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internachi home inspection school

3-Tab Asphalt Shingle Roof Inspection Guide

This guide for the House of Horrors® in Florida, is currently being produced for self-guided tours.

The guide is based on and refers to the most recent International Residential Code (IRC), which can be found online at https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/collections/I-Codes.

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE

The International Standards of Practice for inspecting the roof system is located at www.nachi.org/sop.

MASTERING ROOF INSPECTIONS

To learn about inspecting roofs, please visit Mastering Roof Inspections.

1-Foot_traffic_wear.jpg

Foot traffic (shingle butt) wear.

Look for butt wear this on natural paths of travel.

Observation

2-Excessive_wear.jpg

This is excessive wear and a manufacturing defect.

Observation

3-Marring.jpg

Foot damage caused by making sudden turns on a hot or new roof.

Missiles.

Caused by wind-blown items.

Tool damage.

Typically dropped tools. 

Ladder damage.

Knife damage.

Observation

4-Knife_damage.jpg

Caused by careless roofers during installation.

Faked hail damage.

Golf ball.

Observation

5-Golfball-1.jpg

Ball peen hammer.

 

Observation

6-Ball-peen.jpg

Note the crushed granules. Hail does not crush granules.

Framing hammer.

Observation

7-Claw-hammer.jpg
8-Wind_damage_types.jpg

Creased shingle tabs.

Bent-back shingle tabs.

Shingle blow off.

Shingle pull-through.

Observation

9-Damage_above_joints.jpg

Bonding of asphalt shingle fails first above the joints in underlying shingles.

Observation

10.-Scattered_damage.jpg

Widespread wind damage above joints is an indicator of weak bonding across the roof.

Observation

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Shingles that blow off in groups indicated that the roof was well-bonded.

Note that the shingles in the photo above were high-nailed.

 

Buckled Shingles

Observation

12-Sheathing-buckled_shingles.png

When dry roof sheathing is installed before it has had a chance to reach equilibrium moisture content (EMC) with the homesite environment, it will expand as it absorbs moisture from the air. If shingles have been installed before sheathing reaches EMC, shingles may buckle at panel edges.

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