The short answer
Check the gutters, the ridge, the flashings and the chimney from the ground, then the loft for daylight, stains and damp. Do it in your first weeks, while you can still see the house empty or half-unpacked, and again after your first big storm. Collect any roof paperwork from the sale, and ask a roofer to look closer at anything that worries you.
Moving in is the best moment to learn what your roof is doing. A few plain checks in year one show what is sound and what is on borrowed time.
The first walk round outside
Pick a dry, bright day in your first fortnight and walk the whole outside of the house. Stand back far enough to see each slope. Look for tiles or slates that have dropped out of their rows, gaps along the ridge (the capping on the top edge) and mortar that has crumbled or cracked. Look at the chimney stack for leaning, loose pots and pointing that has fallen away.
What do the gutters tell me?
A great deal. Check that they are clear, that the joints are not dripping, and that the downpipes lead somewhere sensible. A green streak down the wall below a gutter, or a plant growing in it, means water has been spilling over for a while. Gutters clogged with leaves are an inexpensive fault to fix and a damaging one to ignore.
Take photographs from spots you can return to later. You then hold a picture of the roof on day one, which helps if a fault appears and you want to know whether it is new. Everything in this section can be done with binoculars and no ladder.
A sign of either needs attention soon: Somerset Building Control's page on dangerous structures cites both a loose tile and an unstable chimney.
Looking in the loft
Once the removal boxes are down, go into the loft with a torch and step only where the boards are firm. Check the sloping roof overhead for daylight, which shows a gap, and for dark stains or damp patches, which show water. Check the insulation for flattened or discoloured areas, and look at the timbers near the chimney, where leaks often begin.
What should I make of mould or a musty smell?
It can point to a slow leak, or to condensation when warm air from the house meets a cold roof with poor ventilation. The fix is different, so ask a roofer to tell them apart. Do not seal air vents or cover gaps at the eaves, because they exist to let the loft breathe.
Note anything the previous owner left behind. Old stored items can hide damp. Asbestos is a further point. HSE advises treating a pre-2000 building as one that may contain it, so leave old boards, sheets and lagging alone, and ask a professional about anything you are unsure of.
Our guide to checking a roof from the loft goes through each sign and what it can mean.
Paperwork and what the sale told you
Look through the sale pack for anything about the roof. A survey that flagged the roof, an invoice for past repairs, a guarantee from an earlier roofer, or a completion certificate from building control all tell you something about its history. If the survey raised a concern, check whether it was dealt with before completion or left for you.
Who do I ask about earlier work?
Your solicitor is the first call, because they hold the replies to the questions put to the seller. The seller's answers may name a roofer, give a date for a repair or note a leak. If nothing is recorded, a roofer can read the roof for signs of past repair and give you a view on its age.
Our answer on what to do when a homebuyer survey flags the roof covers the purchase stage, and a roofer can read the roof for signs of how old the covering is.
Keep every roof document in one folder, with the photographs you take. When you sell, that folder answers the buyer's questions and saves time on both sides of the sale.
Your first-year routine, and when to call
Set a rhythm for the year. Walk round after your first major storm, and glance at the bedroom ceilings for new marks. Clear the gutters in autumn, and look at the roof once more in spring, when the winter's damage shows. These checks take little time and build a picture of how the roof behaves in your weather.
When is a roofer worth calling?
Call when you see slipped tiles, lifted flashing, a sagging ridge, a leaning chimney, a stain that grows or a drip that comes back after rain. Also call if you cannot tell whether a sign matters. A look from a roofer costs less than a damp ceiling, and the photographs show you what they mean.
Do not climb up yourself to check. Our answer on whether it is safe to inspect your own roof explains why the ground and the loft are enough, and the roof inspections page covers the kinds of visit a roofer can make.
If you would like a roofer to read the whole roof in your first year, ask us for a survey and keep the photographs we send as the start of your own roof file.
More on first-year checks
Should I fix small faults before I unpack?
Sort out anything that lets water in first, such as a slipped tile or a blocked gutter, because damp spreads quietly. Cosmetic faults can wait. A short list, ordered by how much harm each fault could do, helps you spend sensibly in the first months.
Is it worth a roofer visit if the survey said the roof was fine?
It can be. A surveyor looks from the ground and the hatch, and does not inspect close up. A roofer with a ladder or a drone sees more. If the survey was clean and the roof looks tidy, a visit can wait until after your first winter.
The full picture: Roof inspections in Taunton ยท More short answers