Roof Inspection in Boston, MA

What a home inspector's roof report leaves out

Home inspectors are generalists, and their standard lets them report from the ground when a roof is steep, wet or high. In Boston that is most of the housing stock from October through April.

• Chimney, sidewall and skylight flashing, where most Boston leaks start
• Board sheathing gone soft at the ends but still holding a nail
• Whether an ice barrier was installed at the eave, or skipped
• A membrane seam on the flat rear deck lifted a quarter inch
• Bath fans venting into the attic instead of outside

Roof certification for a home sale in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has no official roof certification form. What buyers, sellers and lenders want is a written statement from a licensed roofer: what the roof is, what condition it is in, how many years are left. We do not inflate that number to close a deal.

Sellers use it to stop a buyer carving eighteen thousand off the price over fourteen hundred dollars of flashing work. On a Back Bay mansard, where one roofline runs the length of the block and ties into the neighbors on both sides, that distinction is the whole negotiation.

What the report includes

• Roof type, age, layer count and pitch
• Photos of each problem area, keyed to a roof diagram
• Sheathing condition wherever we can probe it
• Remaining service life as a range, never a single year
• Repair scope priced separately from replacement

The Boston items we always check

Ice barrier at the eave

780 CMR R905.1.2 requires an ice barrier under asphalt, slate and wood shingle roofs: two cemented layers of underlayment or a self-adhering rubberized sheet, running from the lowest edge to not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and 36 inches along the slope at pitches of 8:12 or steeper. Plenty of older city roofs never got it.

Freeze-thaw, not just cold

Boston sits at or below 32 degrees about 92 days a year, but only 23 of those stay frozen all day. That 69-day gap is a thaw cycle, and thaw cycles crack chimney crowns, open mortar and work slate loose. Flashing is usually behind the leak that only shows in wind-driven rain.

Layers, load and the deck

Ground snow load is set by town: 40 psf in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Quincy, 50 psf in Danvers, Ipswich and Gloucester, per the 780 CMR Eighth Edition table. Confirm with your building official. A second layer adds dead weight and hides the deck, which on a 1900s three-decker is board sheathing, not plywood.

Salt air on the North Shore

Within about 3,000 feet of saltwater, including much of Marblehead and Swampscott, FEMA guidance points to 300-series stainless fasteners. We look for copper flashing nailed with galvanized fasteners, which starts galvanic corrosion.

An annual look beats an emergency call

Most of the storm damage roof repair we do in February started as a small problem in September. A pipe boot splits. A step flashing lifts. Nothing leaks until wind drives rain sideways or ice backs water up the slope.