The short answer
Yes. A roof is rarely seen by the people who own it, so pictures are the only record of its condition. Dated photographs taken before work show what was wrong, those taken during work show what was done under the covering, and those taken after show the finished roof. They help with disputes, insurance claims, a later sale and any question about a leak that returns.
Why a roof needs a photographic record
Most roof work cannot be checked by the customer. The roof is high up, only the top layer is visible from below, and the parts that matter are underneath it. When a roofer has finished, you are mostly trusting what you are told.
Photographs close that gap. A set of pictures from before the work shows the roof as it was: the slipped slates, the split lead, the rotten batten, the open joint in the ridge. A set taken during the work shows what lies below the covering when it is lifted, which is usually a surprise to the owner and the best explanation of why a price changed. A final set shows the finished roof from the same positions as the first, so the difference can be seen.
The pictures are most useful when something goes wrong later. A leak that appears six months after a repair is easier to sort out when both sides can look at the same dated images of the same area. Without them, a conversation about what was done turns into memory against memory.
What photographs should cover
A handful of pictures from the pavement does not do the job. A useful picture is near enough to show the fault itself and wide enough to place it on the roof.
- The overall roof from each side that can be reached, so the slopes can be identified later.
- Each defect up close, with a slate or a gloved hand beside the fault for scale.
- The details that fail most often: valleys, the lead flashing along a wall or chimney, ridge and hip joints, and the verge, where the slope stops at a gable wall.
- The loft, taking in the rafters, the roof timbers from below and any damp patches.
- The same positions afterwards, so each before picture has a matching after picture.
Ask for the original files rather than screenshots, because they carry the date and time. If you are having a report prepared, the roof inspection access page explains how the roof is reached for the pictures, and why some views come from a drone or a pole camera.
Photographs and insurance
If you may claim on a policy, photographs are worth even more. Insurers decide whether damage came from an insured event or from wear and tear, and dated pictures from before and after a storm are far better evidence than a description. The ABI's definition of a storm, which many insurers use, includes gusts of at least 55 mph, and standard policies may not cover general wear and tear. According to Which? (November 2025), citing FCA figures, only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout.
None of this decides a claim either way. What it shows is that a claim often rests on the quality of the evidence, and a roofer's pictures and report are a large part of that. A roofer cannot guarantee payment, but you can have the images and a written description to send to your insurer.
After a storm, photograph the damage as soon as it is safe to do so, from the ground. Do not climb up to take the pictures. Our page on roof inspection after a storm explains what to record and what a roofer will look for.
Photographs when you sell or when the work is in a listed or conservation area
A buyer or a buyer's solicitor may ask what work has been done to the roof and when. A folder of dated before and after pictures, with the roofer's written description and the invoice, answers that without delay. It is also a record of materials: if a natural slate roof was repaired in natural slate, the pictures show it.
The same applies where consent was needed. Consent adds another reason. All of Bath lies within the World Heritage Site, the conservation area covers about half of it, and many buildings are listed. B&NES Council grants listed building consent, and carrying out unauthorised work is a criminal offence. For a listed or conservation-area house, a photographic record shows the council what stands there now, and the later pictures show what was done. We explain the permission side before work starts.
If you are weighing up repairs against a sale, the page on whether to fix the roof before selling covers how a seller can use a survey and a photographic record.
What to ask your roofer for
You do not need to be technical to get a good record. A few plain requests are enough, and a good roofer will not mind any of them.
Ask for photographs before the work starts, at the stages where the old covering is off, and when the work is finished. Ask for them as digital files, with the date. Ask for the pictures to be sent with a short written note of what each one shows. If there is a hidden problem, such as rotten battens, which are the timber strips the covering is fixed to, ask to see it photographed before extra work is agreed.
Our free survey includes photographs of every slope we inspect, followed by a written fixed price, and each image is dated and labelled with the slope or detail it shows, so a stranger could follow it years later. The pictures sit alongside that paperwork, so when you need to prove what was done, everything is together. Keep the folder with the house papers. It costs nothing and takes minutes, and it will be useful at some point, whether for a claim, a sale or a question about a leak. More on the service is under roof inspections.
