The inspection records membrane, seams, flashings, drains, penetrations, edge metal, moisture indicators, photographs, and practical next steps in a condition report. An inspection that just checks whether the roof is leaking today misses most of the value. We walk every roof looking for the small stuff that turns into a call three months from now, a lifting seam, a drain strainer half-clogged with cottonwood seed, a flashing edge that's started to pull away. Catching that early is the entire point of scheduling inspections instead of waiting for a problem to announce itself.
We push most of our clients toward two inspections a year, timed around the two weather patterns that do the most damage to roofs in this part of the Ohio Valley. A late-winter or early-spring inspection catches whatever freeze-thaw cycling did to seams and flashing over the winter, and gets any repairs done before the spring thunderstorm line starts moving through the Tri-State with hail and straight-line wind. A fall inspection, done after the worst of summer's UV exposure and before winter sets in, catches heat-related wear and clears debris out of drains before ice starts forming around clogged outlets.
Buildings that run production through severe weather, manufacturing plants that can't afford unplanned downtime from a roof failure, sometimes add a third check specifically ahead of peak storm months. It's a smaller cost than an emergency call during a shift.
A roof walk here covers the membrane field for blistering, seam separation, and any sign of ponding water that's sitting longer than 48 hours after a rain event. We check every penetration, pipe boots, curbs, conduit runs, since those account for the largest share of leaks on the buildings we service. Flashing at parapet walls and roof edges gets a close look, particularly on buildings tall enough to take real wind load off the river.
We also check the areas around any rooftop-mounted process equipment separately, since those installations often have their own curb, conduit, and support penetrations that a general roof crew wouldn't necessarily install to the same standard as the original roofer.
Standing water is the single biggest predictor of early roof failure that we see across the Evansville market. A drain that's slow because of a partially clogged strainer doesn't look urgent on a dry day, but during a heavy summer thunderstorm off the river, that slow drain becomes real ponding weight the roof structure wasn't designed to hold indefinitely. Every inspection includes clearing what we can on the spot and flagging anything that needs a bigger drainage fix.
Every inspection ends with photos and a written condition report, rather than a verbal “looks fine.” That documentation matters for budget planning, knowing a membrane has three to five years of useful life left lets a facility manager plan a reroof into next year's capital budget instead of getting surprised by an emergency replacement. It also gives insurance carriers a maintenance record if a storm claim ever needs to reference prior roof condition.
We compare each report against the last one where history exists, so trends show up clearly, a seam that was fine last spring and is now showing early separation gets flagged before it becomes an active leak, not after.
Beyond the scheduled spring and fall walks, we recommend a post-storm inspection any time hail or high wind moves through the area, even if there's no visible leak yet. Hail bruising on a membrane or granule loss on a modified bitumen cap sheet isn't always obvious from the ground, and catching it right after the storm gives a much cleaner record for any insurance documentation that follows. Vanderburgh County sees enough spring storm activity that a lot of the buildings we service end up with at least one post-storm inspection on top of the standard two, and we'd rather make that extra trip than let hail damage sit unnoticed until it turns into an active leak months later.
Twice a year covers most buildings, once in early spring ahead of storm season, and once in fall before winter. Buildings running continuous production sometimes add a third check ahead of peak summer storm months.
Slow or clogged drains leading to ponding water shows up more often than any single membrane defect, and it's one of the fastest things to fix once flagged.
Yes. Hail damage isn't always visible from the ground or immediately obvious as a leak, so a post-storm inspection catches bruising or granule loss before it turns into a bigger problem.
A written report with photos covering membrane condition, drainage, flashing, and any items that need repair, along with a general estimate of remaining service life on the current system.
Yes. A regular inspection history gives a documented baseline roof condition, which is useful if a storm claim later needs to establish what state the roof was in before the event.