A roof condition report is the document that comes out of a roof survey. It is what you keep, show to a solicitor or insurer, and use to compare quotes, so its quality matters more than the length of the visit that produced it. Some reports are a page of general remarks with two blurry pictures. Others are structured records that a different roofer could pick up and act on without ever having met the author. The difference shows up in a handful of features: photographs tied to locations, defects described by material and cause, a clear order of priority, rough costs, and a candid note on the limits of the inspection. This guide walks through each of those in turn, explains how to read what you are given, and lists the signs of a report that will not help you. It applies to houses and small commercial buildings alike, and it is written with the older stone, slate and lead roofs around Bath in mind, where the hidden details are often where the trouble starts.
Start with scope: what was looked at and how
The first thing a report should do is say what it covers. That means the address, the date of the inspection, the conditions that day, and the way the roof was reached. Was the author on the roof, on a tower, at a window, or on the ground with binoculars? Was a drone used? Which parts were reached by hand and which were only seen from a distance?
This matters because a roof survey is always a sample of the whole. A surveyor who walks the slopes and lifts slates in three places has not seen every fixing on the roof. A surveyor who photographs a chimney from the next street has not seen the flashing around its base. A good report is straightforward about that gap. It states which areas were inspected closely, which were seen from a distance, and which could not be reached at all, such as a lead gutter hidden under moss, a roof slope behind a neighbour's extension or a loft space full of stored boxes.
Look also for a note on the roof type. An older Bath house may have a pitched roof with natural slate, a mansard with dormers, a lead-lined valley between two slopes and a parapet gutter, all on one building. A report that reads as though the whole roof were a single plain slope is a sign it was not looked at closely.
Finally, the author should say who they are and what their interest is. If the person writing the report is also quoting for the repair, that is not wrong, but it should be stated so you can weigh the findings sensibly.
Photographs that prove each finding
Photographs are the backbone of a report, and they do more than decorate it. Each defect should have at least one picture, taken close enough to show the fault and from far enough back to show where on the roof it sits. A caption or number should tie the picture to the written finding and to a position, for example the north-facing slope near the ridge, the left-hand valley as seen from the street, or the back of the party wall stack.
Dates matter. Dated images give you a record of condition at a point in time. That helps if there is later a dispute with a neighbour, a landlord, a previous roofer or an insurer about when damage arose. It also helps you, because a year later you can compare the same spot and see whether a crack has widened or a slate has moved.
A few kinds of picture are worth asking for by name:
- An overall view of each slope, so the reader can see the roof as a whole.
- Close images of every junction with lead, such as chimney flashings, abutments and valleys.
- Gutters and downpipes, including the inside of any parapet or box gutter.
- The chimney stack, showing pointing, flaunching and the pots.
- Any area where the covering has been disturbed to show the fixings underneath.
Be wary of reports that rely on a single stock image or on pictures that do not match the property. If you cannot tell which part of your roof a photograph shows, it is not doing its job.
Defects described by part, material and cause
The list of defects is where a good report earns its keep. Weak ones say things like roof in fair condition, some tiles need attention. Strong ones name the part, the material, the problem and the likely cause, so that the reader understands what has happened and why.
Compare these two entries. The first reads: gutters need work. The second reads: the lead in the parapet gutter above the front bay has split along a drip, and water is staining the stonework below. The second tells you where to look, what failed and what the visible result is. It also allows another roofer to check the finding and price it without guesswork.
Causes are worth stating because they decide the repair. Slipped slates may be caused by corroded nails, a problem sometimes called nail sickness, in which iron or poorly protected steel nails rust away and let the slate slide. If that is the cause, replacing a single slate fixes one spot and leaves the rest of the roof to follow. A cracked chimney flaunching, the mortar bed that seats the pots, may be caused by frost and the use of too hard a mortar. A damp patch on a ceiling may come from a failed flashing, but it can equally come from condensation, and a careful report says which it believes and why.
