I have seen the future of residential home inspection...

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…and it follows successful completion of the greatest roofing assessment certification course I’ve ever seen. Think about all the roof defect photos and questions you’ve seen posted on these boards or that you’ve asked or been asked, then prepare yourself to provide the answers.

Originally designed to teach insurance claims adjusters to evaluate roofing problems and identify defect causes- especially from hail and wind but including many more- this course has huge number of photos of a variety of defects. The photos themselves are beautiful but the accompanying explanations are the best part… almost.

The best part is another whole avenue of work! Claims adjustors would like to stop having to climb up onto roofs and insurance companies would like to stop having to pay them to climb up onto roofs. This course will teach inspectors what they need to know to provide claims adjustors with photos and comments. In other words, home inspectors will take over site visits for claims adjustors. In its final form, this will be probably be somewhat similar to draw inspections, however during the storm season starting in April, the number of claims inspections can exceed 10,000 a day. If you’re an insurance company having to deal with numbers of that magnitude and you see a way to reduce your costs…

See Nick’s post at http://www.nachi.org/roofdamageassessmentcourse.htm](http://www.nachi.org/roofdamageassessmentcourse.htm)

We’ll be posting more about this course as it develops. I am very excited about this course and the dramatic potential it holds for expanding the services which inspectors can offer in working with the insurance industry. Ancillary services help inspectors make it through the lean times and boost the bottom line during good times.

That aspect should not overshadow the increased competence in roof inspection this course will offer to those who complete it. This is a great, great course and a unique opportunity.

What size hail caused the damage in the photo below?

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pinecones?

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No Dominic, not pinecones, pineapples, persimmons or watermellons. Guess again.

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3/4 inch?

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Pea sized

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Damn, thought it might have been one of the coconts that hit me during filming. They seem to randomly drop from the sky around your area.

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I would guess around 3/16"

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My observation, as well.

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I think William Shakespeare wrote;

“As Thy Home Inspector, it matters not!”…

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I dunno but James B’s wife keeps telling him that size is not important. :smiley:

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So…now I can get paid $70 each time I risk my life, instead of $350-500?

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I’m intrigued! What will be the going rate for these mini inspections?

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Mini-money…

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1/2 inch

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EXAMPLE FROM THE ROOF COURSE

  • Obvious signs of hail impacts[LIST]
  • Typically circular in form, but may be jagged or non-circular
  • Fractured mats which are visible from the surface
  • A small center of depressed granules surrounded by a halo of exposed mat.
  • Clean punctures through shingles (typically found on unsupported shingles such as on a ridge cap or near valleys)
  • A bruise to the shingle mat that may have caused penetration[LIST]
  • Examine visually and by hand
  • Can you feel the bruise in addition to seeing the impacted granules? Can the back of the mat be felt to determine if there is a fracture to the mat?

*]Randomness or lack of patterns reflect characteristics of falling hailstones…[/LIST][/LIST]Continues…

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I have inspected several roofs on homes in rural areas, and have found dozens of gunshot holes in roofs. These can be mistaken for hail damage. FYI.

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How can gunshot damage look like hail damage? People will use a ball peen hammer to try to fool insurance companies, but I can’t image how damage from a bullet and hail would look similar. Hail doesn’t typically make holes.

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When it’s a hail of gun fire? :wink:

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That would sure as hail put holes in the roof!

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And we’ve figured out a way to do the insurance inspections more efficiently… http://www.nachi.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32187 and then click on the link to watch the video.