This checklist helps you choose and assess a survey. It covers the roof and connected details, the limits of what could be seen, photographs, priorities and the next step towards repair, monitoring or further investigation.
Commission the report you need
- State the decision the survey must support before agreeing its scope.
- Cover roof surfaces, junctions, drainage, internal signs, access and previous work as connected findings.
- Require explicit limitations and do not treat an inaccessible or concealed area as defect-free.
- Ask for priorities, reasons, photographs and next actions rather than an unstructured defect list.
Clarifying the survey question
Choose one primary decision and any secondary questions. Without that focus, a report may collect photographs but still fail to explain what supports the next step.
Leak diagnosis
Identify affected rooms, timing, weather pattern and previous interventions. Ask the survey to distinguish observations, likely pathways and what cannot be confirmed without opening-up or different weather.
Condition and maintenance planning
Ask for condition by element, defects that are changing, routine maintenance and a priority sequence. The report should avoid turning every weathered material into an immediate replacement recommendation.
Repair or replacement decision
Ask for the reasons behind each realistic option, the retained serviceable fabric, unresolved build-up questions and the details that would control scope. A survey can frame pricing but should not invent concealed quantities.
Purchase or shared-building decision
State which roof areas, ownership boundaries and common elements matter, especially on a tenement or another shared building. Keep the roof survey distinct from a general valuation or legal title check, and arrange separate professional advice for matters outside its scope.
Look at the whole roof system
Connected elements matter because water and movement do not respect trade labels. Historic Environment Scotland advises looking at slate, chimneys and related roofing elements together when planning maintenance.
Covering and fixings
Check material, visible condition, displaced or damaged units, seams, laps, observable fixings and previous repairs. Distinguish local defects from patterns across a slope or roof area.
Junctions and penetrations
Look at valleys, ridges, hips, verges, skews, abutments, flashings, rooflights, pipes, hatches and plant supports. Each observation should have a location rather than a generic caption.
Drainage and masonry
Look at gutters, rhones, downpipes, flat-roof outlets, overflows, parapets, chimneys and adjacent masonry. Show blockage, staining, open joints or movement as observations, with a cause only where findings support it.
Inside and below
Where access is agreed, check roof-void or top-floor staining, ventilation, visible structure, odour and finishes below the roof. State when insulation, linings or stored items prevent observation.
Use roof-type checklists
Add the checklist that fits the roof instead of forcing every property through one generic sequence.
Flat roofs
Check system identity if known, surface condition, falls, ponding, outlets, upstands, perimeters, rooflights, penetrations, previous patches and signs of deck or insulation moisture. State whether the covering can be repaired compatibly or needs further identification.
Slate and tile roofs
Check slipped, missing, cracked or weathered units, patterns suggesting fixing or support issues, ridge and verge condition, lead junctions and associated rainwater goods. Do not walk directly on slate or tile surfaces to improve the view.
Traditional and protected roofs
Add material matching, laying pattern, retained fabric, lime or masonry details, designation, conservation setting and consent questions. Photographs should be suitable for a later planning authority or repair-specification discussion.
State access, method and limitations
The report should say where observations were made and what could not be seen. HSE guidance places planning, competence and suitable equipment at the centre of work at height, while fragile surfaces need specific controls.
Inspection method
List ground-level views, normal windows, roof voids, scaffold, access platforms, cameras or other methods actually used. Do not imply close access where the finding came from a distant view.
Limitations
Identify weather, height, roof geometry, fragile surfaces, finishes, insulation, locked areas and concealed build-up. Explain which conclusions are provisional because of those limits and what further step could reduce uncertainty.
Opening-up
If destructive or intrusive checks may be needed, define locations, permissions, reinstatement, weather protection and the decision the opening is intended to support before it begins.
Require a report that leads to a decision
A useful report lets another reader trace the findings without relying on memory. It should separate observation, interpretation, recommendation and limitation.
Minimum report structure
Look for the survey purpose, property and roof areas, date and weather, inspection method, location-referenced photographs, findings by element, limitations, priorities and recommended next actions. Add a plan or annotated elevation where names alone could be ambiguous.
- Immediate safety or weather-protection issues.
- Near-term repairs with their reasons and affected area.
- Planned maintenance and monitoring points.
- Further investigation or opening-up needed.
- Consent, building standards or associated-professional questions.
Priority language
Define what each priority means. A label such as urgent, near-term or monitor should identify the reason and action, not imply a guaranteed deterioration timetable or attendance commitment.
Scope boundaries
State whether cost estimates, structural calculations, moisture testing, asbestos, electrical issues, legal ownership and consent applications are inside or outside the survey. Refer out rather than letting silence look like coverage.
Turn findings into the next controlled step
Use the report to choose one action for each finding: protect, repair, investigate, monitor or move into planned replacement. Give the same schedule to everyone pricing the work.
Repair briefing
Give location, photographs, material, intended outcome, access assumptions, connected details and any provisional opening-up. Ask each proposal to respond to the same schedule.
Monitoring plan
Fix the viewpoint, feature, date and trigger for another check. Monitoring is useful only when someone can tell what changed and which action follows from that change.
Authority or specialist question
Extract the designation, material, structural or building standards question and send the relevant findings to the appropriate authority or professional. Do not treat the roof report as approval outside its stated scope.
Official guidance and references
- Historic Environment Scotland: traditional building maintenance Official advice on inspection plans, connected defects, maintenance records and safe observation of traditional buildings.
- Historic Environment Scotland: traditional building repairs Official guidance on finding causes, specifying compatible repairs, retaining fabric and recording work.
- Engine Shed: slate roofs Historic Environment Scotland guidance on Scottish slate inspection, repair, reuse, matching and permissions.
- Engine Shed: roofing leadwork Historic Environment Scotland guidance on lead junctions, movement, defects, maintenance and repair specification.
- HSE: roof work Official roof-work guidance covering safe access, roof edges, weather and fragile materials.
- HSE: working at height safely Official guidance on planning, competence, equipment and the hierarchy for controlling work-at-height risk.
- HSE: fragile surfaces Official guidance on treating roof surfaces as fragile until a competent person confirms otherwise.
- mygov.scot: building regulations Scottish public guidance on building regulations, building warrants and contacting the council building standards team.
