A commercial roof inspection turns a roof you cannot see into a document you can act on. It is the cheapest thing you will ever buy for a building and the thing most often skipped until water is already inside. We inspect low-slope, flat, and metal commercial roofs across greater Los Angeles for property managers, owners, lenders, and buyers in escrow.
The deliverable is a written report with photos, not a verbal opinion at the tailgate. It tells you what is failing, what is merely aging, and what can wait until the next budget cycle. That is the difference between a roof inspection and a sales visit.
What a commercial roof inspection includes
We walk the entire roof, not a representative sample. Every level, every slope, and every piece of equipment gets looked at, because the leak is always in the part nobody walked. The report follows the same structure every time so you can compare one visit to the next.
- The field. Membrane condition, seams and laps, punctures, blisters, surface wear, and prior repairs.
- The perimeter. Edge metal, terminations, parapet walls, copings, and counterflashing.
- Penetrations. Pipe boots, conduit, curbs, skylights, hatches, vents, and equipment supports.
- Drainage. Drains, scuppers, overflows, gutters, slope, and any standing water with its footprint noted.
- Moisture. A survey where the conditions call for it, with core cuts when we need to prove what is under the membrane.
- Interior. Any stains, deck corrosion, or damage you can show us from below.
Every finding is photographed and located, so a facilities lead can send the report to ownership without translating it. Repairs are ranked as urgent, near term, or budget item. Nothing in the report is a package you have to buy from us.
Roof walk during an inspection, with conditions photographed as they are found.
Roof certification for escrow, refinance and insurance
A roof certification is a stated opinion that the roof is in serviceable condition, which is a higher bar than a condition report. Escrow officers, lenders, and carriers ask for one when money is moving and somebody needs the roof taken off the table. Roof certification Los Angeles lenders and carriers request comes up most often on sales, refinances, and policy renewals.
A roof certification inspection follows the same walk, then adds the repairs required to make the statement honest. If something fails, it gets repaired and re-checked before the certification is issued, because that is the whole point of the document. Roof certification for insurance carries the same standard, and carriers often want the supporting photos attached.
The certification program we issue under is {{CERTIFICATION_PROGRAM}}. Terms, the period covered, and what the statement does and does not warrant come in writing with the report. Ask for those details before you order one.
What a certification is not
A certification is not a warranty and it is not insurance. It says the roof was serviceable on the date it was walked, under the conditions found that day. Storm damage the following week is a new event and a new inspection.
Timing matters when escrow is running. Repairs found during the walk have to be completed and re-checked before the document can be issued, so order the inspection early rather than the week the deal closes.
What fails an inspection
The same conditions turn up on roof after roof, and almost all of them are repairable if they are caught. What makes them expensive is time, since a small opening becomes wet insulation becomes a deck problem. These are the findings that stop a certification.
- Open or de-bonded seams and laps in the field.
- Cracked, lifted, or unsealed flashings at walls, curbs, and parapets.
- Penetrations with failed boots, open collars, or sealant that has given up.
- Blocked drains, missing strainers, and water still standing long after a storm.
- Punctures and abrasion along traffic paths to rooftop equipment.
- Abandoned curbs and equipment left in place with the openings never closed.
- Wet insulation confirmed by survey or core, which no surface repair can fix.
Defect marked on the roof surface during a walk so the repair crew can find it.
How often to inspect
Twice a year is the common recommendation, timed before and after the wet season. Add a visit after any significant storm, after any trade works on the roof, and after a rooftop unit is replaced. Most new leaks we trace came from somebody else's work, not from the membrane wearing out.
Roofs with solar arrays, heavy mechanical equipment, or grease exhaust need more attention than a bare warehouse roof. So do roofs with regular service traffic, because foot traffic is a leading cause of punctures. Frequency should follow the exposure, not the calendar alone.
Preventive roof maintenance programs
Roof maintenance is the scheduled version of everything above, run on one building or across a portfolio. A program means recurring roof inspection services, drain clearing before the rains, small repairs handled while they are still small, and one running file per property. That file is what protects a warranty and what settles arguments later.
- Scheduled inspections with a consistent report format and photo history per roof.
- Drain, scupper, and gutter clearing ahead of the wet season.
- Minor repairs completed on the visit rather than written up for a separate trip.
- A budget forecast that separates this year's work from the capital conversation.
- One contact and one document trail across every building in the portfolio.
Commercial roof maintenance usually starts with a manager who has several buildings and no roof file for any of them. Roof maintenance services are how that gets fixed, building by building, over one season. Start with an inspection on the worst roof and expand from there.
What the inspection leads to
The report is the starting point for every other scope we write. Countable failures go to commercial roof repair, a worn but dry field goes to commercial roof coatings or commercial roof restoration, and a saturated assembly goes to commercial roof system installation.
If you need a commercial roof inspection Los Angeles property teams can act on, whether for escrow, a renewal, or a roof nobody has walked in years, send the address. The cost of roof certification and inspection is small next to the decisions it informs. Call {{PHONE}} to schedule the walk.
Questions on this service
What does a roof inspection include?
A walk of the full field, the perimeter, the flashings, the drains, and every penetration, all documented with photos. We check seams, laps, curbs, standing water, and any interior stains you can show us. You get a written condition report with the repairs ranked by urgency, not a sales sheet.
How often should a commercial roof be inspected?
The common industry recommendation is twice a year, before and after the wet season, plus a look after any major storm. Roofs with heavy equipment, solar, or regular foot traffic earn more frequent visits, because that traffic is what damages them. A short log kept over time is worth more than one long report every few years.
What will fail a roof inspection?
Open seams and laps, cracked or lifted flashings, unsealed penetrations, blocked drains, standing water, loose termination bars, and wet insulation under the membrane. Punctures from foot traffic and abandoned equipment curbs show up on nearly every roof. Any of those can hold up a certification until it is repaired and re-checked.
How much does a commercial roof inspection cost?
Inspection pricing follows roof size, how many buildings are in the visit, the number of penetrations and roof levels, access and safety requirements, and whether you want a moisture survey or infrared scan included. A certification report costs more than a condition report because it carries a stated opinion. Current ranges are {{PRICE_RANGE_FROM_IRC}}.
Who is responsible for roof repairs in a commercial lease?
It depends on the lease type, since a triple net lease often assigns roof repair to the tenant while a gross lease usually leaves it with the landlord. An inspection report settles the factual side by documenting condition and cause with dated photos. Read the maintenance and capital repair clauses before approving a scope.
Other commercial roof services
Each property usually needs one clear scope, not all five at once. The walk tells us which page below matches the building.
- Commercial Roof Repair
- Commercial Roof Coatings
- Commercial Roof Restoration
- Commercial Roof System Installations
Ready for a written scope? Request a site visit or call {{PHONE}}.