Storm Damage Roof Inspection Report Checklist

The homeowner says last night's hail “destroyed the roof.”

From the driveway, the roofer sees a lifted ridge-cap shingle, fresh leaves in the gutters, an older patch around a plumbing vent, and water staining on a bedroom ceiling. The north slope is too wet to access safely. The homeowner wants a report for the insurer, a tarp before the next rain, and a replacement price before lunch.

Those are three different jobs.

The inspection report records what the roofer safely observed and what could not be inspected. The temporary-work authorization says what the crew may do now to reduce further water entry. The repair or replacement estimate prices a defined future scope. If those documents collapse into one page labeled “storm damage,” the file can accidentally turn an observation into a coverage promise, temporary work into permanent repair, or an estimate into authorization.

The roofing forms catalog gives the shop the basic document stack. A useful roofing inspection report keeps those decisions separate. It starts with the reported event, maps the areas inspected, labels the photos, records visible conditions in neutral language, identifies urgent protection needs, and hands clean facts to the roofing quote estimate.

It does not have to be a forensic report. It does have to let the homeowner, office, estimator, crew, adjuster, and later reviewer understand the same roof without guessing.

Keep the storm call in four paperwork lanes

A storm call gets messy when one “free inspection” is expected to do everything. Keep four paperwork lanes instead:

Open the job with a work request intake. Use a site assessment checklist if the first visit covers the roof, attic, exterior, drainage, interior water path, trees, solar equipment, or other site conditions. The broader site-visit estimate guide explains how to separate observed, reported or assumed, and uninspected conditions before pricing.

Then give each later decision its own document. A signed inspection acknowledgment is not the same thing as approval for emergency work. A claim number is not a notice to proceed. An adjuster's visit is not the roofer's final material and labor scope.

If the same storm also delays work already under contract, document that schedule issue separately. The Act of God clause guide covers notice, mitigation, and schedule relief; it should not double as a roof-damage finding or insurance conclusion.

Triage the emergency before discussing the claim

The first call often arrives with a confident cause:

• “Hail punched holes in the shingles.”
• “The tornado opened the ridge.”
• “The tree caused all of it.”
• “The adjuster said I need a whole roof.”
• “My neighbor got approved, so mine will be approved too.”

Record those as customer statements, not company findings.

The intake should capture:

• customer, owner, insured, tenant, property manager, or other caller role;
• service address, occupancy status, safe contact method, gate or access instructions, and pets;
• reported event type, date, approximate time, and source of that information;
• active dripping, ceiling bulge, fallen tree, exposed opening, displaced material, electrical concern, or unsafe area;
• rooms or contents currently affected and any steps already taken;
• prior roof work, known installation date, warranty, maintenance, leak, patch, or claim;
• roof type if known, number of stories, slope or low-slope area, attached structures, solar panels, rooftop equipment, and known access points;
• photos or video supplied by the customer, clearly labeled as customer-supplied;
• insurer, claim, and adjuster contact only when the customer wants those details in the job file;
• whether the request is inspection only, temporary protection, repair estimate, replacement estimate, or some combination; and
• who can authorize inspection access, emergency spending, permanent work, and communication with third parties.

If water is near energized equipment, the structure appears unstable, a tree remains loaded against the building, or a ceiling is sagging, route the caller to emergency services or the appropriate qualified trade before promising roof access. The office should never use “free inspection” as a reason to dispatch into an uncontrolled hazard.

Decide how the roof will be inspected before anyone climbs

A storm-damaged roof may be steep, wet, loose, punctured, electrically exposed, structurally weakened, or covered with debris. OSHA's roof inspection, tarping, and repair guidance calls out slippery or deteriorated surfaces, ladders and scaffolds, power lines, tools, heat, and fall hazards during disaster recovery.

That means the report needs an inspection-method section, not a checkbox that says “roof inspected.”

Record which methods were actually used:

• ground-level visual review;
• interior ceiling or wall review;
• attic or roof-cavity review where authorized and safe;
• ladder-at-eave observation;
• roof-surface access;
• roof hatch, lift, scaffold, camera pole, or drone view;
• moisture meter, infrared scan, test cut, sample, lift test, or other agreed procedure; and
• records review, including prior photos, installation documents, permits, invoices, warranties, weather information, or customer-supplied reports.

For each method, name the areas reached and the areas not reached. “Roof inspected” is weak if only the front slope was visible from the ground. “South and west slopes viewed from ground and eave; north slope not accessed because the surface remained wet; low-slope rear addition not visible; return visit recommended” tells the next person what the report can support.

