Are Free Roof Inspections Worth Having?

A free inspection is the visit that comes before a quote, and it is worth having on those terms. The roofer walks round the house and studies each slope from below. They may rest a ladder against the wall to see the eaves, which is where the roof meets the gutter. From there they can pick out slipped or cracked tiles, gaps along the ridge (the capping tiles on the very top line), failed flashing (the metal strip that seals a roof to a wall or chimney) and gutters that are full or sagging.

Will they climb onto the roof?

Not necessarily, and often they should not. Boots crack tiles and chip old slate, so a careful roofer works from a safe position and takes pictures. Some use a camera on a pole. Ask to see the pictures afterwards. A photo of your own roof tells you more than a spoken verdict, and it lets you show the same fault to a second roofer.

Leave with three answers: the jobs that cannot wait, the jobs that can sit a season, and what the work involves.

Our wider roof inspections page sets out the options.

The limits are worth knowing before you book. A free visit is usually a look from outside, so it cannot show you what is happening in the loft. Wet insulation, a darkened rafter or daylight through the boards will not show from the garden. Nor will a ladder reach a high rear slope behind a neighbour's fence, or a flat roof over a bay window.

Does a free visit come with a written report?

Usually not. You get a conversation and a price, not a dated document that records the state of each part of the roof. That matters when a buyer's solicitor, a landlord or an insurer asks for proof. For those jobs the visit has to produce something on paper, with photographs, and that takes more time on site and more time afterwards at a desk.

Our guide to what a roof inspection report contains lists what a proper one holds, so you can see what a quick look leaves out. Think of the two as different tools: one tells you whether to worry, the other tells you exactly what was found, where, and when.

MyJobQuote gives an average of around £300 for a roof survey and £200 to £350 where a drone does the looking. Both are typical UK figures (MyJobQuote, Oct 2026). Those fees buy time, a written record and a person whose job is to describe the roof rather than sell you a repair.

Is a paid survey better than a free one?

It is different, not better. Pay for one when the roof forms part of a sale or purchase, when you suspect damage you cannot reach, when a claim may follow a storm, or when you want a view from someone with no interest in the job that follows. Drone work reaches ridges and chimney tops without anyone stepping onto the roof, which suits fragile or steep surfaces.

If you only want to know whether a leak or a loose tile needs mending, a free look is proportionate. Spending £300 to be told that one tile has slipped would be poor value, and a roofer will usually say so as soon as they see it.

Our page on roof inspection cost explains what pushes a survey fee up or down.

You can improve what any free inspection gives you with a few plain steps. Be in or nearby when the roofer arrives, so you can point to the damp patch or the spot where you heard dripping. Ask where they looked from and what they could not see. Ask for photos of any fault they name, and ask what happens if you leave it alone for a year.

Should I get more than one opinion?

Citizens Advice advises collecting at least 3 written quotes from different traders before choosing one. That applies to a leaking flat roof as much as to a full re-roof. If two roofers describe the same fault and one proposes a far bigger job, the photos will show you why.

Signing for work at your own front door after a visit normally brings a 14-day right to cancel, though a repair you request urgently is treated differently. Read what you sign.

To see how we work, ask us to survey your roof. You get the photos, an explanation, and one written price for the work.