Annual
Roof inspection
You don't need to climb up there. An annual ground-level walk-around with binoculars (or your phone's zoom camera) catches 80% of issues.
The Bay Area's rains arrive in October-November and stay through April. Anything you spot in September has weeks to be fixed before the first storm. Anything you find in January is going to be wet, complicated, and expensive.
What you’ll need
- Binoculars or a phone with a good zoom camera
- A notes app — log what you see by side of the house
- (Optional) a flashlight to peek into the attic on a sunny day
The basics
- Walk the perimeter of the house. Look at the roof-line edge: do shingles lay flat? Any gaps?
- Look at any chimney, vent pipe, or skylight: is the flashing tight, no cracked sealant?
- Check the gutters from below — are shingle granules collecting in them? That’s the shingle wearing through.
- Peek into the attic on a sunny day. Any daylight visible through the deck is a leak waiting to happen.
Watch out for
- Curled, cracked, or missing shingles — patching one is easy ($50); patching many means the roof is nearing end of life.
- Granules in the gutter (looks like coarse black sand) — shingles are shedding their protective coating.
- Mossy or dark streaks on the north-facing slope — common in the East Bay; treat with a zinc strip before moss eats the shingle.
- Sagging ridge line — structural, call a roofer immediately.
Spot something off? Let Odosan diagnose it.
Photo of any spot you’re unsure about — missing shingle, suspect flashing, water stain on the ceiling inside. Odosan compares against common East Bay roof issues.