You can check your roof safely from the ground with binoculars and from inside the loft, without ever climbing onto it. Look for tiles sitting low, displaced ridge tiles, lifted flashings and blocked valleys outside, then check the loft for daylight, damp felt and soft timber.
You don't need to go on your roof to do a meaningful inspection. Most of the things that matter can be checked from ground level with binoculars, from inside the loft, and from looking at your ceilings after heavy rain. This guide covers what to look for, what it means, and when it needs professional attention.
Ground Level: What to Look For
Tiles. Walk around the property and look at each roof slope in turn. You're looking for: obvious gaps where tiles are missing; tiles that are sitting lower than their neighbours (nail sickness — the fixing has failed, the tile is resting on the one below); tiles that are cracked or have fragments missing; ridge tiles that appear displaced or out of alignment with their neighbours; and any area where the profile of the roof looks irregular.
Valleys and flashings. Look at the valley lines where two slopes meet. Are they open and clear, or is there organic debris accumulating? Look at the chimney base — is the lead step flashing visible and sitting flush against the chimney face, or is it lifted, buckled or missing? Any daylight visible through a flashing joint at chimney base level is a failure that needs prompt attention.
Gutters and verge. Do the gutters appear to be sitting level and connected? Any section that is visibly pulling away from the fascia, or that is overflowing during rain rather than running to the downpipe, needs attention. Look at the verge (the edge of the roof at the gable end) — are the verge tiles tight and flush, or are any displaced?
In the Loft: The Most Revealing Inspection
Falls from height remain the single largest cause of fatal injury to workers in Great Britain, which is why roof inspection should be carried out from ground level or the loft.
Source: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) annual workplace fatality statistics
On a bright day, go into the loft and turn off the light. Look for any points of daylight visible through the roof covering — even very small pinpoints. Daylight here means a tile or slate gap, a displaced batten, or a failed verge that needs immediate attention.
Look at the underside of the felt (the grey or black membrane immediately beneath the tiles). Staining, sagging, or wet patches indicate water that has penetrated past the tile covering. Note where these staining patterns are — they will help locate the entry point above.
Inspect the rafters and purlins for any staining, dark patches, or soft spots. Fresh water staining (lighter brown) indicates an active or recent leak. Old black staining may be historic and no longer active. Soft or punky wood at any point on a structural member needs a professional assessment.
After Heavy Rain: The Ceiling Check
The most useful time to check for active leaks is during or immediately after heavy rain. Walk through the house and check all upstairs ceilings for any new damp patches, water marks, or plaster bubbling. Also check the top of internal walls directly below the roof slope. Pay particular attention to ceilings below chimney breasts and below valley positions.
When to Call a Professional
Call a roofer if you see: any missing tiles; displaced ridge tiles; lifted or missing lead flashings; daylight in the loft; wet patches on felt in the loft; new ceiling damp after rain; or anything that has changed since your last inspection. Do not wait for a minor issue to become a major one — most roof repairs caught early cost £150–£400. Left for a season, the same issue can cost multiples of that in internal damage repair.
What You Need and What You Should Not Do
A useful self-inspection needs three things: a pair of binoculars, a torch, and a phone for dated photographs. Nothing else is necessary, and nothing else is advisable. Binoculars at 8× or 10× magnification will resolve individual tile edges, mortar joints and flashing detail from ground level on a two-storey house.
What you should not do is go onto the roof. Falls from height remain the largest single cause of workplace fatalities in UK construction, and domestic roof access without training, fall protection or suitable equipment is considerably more dangerous than professional access. A wet, mossy or nail-sick roof gives no reliable footing, and a ladder pitched against a gutter is a poor anchor. Everything described here is achievable from the ground and the loft.
A Systematic Ground-Level Survey
Work around the property in a fixed order so nothing is missed, and photograph each elevation. Start at the ridge line: it should be dead straight. A dip or a wave indicates structural movement in the rafters or purlins, which is a different and more serious matter than a slipped tile. Check that ridge tiles are aligned and that mortar joints are intact.