On older roofs the report should also note the covering and the fixings used. Natural slate, clay tiles, stone slates and pantiles each have their own faults. Where there is lead, a competent report notes its condition and any visible lead code, the stamp that shows its thickness grade. Our guide to drone roof surveys explains why images alone cannot supply this level of detail.
The report should separate what it saw from what it infers. Seeing a split in a gutter is a finding. Suspecting that the timber beneath is wet is a possibility to check. Both belong in the report, but they should be labelled differently.
Priorities: what is urgent, what can wait
A list of faults without an order is a puzzle, not a plan. Most owners cannot tell which of fifteen items will cause a leak this winter and which is a cosmetic matter for later, when the next time the scaffold is up. The report should do that sorting for them.
The simplest scheme uses three bands. The first is for faults that are letting water in now or that put people at risk, such as a loose chimney pot above a path, a tile hanging from a hip, or a split valley over a bedroom. Those need action soon, and a make-safe visit comes first where a leak is active. The second band covers faults that are not yet failing but will if left, such as ageing flashings, failing pointing, or slates showing early signs of delamination. The third covers items to monitor, such as lichen, minor weathering or an old repair holding up well.
Priorities should reflect the roof, not just the defect. A cracked tile on a steep, exposed slope facing the prevailing weather matters more than the same crack under a sheltered lean-to. A small hole in a flat roof over a living room matters more than the same hole over an unused store. A good report explains why an item sits in the band it does.
It should also note anything that depends on something else. If the lead at a chimney needs replacing and the stack needs repointing, doing both together saves a second scaffold. If a whole slope needs re-covering, patching gutters on the same elevation might be wasted effort. Reports that connect the dots like this help you to spend once rather than twice.
Costs: ranges, not promises
Many owners want a figure at the end of the report. A condition report can give a sensible range for each action, as long as it is clear that a range is not a quote. Fixed prices come after the repair is specified, and they depend on access, materials and the exact scope.
As a check on any figure you are shown, typical UK ranges reported by MyBuilder's roof repair cost guide (2026) put minor repairs, for one small leak or a handful of tiles, at £100 to £300, moderate repairs at £500 to £1,000, and major repair work at £2,500 or more. Those national averages come from an outside guide and describe no single firm, but they help you tell whether a report's estimates are in a believable region. A report that says a split lead gutter will cost £200 to patch, or that a full re-roof will cost £1,000, deserves some questions.
Good estimates are broken down by action and say what is included. They state whether scaffold, waste removal and making good are in the figure. They say whether the price assumes like-for-like materials or something different. On a listed building they say whether listed building consent is likely to be needed, because that changes both the cost and the timeline. Our guide to roof survey cost covers what the survey itself should cost, which is a separate figure from the repairs.
Compare contractors on the fixed quote that comes after a survey, not on the range in the report. The range shows whether a quote is believable; the written scope shows whether two quotes cover the same work.
Warning signs, and how to use the report
Some reports do not help however carefully you read them. The warning signs are consistent.
- No photographs, or photographs that cannot be tied to a position on the roof.
- General words such as poor, tired or at the end of its life, with no part or cause named.
- No mention of the areas that were left unchecked.
- A single recommendation of a full replacement with no comparison against repair.
- No order of priority, so every item looks equally urgent.
- Pressure to decide quickly or a price that is only valid for a day.
A report with these features is not necessarily wrong, but it is hard to rely on, and you are entitled to ask the author to fill the gaps before you act on it.
Once you have a good report, there are three practical uses. First, get at least one other roofer to look at the same list, and see if their findings agree. Second, keep the dated photographs with your house records, because they show condition at a point in time. Third, if you are claiming on insurance after a storm, remember that policies often count only gusts of 55 mph or more as a storm, and gradual deterioration is commonly excluded. A report and photographs support a claim but cannot guarantee one.
If you are buying, the report often feeds into a negotiation. Our guide to the roof section of a homebuyer report explains what that document does and does not say about the roof. For the wider picture of how we inspect, see our roof inspections hub, and ask us for a survey if you want a report written about your own roof, with photographs, a priority list and a fixed price in writing.