Use a job-specific hazard analysis and safety inspection checklist for the employer's actual task and controls. OSHA's construction fall-protection rule has activity-specific requirements. OSHA's roofing-inspection interpretation describes Subpart M's narrow exception for inspections performed before construction begins or after all construction work is complete. It does not cover inspections performed while construction is underway. Brief exposure is not itself an exemption for construction work. Do not assume that tarping, destructive testing, or repair falls within the inspection-only exception merely because it happens on the first visit; classify the task and apply the relevant fall-protection requirements.

A drone can reduce the need for roof access, but it does not reveal concealed conditions or make the flight unregulated. A drone inspection performed as part of the roofing business is not a recreational flight; before launch, verify the pilot, aircraft, airspace, and operating requirements under the FAA's Part 107 rules.

If the roof cannot be accessed safely, do not walk it. Document the limit and use another method or recommend a return visit. A documented limit is a professional finding. An undocumented fall is not.

Give every roof area a stable name

Photos become hard to use when one person writes “back left,” another writes “north side,” and the estimate says “rear slope.”

Create a simple map before the close-ups:

1. Confirm the street-facing elevation and north direction.
2. Assign elevation names: front, rear, left, and right, with compass direction where useful.
3. Assign roof-area IDs: S1 front main slope, S2 rear main slope, S3 garage, S4 porch, L1 rear low-slope addition.
4. Assign component IDs when needed: V1 plumbing vent, C1 chimney, SK1 skylight, PV1 solar array.
5. Use the same IDs in findings, photos, measurements, temporary work, estimate lines, and later change orders.

Do not force a complicated grid onto a two-slope house. The purpose is to keep location names stable, not to make the report look technical.

The roof summary should also state the basis for system information:

When age comes from the homeowner, say so. When a permit record, invoice, manufacturer registration, or prior report supports it, cite that record. Do not convert a rough appearance estimate into a documented installation date.

Photograph the route, the roof, the detail, and the limit

The strongest photo set works from context to detail.

Use this sequence:

1. Property approach: address or job identifier, general access, trees, debris, downed lines, standing water, and ground hazards without collecting unrelated private details.
2. Building overview: each elevation and the full roof shape visible from safe locations.
3. Roof-area overview: one or more views that make each slope or low-slope area recognizable.
4. Finding context: a medium view showing where the condition sits within that roof area.
5. Finding detail: a clear close-up with a scale only when scale helps and can be used without altering the condition.
6. Comparison area: nearby unaffected, differently weathered, or differently exposed material when the comparison is meaningful.
7. Interfaces: ridge, hip, valley, eave, rake, edge metal, flashing, vent, chimney, skylight, wall, gutter, drain, rooftop unit, solar mount, and transition.
8. Interior connection: room overview, stain or opening location, attic path, and visible wet material where access is authorized and safe.
9. Inspection limit: blocked hatch, wet slope, tree load, fragile area, steep section, solar-covered area, or other reason a location was not inspected.
10. Temporary work: before, during, and after views tied to the temporary-work authorization.

A caption should identify the job, roof area, finding, and view:

SR-184 Photo 027 — S2 rear main slope, medium view of two displaced shingles approximately 4 feet above the eave and 6 feet right of V2.

Avoid captions that decide more than the image proves:

Insurance hail damage — full replacement required.

The work-order photo guide explains how to keep originals, captions, privacy, exceptions, and handoff proof together. For a storm report, the essential discipline is one finding, one stable location, and enough context to find it again.

Write visible conditions before writing conclusions

The report should make it easy to distinguish five kinds of statement:

1. Reported: what the customer, occupant, weather source, prior report, or other person says.
2. Observed: what the inspector saw, measured, photographed, or tested within the stated method.
3. Not observed: a specific condition the inspector looked for but did not see in the inspected area.
4. Not inspected or not determined: a concealed, inaccessible, unsafe, excluded, or specialist-only condition.
5. Recommended: temporary protection, monitoring, further investigation, repair pricing, replacement pricing, manufacturer review, engineer review, adjuster contact, or another trade.

This language keeps the report honest:

“Not observed” is not the same as “does not exist.” If the inspector viewed only one slope, write the finding for that slope.

Use the roof system, not one generic damage vocabulary

Wind, hail, debris, water, age, installation, maintenance, and foot traffic do not look the same on every roof. The RICOWI and IBHS roofing guide emphasizes roof-system identification, age, weathering, repair options, and material-specific evaluation.

