (R905.2.8.5).
• Openings. Pipe boots, exhaust caps, and the ridge and intake vents.
• Gutters. Pitch, hangers, seams and where the downspouts dump.
• The deck underfoot. Soft spots that point to rot below.

Every item is photographed where it is found, so you can see it without climbing.

What gets checked in the attic

In Maine the attic tells half the story. By Efficiency Maine's account, an ice dam begins with house heat escaping upward and warming the roof snow from below. University of Minnesota Extension names air leakage as the main way heat reaches the roof in many homes, and lists the usual sources: ceiling light fixtures, chimneys, ducts in the attic, kneewall spaces and exhaust fans that end just above the roof.

So the attic visit looks for:

• daylight, stains, wet or darkened boards and rusty nail tips;
• insulation depth, measured against R-60, the attic level Efficiency Maine ties to the state's new codes;
• insulation packed against the eaves, where the code wants a clear inch of air between insulation and roof sheathing at the vents (R806.3);
• bath or kitchen fans that vent into the attic instead of outdoors;
• gaps around chimneys, pipes and the attic hatch.

The roof ventilation page explains what the vents should add up to.

Winter signs you can read from the yard

A day or two after a snowfall, a roof shows where its heat goes.

• Bare patches. Snow melting off the upper roof while the lower roof stays white means heat is reaching the deck. University of Minnesota Extension ties ice dams to exactly that: upper roof above freezing, edge below.
• Icicles and a ridge of ice at the edge. The dam itself.
• Stains high on an outside wall. Water from behind the dam coming inside.
• Signs of overload. The state's emergency management agency names a roofline that dips, heavy leaking, cracked rafters or beams, interior doors that jam, and groaning sounds from above. Leave and have the building checked if you see them.

What the report gives you

The report is a set of photographs, slope by slope, with a written note on each finding and a plain answer to the question you started with:

• the condition of the covering, flashing, vents, gutters and deck;
• how many layers are on the roof, and what that means for a re-roof under the code;
• what we saw in the attic: insulation, air leaks, ventilation, moisture;
• a remaining-life estimate, or a list of repairs with a line-item price;
• when a replacement makes sense, a written scope with the materials named.

Buyers can take it to a seller, and owners can send it to an insurer. It is yours either way.

Buying or selling an older house here

A roof on a house this old raises questions a general home inspection may only touch:

• How many roofs are up there? With two coverings already on, the code bars a third, so the next roof costs a full tear-off.
• What is under the asphalt? Older houses can hide wood shingles or a board deck beneath, which changes the deck work on the next job.
• Is the house in a historic district? In Portland, the city's historic designations map shows whether a property is designated; on a designated house, a visible change of roofing needs preservation approval before work. Kennebunk, York, Saco, Biddeford, Bath, Brunswick and others run their own reviews.
• What has winter done? Stained rafters at the eaves, wet insulation or repaired ceilings along outside walls point to ice dams, and the attic insulation and air sealing that cause them come with the house.
• Is it on an island? Peaks, the Diamonds, Cliff and Cushing islands are part of the City of Portland and use its permit office, but roofing has to arrive by ferry.

A seller can use the same report to fix what matters before listing, or to price the roof fairly.

What a roof inspection is not

It is not an insurance adjustment. Under Maine law, deciding what a policy pays, or charging for advice about it, belongs to the insurer's adjuster and to the people the law licenses for it (24-A M.R.S. § 1411). A roof report describes the roof; your insurer decides the claim.

It is not an engineer's structural review either. When a ridge sags, rafters are cracked, or a heavier roof or solar panels are planned, some towns want engineering on paper:

• Westbrook's solar permit asks for an engineer's stamped letter that the roof can carry the panels at a 60 psf snow load;
• Kennebunk wants engineered plans showing how panels mount, with the roof designed for the panels plus the snow load in the code's design table;
• Harpswell asks for a written statement that the roof structure is adequate and will not be compromised by the panels.

University of Minnesota Extension suggests a professional engineer when the question is whether a roof can carry more snow. The inspection report notes anything that should go to one.

Common questions about roof inspection in Portland

Where we work

Roof inspection across greater Portland and southern Maine, from Casco Bay and the York County coast to the Sebago Lake towns. Each city has its own page with the permit rule and code edition that apply there: