What is the difference between a roof inspection and a roof survey?

You have a leak, a storm has passed, or something has slipped. The purpose is to find the cause and establish what needs doing. It concentrates on the symptom and the areas that could produce it, though a competent inspection still looks at the whole roof for context.

The output is a diagnosis and options, usually followed by a quotation.

You are buying a property, planning expenditure, documenting condition for a claim, or want a baseline to compare against in future. The purpose is a complete picture: every elevation, all details, drainage, roof space where accessible, with dated imagery and a written report.

The output is a condition record with priorities and indicative timescales, which is what makes planning possible.

An active leak needs an inspection now. A purchase, a claim, a maintenance plan or a roof you simply have not seen properly in years is better served by a survey.

In either case ask what is included, whether the roof space is covered, whether every elevation will be photographed, and whether you receive a written report and the imagery.

A structural engineer's assessment, a full building survey, or anything requiring the covering to be opened up. Where a finding needs that, a good report says so and recommends it rather than speculating about what is underneath.

Confusion between the two terms causes real problems when quotations are compared: one contractor's price for an "inspection" covers a targeted look at a leak, while another's covers a full documented survey of every elevation, and the two are not comparable however similar the figures look.

Asking each contractor to state, in writing, whether the visit is targeted or comprehensive, whether the roof space is included, and what documentation you receive removes that ambiguity before you commit to anyone.