I’m just starting my education in Home Inspection. I completed the InterNACHI Standards of Practice course and am currently going through the Roof Inspection Course. But, it seems that what was covered in the Standards of Practice Course is being contradicted by the Roof Inspection Course.
Example 1: Standards of Practice Course states I’m not required to confirm proper fastening or installation of any roof-covering material. The Roof Inspection Course spent 10 minutes discussing the proper fastening of the roof, the size of the roofing nail, the appropriate spacing, etc.
Example 2: Standards of Practice Course states I’m not require to predict the service life expectancy. The Roof Inspection Course stated it’s important to know the service life expectancy of several roof types.
Example 3: Standards of Practice Course states nothing regarding knowing the proper slope and pitch of a roof or any requirement to report on it. The Roof Inspection course spent several minutes covering the ratios of both slope and pitch and how anything less than 2:12 ratio should not have asphalt shingles installed.
It’s causing me some confusion and seems to be contradictory. Even though it’s not in the Standards of Practice, is it common to comment in reports regarding the fastening, service life, slope and pitch? I would think if you’re not required to report on those things then you might be putting yourself at risk for getting sued if you’re putting in information that isn’t required. What if you’re not exactly correct? Wouldn’t that leave you open for a law suit?
My apologies if I’m way off here, but any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
You ask really good questions… keep up this line of thinking.
The best/quickest answer I can give you is the SOPs are a minimum but it’s good to know more than the minimum. Liability by going beyond the SOPs? Sure, that’s a real thing but you can and will learn to protect yourself.
Using a roof where you find some poorly attached shingles that have failed as an example: “Improperly attached shingles that have partially detached from the roof were noted on the east slope of the house above the kitchen. This is suspected to be due to an improper attachment of the roof covering as only two nails were found in each shingle, where visible. It’s not possible to determine how the remainder of the shingles throughout the roof are attached as the fasteners are hidden from view. Further roofing contractor evaluation is recommended to assess the installation of the roof and make any necessary repairs or replacements to prevent future failures and subsequent leakage.”
I just threw that comment together on a whim and it might be a bit wordy and get cleaned up when I proofread but the basics are to identify the problem, state the limitations of your inspection, recommend some action and explain what could happen if left unattended to.
If someone used thumbtacks to hold down shingles, you’d know it was wrong. There are a number of these types of logical contradictions in this profession. You are not required to know if it’s right, but you need to call it out if it’s wrong. ;). Same goes for the age of the roof. When you walk enough roofs, you’re going to be able to tell the age and condition even with your eyes closed.
Here’s the lesson…shallow roofs, i.e less than 2:12 can’t have shingles, 2:12 can use shingles if they have the correct, properly installed underlayment. Beyond that? I’ve never once had to pull out my roof pitch gauge. I don’t report on the pitch of the roof. If it’s too steep it’ll make a limitation as in “Roof pitch too steep to safely walk”. Age plays an important role there. A new 12/12 roof, with roof boots is no problem at all, just hang in the valleys. An old 12/12? Nope, you’ll come off that like Clark and his sled in Christmas vacation.
wait until you find out about industry best practices. that means that there are things that all (or most) inspectors do that is not in the sop but since everyone does them, you need to also do them or you are not doing a job comparable to others. for example, if you see a knee wall in a crawlspace without a vapor barrier using round pavers for supports without any obvious flaws otherwise such as sagging joists, sinking supports, or something, you would want to call it out on your report for not using industry accepted best practices or something like that. not a real good example but search the forum for the term and you’ll find some good info.
We learn specifics so we can be good generalists and understand best practice. But the next level of understanding is the “why” a component is installed in a particular fashion. The why will illuminate the consequence. Understanding consequence will protect your customer.
Why do we avoid shingles on a 2:12 roof without proper underlayment? What are your limitations? What are the consequences? What is the recommendation? And how does this help the customer?
It’s likely because you’re combing two separate topics, “knowledge” and “protocol”.
You need to learn (and know) how a roof is assembled, constructed, and detailed so that you understand the totality of the installation.
Simultaneously, you also need to operate your business or job in a manner that has guidelines (SOP) and rules, with a defined set of processes that everyone can see and understand..
