Roof inspection process, from the online order to the sealed letter

This is the roof certification as the platform runs it, step by step. No step carries a promised time, because none is published; the visit is scheduled once a technician accepts the job, and the engineer's review begins when the evidence is complete. How the same method applies across every line is on the process page.

Before payment: whether the job can be taken

The first question is whether the roof can be reached safely on the day. A no ends the online path and passes the job to a person. The address comes next, because the county decides who can be sent and whether the coastal surcharge applies.

Then the engineer's own questions: the purpose of the letter and who it is addressed to, any date it is needed by, the building and its stories, the roof's age and covering, attic access, steepness, and whether anyone lives there. A photograph of the front of the property is required. An earlier adverse report must be uploaded if one exists, and the roofing invoice, permits, photographs of problems and any earlier inspection report are asked for where they exist.

Five questions are flags: an open insurance claim, a lawsuit, an active leak, an earlier adverse report, and storm damage in the last year. A yes to any of them holds the job for the engineer to accept or decline before anybody is sent out.

Price and terms, then payment

The price is $549, plus $75 in first tier coastal counties, and the coastal surcharge appears as its own line on the payment page when the address is in one of those counties. The terms shown before payment are these, word for word:

• The engineer reviews what is gathered and decides. They may seal it, ask for revisions, ask for another visit, or decline to seal.
• If they decline before anyone attends the property, you are refunded in full.
• If they decline after a technician has attended, you are refunded everything except the $175.00 inspection, and you receive what the engineer found and why they could not seal it.
• You are never charged more than the price shown above, and a decline is never a reason for a further charge.
• Paying does not buy a seal. It buys the review by a licensed Professional Engineer, and their conclusion is theirs.

Payment is taken on Stripe's hosted page, so card details never reach this site. An email then confirms the order and carries a link to follow it.

The technician's visit

The technician is trained on the engineer's protocol and works its checklist in the field application, which will not accept an incomplete submission. Each item is photographed at least twice, once wide to place it on the structure and once close to show its condition, with a ruler in frame where a dimension matters. On every roof plane the worst condition is the one photographed, not a flattering sample, and an item the technician cannot see is marked not observed with the reason written down. Each photograph carries its location, the device's time, the server's time at sync, and the difference between them.

A roof that cannot be walked safely is not walked. The engineer then decides from what was gathered whether a determination is possible or the job needs lift or other access equipment, which is one of the things the price list says can change the price.

The engineer's review

The engineer reviews the evidence package and records one of five determinations: pass, revise, repairs required, site revisit, or decline, along with the checklist items and photographs relied on. A package that does not let the engineer verify an item goes back for revision or a return visit, and a re-inspection made necessary by an incomplete package is not charged to the customer.

Repairs required produces a written repair list naming each item and what closes it. Repairs are done by others, a return visit verifies each item, and no letter issues while any item is open.

The sealed letter

On a pass the engineer seals the letter electronically from his own account, with a fresh second factor each time. Rule 137.35 permits an engineer to use an electronic seal and signature and requires the engineer to keep them secure, and under rule 137.33 the engineer who seals takes full professional responsibility. The sealed file is hashed and locked when it is sealed, and it is checked against that hash every time it is downloaded.

An email then says the letter is sealed and links to the order page, where it downloads as a PDF; replying to that email redirects it if it should go elsewhere. What the letter states and what it leaves out are compared with the coastal certificate in roof certification versus WPI-8, and how a lender reads it is in the structural engineer report guide. 254 Engineering LLC is a Texas registered engineering firm, TBPELS Firm Registration F-29811.

The fee and what moves it are compared with the alternatives in roof inspection cost. Start the roof certification online, or read what the sealed letter covers first.