What belongs in a roof inspection report.
Six sections, a checklist you can hold an inspection to, and a real sample. Written for storm and insurance work, where the report is the argument.
The six sections, in order.
Property and inspection record
Address, inspection date, date of loss, inspector, and which elevations were covered. A reviewer should never have to guess what was looked at.
Damage summary
Overall severity, the damage classes found, and how many photos support each one — derived from the findings rather than typed from memory.
Photo-by-photo evidence
Every image with its detected damage class, severity, a confidence score, and a written inspection note. This is the section that ends the "no visible damage" argument.
Cause of loss and storm history
Verified NOAA hail and wind events for the property coordinates near the date of loss, with distance and reported stone size. If nothing qualifies, say so — before you file.
Code requirements
The state and local code provisions that drive the repair, attached to the findings that trigger them. Arguing from the code book beats asserting a scope.
Measurements and scope
Squares, pitch, ridges, hips, valleys and eaves, with the scope lines built from the findings. Each damage class already carries its unit of measure — SQ, LF, or EA.
Roof inspection checklist
Hold every storm inspection to this before the report leaves your office.
- Address, inspection date, and date of loss on the cover
- Every elevation photographed wide, then close on each impact
- Soft metals documented — gutters, downspouts, drip edge, vents
- A test square per slope showing impact density
- Damage class and severity on every finding
- A confidence score so borderline calls stay visible
- A written note per photo, not a bare filename
- Verified storm events for the property coordinates
- Code provisions behind each required repair
- Measurements and the scope on the same document
Free PDF. No email required.
What gets reports denied
Every one of these is common, and every one invites a re-inspection.
- A zip file of untitled JPEGs with no notes
- One subjective verdict about "the roof" instead of per-photo findings
- A storm date the homeowner remembered, never verified
- Scope lines typed from memory after the photos were closed
- A separate measurement PDF the adjuster has to reconcile by hand
Report questions.
What should be included in a roof inspection report?+
Property and date-of-loss record, a photo-by-photo evidence section with a written note per image, damage class and severity for each finding, a confidence score, the affected component with its unit of measure, verified storm history for the address, the building-code provisions requiring the repair, and the measurements and scope on the same file.
What does a roof inspection report look like?+
A cover with the property record, a job-level damage summary, then one block per photo containing the image, the detected damage, severity, confidence, and its inspection note. Storm history and code citations follow, with the measurement report and scope attached to the same document.
Is a roof inspection report template a good idea?+
A template guarantees structure but not evidence — the fields still get filled in from memory. A report generated from the photos themselves keeps the structure and removes the retyping: each image produces its own finding, note, and unit of measure.
What makes a roof inspection report acceptable for insurance?+
Specificity. The reviewer needs to see what is damaged, how badly, how certain the call is, what caused it, when, and why the code requires the repair. Reports that answer those six things stop drawing re-inspection requests.
How long should a roof inspection report be?+
As long as the evidence. A 40-photo storm job typically runs 20 to 40 pages because each image gets its own documented finding. Length is a side effect of coverage, not a goal.
Can I see a sample roof inspection report?+
Yes — real samples of both the photo inspection report and the satellite measurement report are published on the sample reports page, no email required.