A small-shop report does not need to reproduce an engineering manual. It should avoid pretending every dent, split, crease, puncture, or loose edge means the same thing.

When causation is disputed, the roof is unusual, structural movement is visible, the system warranty is involved, or destructive testing is needed, name the additional professional or procedure instead of stretching a visual report beyond its scope.

Treat weather data as context, not a photograph of the property

Weather information can help anchor the reported event. It cannot replace property-level evidence.

NOAA's Storm Events Database contains National Weather Service records used for the official Storm Data publication. Its events are organized by county or forecast zone depending on event type, and the archive may lag the inspection date. NOAA's Severe Weather Data Inventory also warns that coverage is incomplete, absence of a record does not prove no severe weather occurred, and some radar-derived entries represent probable conditions rather than a confirmed occurrence at a specific property.

The report can state:

• the weather source;
• event type;
• report, warning, or observation time;
• geographic area;
• record identifier or saved copy;
• whether the information was preliminary or final when known; and
• the limit of what that source establishes.

A useful entry might read:

NOAA preliminary storm information shows thunderstorm-wind reports in the county on July 16. The homeowner reports strong wind and debris at this address at approximately 8:40 p.m. This weather information provides event context; it does not by itself establish the cause, timing, or extent of each condition observed at the property.

Do not turn a radar screenshot into “2-inch hail struck this shingle at 8:43.” Keep the weather record and the building observations in separate fields, then let the qualified parties evaluate what each supports.

Separate existing condition from the reported event

Storms often expose a roof problem without creating every part of it.

The inspector may find:

• fresh displacement beside aged sealant;
• a new interior stain below an older flashing patch;
• tree impact on one slope and long-term granule loss elsewhere;
• a loose edge next to deteriorated wood;
• wind-driven rain entering at a wall transition with no missing roof covering;
• broken tile with weathered edges beside a fresh fracture;
• a temporary homeowner patch over a location that was never photographed first; or
• visible water entry with the deck, insulation, or wall cavity still concealed.

Do not force those facts into “all storm” or “all wear.”

Use location-by-location notes and identify the basis for any timing statement. Prior inspection photos, installation records, maintenance reports, satellite imagery, customer photos, and invoices may help. If the report cannot reliably distinguish timing or cause, say that.

This is the same discipline used for other hidden conditions and scope gaps: document the known condition, state the limit, and create a defined approval path for what later becomes visible.

Authorize temporary protection as its own job

Homeowners may need a tarp or small temporary closure before the claim inspection or permanent estimate is complete. Consumer guidance from the NAIC and the Texas Department of Insurance emphasizes documenting damage, taking reasonable temporary steps to reduce further loss, and keeping receipts. The exact policy, claim, and state rules still control; a roofer should not promise reimbursement.

Before temporary work begins, use a roofing work order or other written authorization that records:

• the exact roof area and condition being addressed;
• whether the work is emergency stabilization, temporary weather protection, limited repair, debris removal, or another defined task;
• the authorized method and material, including fastening or attachment limits;
• what may be moved, lifted, cut, removed, opened, or discarded;
• price, time-and-material rate, dispatch fee, or not-to-exceed cap;
• person authorizing and method and time of approval;
• access, safety, weather, electrical, tree, solar, and structural prerequisites;
• permit or authority question when applicable;
• photos required before disturbance, during work, and after completion;
• materials used, crew time, equipment, and receipts;
• known effect on appearance, existing covering, manufacturer warranty, later testing, or permanent repair;
• areas not stabilized and remaining leak risk;
• inspection or return-visit date; and
• a direct statement that temporary protection is not the permanent repair unless the signed scope says otherwise.

If the safe temporary method changes after the crew reaches the roof, pause and get a written change order or revised authorization. Do not let “stop the leak” become permission to remove an entire slope, discard evidence, or start permanent replacement.

Photos should not delay rescue, emergency services, or immediate life-safety action. When it is safe to document, preserve the pre-work condition before covering or removing it.

Keep the contractor, insurer, adjuster, engineer, and AHJ in their lanes

The roofing contractor's report can document roof-system information, visible conditions, inspection limits, temporary work, and a proposed repair scope. The contractor can explain its own estimate.

The insurer interprets the policy and makes its coverage and payment decisions. An insurer's adjuster or a properly licensed public adjuster has a different role from the repair contractor. Engineers, roofing consultants, laboratories, manufacturers, and building officials may own other technical or regulatory decisions.

