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Roof Inspection: What a Good One Covers (and What It Skips)

By Des Moines Roof Repair · October 13, 2026 · 5 min read

There are three kinds of roof inspection in Des Moines. The home inspector's, which is a look from the driveway and a line that says "recommend evaluation by a roofing contractor." The storm chaser's, which is a "free inspection" that always finds a roof. And a real one, where someone walks the roof, goes in the attic, and writes down what they saw with photos. Here's what the third kind covers, so you can tell whether you got one.

What you should get

A written report within a day or two, with:

• Photos of every issue, taken on the roof and in the attic
• A plain description of each: what it is, what it will do if ignored
• A price for each repair, and whether it's urgent, this year, or watch it
• An honest estimate of remaining life
• Whether any damage is storm damage that might be a claim, and whether it's worth filing

If you got a phone call and a replacement quote, you didn't get an inspection. You got a sales visit.

The checklist, from the roof

A walked inspection on a Des Moines house should cover all of these. Ask about any that aren't in the report.

Shingles

1. Granule loss, and where (south and west slopes age first)
2. Bald spots with mat exposed
3. Curling, cupping, cracking, thermal splitting
4. Hail bruising — dark, soft spots — with a test square counted on each slope if there's been a storm
5. Wind creases and lifted tabs
6. Seal strip adhesion, checked by hand on each slope. The derecho unsealed roofs across the metro that look fine from the ground
7. Nail pops
8. Blisters

Penetrations and flashing

1. Every pipe boot — cracked collar, lifted flange
2. Chimney step and counter-flashing, cricket, mortar condition
3. Wall and dormer step flashing
4. Skylight flashing kit and seal
5. Vents, furnace and water heater flues, satellite mounts
6. Valleys — open or closed-cut, what's under them, rusted metal

Edges

1. Drip edge at eaves and rakes
2. First courses at the eaves, where ice dams work
3. Gutters and fascia — pulled hangers, soft wood, overflow staining
4. Starter strip present and sealed

Structure and surface

1. Soft decking, felt underfoot
2. Sags in the ridge or slopes
3. Moss, algae, debris in valleys

The checklist, from the attic

Half the roof's story is under the deck, and a drone can't see any of it.

1. Water trails on the underside of the decking, traced uphill
2. Daylight through the deck
3. Rusted or frosted nail tips (condensation)
4. Bath fans and dryer vents ending in the attic
5. Insulation depth and whether soffits are blocked
6. Whether the ridge vent is actually cut through the deck
7. Rafter and truss condition, cut or missing ties
8. Layers of shingles visible at the eave from below
9. Mold or delaminating plywood

Drone or walk

A drone is a good tool for the overview photo and for roofs that are too steep, too icy or too fragile to walk. It's a poor tool for an inspection on its own. It can't lift a shingle to check the seal strip, can't press a thumb on a hail bruise to tell it from an old scar, can't feel a soft deck, and can't go in the attic. A roof inspection in Des Moines done only by drone is a set of photos, and after a hail storm the difference between a bruise and a blemish is the whole claim.

We walk roofs whenever it's safe and use the drone for the rest. On a 12/12 Beaverdale roof in January, that means drone plus attic plus a ladder at the eaves, and the report says so.

Reading the report

"Recommend replacement" with no per-item prices is a sales document. A good report prices the repairs and the replacement separately, so you can see whether the repairs get you three more years at a fair cost.

Storm damage claims. The report should say whether the damage looks like sudden storm damage or wear, and give you a repair price so you can weigh it against your deductible before filing.

Urgency. Three tiers: fix now (active leak, exposed deck), fix this season (cracked boots, open valley, missing membrane at the eaves), watch (minor granule loss on a young roof).

Remaining life. A number of years and a reason. "Five to eight years; south slope is losing granules but the seal strips are sound and there's no decking damage" is an answer. "It's getting old" isn't.

When to book one

• Before you buy: the contingency window here is usually 7–10 days, and a roof credit negotiated with a real report beats a guess
• Before you sell: fix the boots and the valley, hand the buyer the report
• After a hail or wind storm, before you call the insurer
• Any roof past 18 years, once a year
• Any leak you can't trace yourself

A standalone inspection with a written report is $150–$300 in the metro, credited if we do the work; a look at a leak we're quoting is free. The roof inspection page has the details, and if it's a storm you're worried about, start with the storm damage checklist.