City And County Roofing Inspections

Your local building department requires a series of inspections for the specified phases of your roofing or re-roofing project.

A sign-off inspection chart is provided with every permit that is issued. It is to be posted with the permit in clear view on your property. The city and the county roofing inspections are to be called in by the roofer at the completion of each phase. An inspector will arrive the following day to verify the accomplished work and sign off on the inspection. It is not expected that the roofer is to hold up work until the inspection is made but what he cannot do is skip through an inspection scheduling in an effort to avert disclosure of any proper work requirements being ignored.

The public building inspectors are not assuring that nothing improper has taken place but rather the appearance by random oversight suggests that proper roofing measures have consistently been followed. Their inspection time frame runs approximately 15 minutes on the site and only sometimes will they get up on your roof. If they witness something improper, a corrective work order will be issued which must be completed prior to a final inspection being signed off.

If you are concerned about whether all the rules are being followed, then you will need to continually engage the roofer or his supervisor for explanations about the installation techniques being used. Another method is to hire an independent consultant to perform inspections and supervision at the different phases of the project. They will be in a position to interact with the inspectors during the inspection processes. This is one of our main services we provide giving you assurance and peace of mind.

The city and county roofing inspections that satisfy the permitting requirements are as follows:

Tear-off & Sheathing Inspection: This inspection is to establish that the old roof has been completely removed and any rotted or damaged roof decking (plywood sheathing), trusses, and fascia has been properly repaired or replaced.

Roof Deck Nailing Inspection: This nailing inspection is generally handled by an affidavit signed and notarized by the roofing contractor stating that the nail pattern on the plywood sheathing is to current codes or that it has been re-nailed to current codes by him. Also included in this affidavit is the satisfaction that the roof-to-wall tie-downs meet the current code requirements.

Dry-in Inspection: This inspection is meant to assure that the underlayment is installed properly by its attachment and nail pattern establishing a secondary water barrier. It also requires that all the flashings are properly in place prior to proceeding.

In-Progress Inspection: This is a simple inspection that assures all other inspections and affidavits are signed off and the roofer is proceeding with the installation of the main roofing material in a workmanlike manner. It satisfies that the installation meets all the restrictive requirements.

Final Roof Inspection: The final inspection is to satisfy that the roof is complete and appears to meet all required codes. It establishes that the clean-up process is satisfactory to the building department's expectations and that any leftover material has been secured or removed. At this point, the permit can be closed out and all the building departments' requirements have been met.