State-law boundaries differ. Florida's Department of Financial Services, for example, explains the separate roles of insurance adjusters and repair contractors. Florida Statutes § 626.854(16) allows a properly licensed contractor to discuss or explain its own bid when it charges the usual and customary fees stated in its contract, but not to offer or perform public adjusting services unless it also holds and complies with the required public-adjuster license. Do not copy a Florida notice into a nationwide form and assume the problem is solved. Verify the state where the property sits and the services the shop is actually offering.

Avoid report language such as:

• “Insurance will buy a full roof.”
• “We will get the claim approved.”
• “There is no out-of-pocket cost.”
• “The deductible will be waived.”
• “Sign over the claim and we handle everything.”
• “The adjuster's scope is your contract with us.”

Better language is:

This report documents the contractor's stated inspection scope, observed property conditions, photographs, temporary-work recommendation, and proposed next steps. It does not interpret insurance coverage, guarantee payment, replace the insurer's adjustment, or authorize repair.

The homeowner can share the report and estimate with an insurer. That does not make the roofer the homeowner's claim representative.

Move from inspection findings to a priced scope

The inspection report should give the estimator enough facts to price without copying the photo captions into a lump sum.

The scope attachment and estimate should identify:

• report date, roof-area IDs, and photos used as the pricing basis;
• repair, replacement, recover, investigation, test, or alternate options offered;
• measured or estimated quantities and the measurement source;
• removal, protection, dry-in, covering, flashing, edge, ventilation, drainage, penetration, and accessory scope;
• deck or substrate treatment, including concealed-work assumptions and unit prices where appropriate;
• interior, insulation, mold, electrical, solar, tree, masonry, gutter, siding, paint, and other-trade boundaries;
• material manufacturer, product line, color, profile, rating, availability, matching limit, and substitution process;
• permit, inspection, code, engineering, manufacturer, HOA, and utility responsibilities;
• staging, access, lift, scaffold, parking, landscaping, driveway, debris, cleanup, and weather assumptions;
• temporary work already performed and whether its cost is separate, credited, or incorporated;
• customer, insurer, lender, or third-party selections and approvals still needed;
• start and completion assumptions;
• warranty owner, start point, exclusions, registration, maintenance, and transfer terms;
• estimate version, expiration, payment schedule, and acceptance method; and
• written change triggers for concealed deterioration, unavailable products, code-required work, added access, customer changes, or revised third-party scope.

FEMA's Building Codes Toolkit for Homeowners and Occupants tells owners to check local permit and code requirements when repairing or rebuilding after a natural disaster. The 2024 International Existing Building Code definitions distinguish roof repair, roof recover, and roof replacement in the model-code vocabulary. The adopted edition and local amendments control, so the inspection report should flag the question rather than declare the final code scope from memory.

If the insurer later issues a different scope, compare it line by line. Revise the roofer's quote when the roofer's proposed work changes. Do not hide the difference by making the final roofing contract say only “per insurance.”

Give the homeowner a report that can be read without you

A strong delivery packet is easy to navigate:

1. One-page summary: request, reported event, inspection date, method, roof system, key observations, urgent action, and next step.
2. Roof map: elevation, north arrow, roof-area and component IDs.
3. Findings table: location, observation, photo numbers, status, limit, and recommendation.
4. Photo appendix: ordered from overview to detail with captions.
5. Interior or adjacent-area appendix where relevant.
6. Temporary-work authorization and completion record, if any.
7. Repair or replacement estimate, when ready.
8. Inspection limitations and role statement.
9. Customer receipt or acknowledgment.

The acknowledgment can confirm that the customer received the report, photos, temporary-work record, and estimate. It should not ask the homeowner to certify technical cause, code compliance, insurance coverage, or concealed conditions.

Keep the signed paperwork, invoices, receipts, and supporting records under one job number. IRS Publication 583 is general business guidance, not a roofing retention schedule, but its basic rule is useful: business records should connect income and expenses to supporting documents. Warranty, insurance, licensing, tax, contract, and dispute needs may require different retention periods.

A field-ready inspection report layout

Arrange the report in the order the inspector works:

Blank fields look like forgotten work. Use “not applicable,” “not observed,” “not inspected,” “not determined,” or “customer declined” where those are the true results.

A short example that stays inside the evidence

Reported event: Homeowner reports high wind and tree debris at approximately 8:40 p.m. July 16, followed by dripping at the rear bedroom ceiling.

