How often should a roof be inspected?

Age and fixing type matter most. A slate roof on original nails is on a slow, whole-roof clock, and an annual look catches slipping before it becomes ingress. Concrete tiles often outlast their battens and underlay, so the interval is set by what is underneath rather than the tiles.

Exposure comes next. A roof taking sustained driven rain on one elevation wears unevenly, and mortar-bedded ridges and verges on that side need looking at more often than the sheltered side.

Any storm with damaging winds, particularly where there is debris on the ground. Before exchanging on a property purchase. After any work on or near the roof, including scaffold removal. After a leak has been repaired, to confirm the repair is holding.

Flat roofs benefit from a check after autumn leaf fall, because a blocked outlet turns into standing water quickly.

Coverings, ridge and verge bedding, flashings, valleys, chimney condition, gutters and outlets, and the roof space where it can be reached. Every elevation, not only the one facing a symptom, because water travels.

Ask for dated imagery. It is what makes the next inspection a comparison rather than a fresh opinion, and comparison is where the planning value lies.

Clearing gutters and valleys, and dealing with growth, is maintenance rather than inspection. Both matter, and most avoidable roof problems begin with water that cannot get away rather than a defective covering.

A sensible pattern is seasonal drainage clearance, a ground-level look after storms, and a proper inspection at the interval your roof warrants.

A roof that has not been looked at in a decade is worth inspecting regardless of whether anything appears wrong inside. Deterioration in bedding, flashings and fixings is well advanced before it produces an internal symptom, and that is precisely the stage where repairs are still local.