Work down the slope, scanning course by course for tiles sitting low, cracked, or missing. Then check the verges at the gable ends for missing mortar or lifted tiles, the valleys for debris and vegetation, the chimney for cracked flaunching and lifted flashings, and finally the gutters and fascia for sagging, plant growth and staining on the wall below. Repeat on every elevation, including the rear, which is where problems most often go unnoticed.
The Loft Inspection in Detail
Choose a bright day and turn the loft light off. Let your eyes adjust for a minute, then look up. Pinpoints of daylight indicate gaps in the covering. Note roughly where they are relative to the chimney, the hatch or a gable wall, so the position can be related to the outside.
Then use the torch. Examine the underside of the membrane for staining, sagging or wet patches. Check the timbers where they meet the wall plate at the eaves, which is where rot begins on a roof that has been leaking at the gutter line. Press a screwdriver gently into any dark or discoloured timber — sound timber resists, decayed timber gives. Check the insulation for damp patches and confirm it is not blocking the eaves ventilation gap.
Recording What You Find
Photographs are only useful if you can relate them to a location later. Photograph each elevation as a whole first, then zoom in on individual defects, so that the wide shot provides the context for the close-up. Keep the images in a dated folder, and repeat the exercise each spring and autumn.
The value of this compounds. A defect photographed in September and again in March shows whether it is stable or progressing, which is genuinely useful information for deciding urgency. For insurance purposes, a dated set of images showing the roof in reasonable condition before a storm is the strongest available answer to a wear-and-tear argument.
Interpreting What You See
A single slipped tile on a roof under about 40 years old is usually a discrete failure — a broken nib or a nail that missed the batten — and a simple repair. Multiple tiles slipped across a slope on a roof over 50 years old is a fixings problem, and it will continue regardless of how many individual tiles are refixed.
Cracked ridge or verge mortar is normal wear and predictable; it needs attention but rarely urgently. Lifted or missing lead flashing, an open valley, a cracked chimney flaunching or daylight in the loft are all active water entry routes and warrant prompt action. A dipped or waving ridge line is the one finding that should prompt a call regardless of anything else, because it suggests the structure rather than the covering.
Using Binoculars and a Phone Camera Effectively
A modern phone camera at full optical zoom, braced against a wall or fence, resolves detail on a two-storey roof surprisingly well, and it has the advantage of recording what you see. Where the phone struggles is in low light and at long range on a three-storey property, which is where binoculars remain better.
A technique worth using is the comparison shot: photograph each elevation from the same fixed position each time — a particular paving slab, a gatepost — so that images taken six months apart can be compared directly. Small changes that would be invisible to memory become obvious side by side. Combined with dated storage, this builds a genuine condition record over a few years for no cost, and it is the most useful thing a homeowner can do between professional inspections.
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Call 0148 290 8437Last reviewed: 22 July 2026 by Beverley Roofing Experts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — a meaningful inspection can be done from ground level with binoculars, from inside the loft, and by checking ceilings after heavy rain. You should never go on the roof yourself without proper training and equipment.
Tiles sitting lower than their neighbours — resting on the tile below because the fixing has failed. Tiles that move slightly when the wind blows. Any tile that is not flush with the plane of its neighbours.
On a bright day with the loft light off: look for daylight visible through the roof covering. Look at the felt underside for staining or wet patches. Inspect rafters for soft spots or fresh staining. Do this annually, ideally before and after winter.
Almost always chimney flaunching failure (cracked mortar around the pot) or lead step flashing failure at the chimney base. Both allow rainwater into the flue or down the chimney face. Both are relatively inexpensive to fix when caught early.
A brief ground-level and loft inspection twice a year — once in spring and once in late autumn before winter — is appropriate for most East Yorkshire properties. After any significant storm, do an immediate check.
Call immediately for: missing tiles, displaced ridge tiles, active ceiling leaks, daylight in the loft, or any displaced or failed lead flashing. For less urgent issues — early nail sickness, minor moss, blocked valley — book within a few weeks.
Yes — free, no-obligation roof surveys with written reports. We cover all of Beverley, Hull and the East Riding. Call 0148 290 8437 to book.