Inspection method: Ground, interior bedroom, accessible attic opening, ladder-at-eave, and roof-surface review of S1, S2, and S3. S4 porch roof was not accessed because wet translucent panels created an unsafe walking surface.

Observed: S2 has three missing shingles and two creased tabs near the right rake. Edge metal is displaced approximately 18 inches at the same corner. Brown ceiling staining and elevated surface moisture were recorded below the S2/V2 area. Exact water path and concealed deck condition were not determined.

Existing condition: Prior sealant and replacement shingles were observed around V2. Date and purpose of that work are unknown.

Temporary recommendation: Obtain written authorization to install temporary weather protection at the S2 right-rake opening when safe access and dry conditions are available. Photograph before disturbance, materials, attachment points, and completed protection. This is not a permanent repair.

Next step: Prepare a localized repair option and a broader replacement option after material identification, quantity takeoff, permit check, deck allowance decision, and product-availability review. No insurance coverage determination is made.

That example gives the estimator a usable handoff without claiming more than the visit established.

Close the loop after the repair

The storm report remains useful after the job is approved only if the later paperwork uses the same locations and findings.

Carry the roof-area IDs into the work order. Photograph concealed conditions before covering. Use a change order for approved scope or price changes. Record permits, inspections, product labels, quantities, test or startup results, cleanup, and open items. Use a completion sign-off to document the handoff and a roofing warranty to separate contractor workmanship from manufacturer coverage.

The contractor warranty guide explains why those promises should not be blended. A storm inspection may start the file, but the closeout documents decide what was installed, accepted, billed, and warranted.

Sources

Sources checked July 17, 2026.

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Hurricane eMatrix: Roof Inspection, Tarping, and Repair, for disaster-recovery roof hazards, temporary covering context, access, power-line, surface, tool, heat, and fall-protection considerations.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 29 CFR 1926.501, Duty to Have Fall Protection, and Fall Protection During Roofing Inspections, Investigations, and Assessments, for activity-specific construction fall-protection requirements and the limited initial-inspection interpretation.
• Federal Aviation Administration, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Regulations (Part 107), for nonrecreational small-drone operating requirements relevant to business roof inspections.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency, Building Codes Toolkit for Homeowners and Occupants, for local permit, code, contractor, insurance, repair, and rebuilding questions after natural-hazard damage.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, for the official Storm Data source, event categories, geographic records, and archive context.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information, Severe Weather Data Inventory, for preliminary report and radar-product access plus explicit completeness, confirmation, and absence-of-data limits.
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Navigating the Claims Process: Recover and Rebuild, September 1, 2017, for loss documentation, temporary mitigation, receipts, adjuster roles, repair bids, and post-disaster fraud context.
• Texas Department of Insurance, Homeowners Insurance and Disaster Claims FAQ, for a current state-specific example on photographs, temporary repairs, insurer contact, policy variation, and claim questions.
• Florida Department of Financial Services, Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate, Insurance Professionals in a Homeowners Claim, and the Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes § 626.854(16), for a state-specific explanation of insurer, insurance adjuster, public adjuster, and repair contractor roles, plus bid-discussion and unlicensed-adjusting boundaries.
• Federal Trade Commission, How to Prepare for a Weather Emergency While Avoiding Scams and Home Repair Scams, for written-contract, identity, insurance, reference, payment, and post-disaster contractor-fraud guidance.
• Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues and Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Best Practices Guide for Roofing and Survey Practices, for roof-system identification, aging and weathering, mapped observations, photo organization, material-specific evaluation, weather context, report limits, and specialist referral.
• National Roofing Contractors Association, Use Caution When Inspecting and Restoring Roof Systems After Severe Weather, July 27, 2022, for professional inspection and post-storm contractor-safety context.
• International Code Council, 2024 International Existing Building Code, Chapter 2: Definitions, for the model-code distinction among roof repair, roof recover, and roof replacement; the locally adopted code and amendments control.
• Internal Revenue Service, Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, revised December 2024, for general small-business transaction, invoice, receipt, expense, and supporting-document recordkeeping.

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This article is general information, not legal, insurance, public-adjusting, engineering, building-code, aviation, licensing, manufacturer-warranty, tax, or workplace-safety advice. Verify the property, roof system, inspection scope, worker protections, adopted code, permits, contractor and adjuster licensing, drone operation, insurance policy, contract, temporary-work authority, and repair method with the responsible agencies and qualified professionals before acting.