Is this a full roof survey?

No. It is an honest visual check of the roofline and the lowest courses from the working position, with photographs of anything found. It is not a structural survey and does not involve lifting the roof covering.

What happens if you find a problem?

You get photographs and a plain explanation of what it is, whether it needs doing now, and what leaving it is likely to lead to. Gutter work can be quoted; anything outside that scope is simply reported so you can act on it.

Will you try to sell me roof work I do not need?

No. The work offered is gutter cleaning, repairs, replacement and downpipes, so there is no roofing job to upsell. If something is fine, you are told it is fine.

Do I need to be at home?

It helps if you are, so anything found can be talked through on the spot, but it is not essential; the photo report is sent to you either way.

How often should the roofline be checked?

Once a year suits most properties, which is why it sits naturally alongside an annual gutter clean. Exposed or tree-covered plots benefit from twice a year.

Can I use the photos for an insurance claim?

You are welcome to. The photographs are dated and close up, which is normally what insurers and landlords are looking for.

Do you check the downpipes as part of it?

Yes: downpipes, outlets and hoppers are all part of the check, and the system is flow tested as part of the clean.

Are you insured for work at height?

Yes: £5 million public liability cover, plus a satisfaction guarantee on the work carried out.

Card, cash or bank transfer (BACS), settled once the work is finished and you have seen the photos.

Do you cover my area?

Bury, Bolton, Whitefield, Ramsbottom, Worsley, Harwood, Bromley Cross, Prestwich and Tottington, plus nearby postcodes across Greater Manchester. Send your postcode and you will get a straight answer.

Services / Roof & gutter check-over

Roof & Gutter Check-OverIn Bury, Included Free

A roofer's eye at the roofline on every single clean, at no extra cost, small problems reported with photos while they are still small.

Get a Free Quote 07837 187937

Included free with every clean · 15 years in the trade · Photo report

15 years

in the roofing trade

£5m

public liability cover

Next day

for most gutter cleans

From £59

gutter cleaning

Roof & gutter check-over explained

The roof and gutter check-over is a visual inspection of the roofline carried out as part of every gutter clean. While the ladder is up or the camera pole is at the eaves, the guttering, joints, brackets, outlets, downpipes, fascia, soffit and the lowest courses of the roof covering are all looked over.

It is included at no extra cost because it takes very little extra time and saves customers a great deal of money. The most expensive roofing problems are the ones that were visible for two years and never seen, a slipped tile, a lifted flashing, a cracked hopper, a bracket about to let go.

The value here comes from who is doing the looking. A cleaning operative sees debris; a roofer with fifteen years in the trade sees a felt that has perished at the eaves, a verge that has started to open, or mortar that has washed out of a ridge. Anything found is reported to you with photographs and a plain explanation of whether it needs doing now or just watching.

Who it is for

Every customer having a gutter clean; it is part of the job, not an upsell
Homeowners who have never had anyone look at the roofline properly
Anyone who has noticed a stain, a drip or a damp patch and cannot place the source
Landlords wanting a photographed condition record of the roofline
People buying or selling, ahead of a survey
Properties on exposed plots after a run of storms

What's included

Included with every gutter clean at no extra cost
Roofline, joints and downpipes looked over
Anything found is reported to you with photos

What happens if it is left

Roof problems are cheap early and expensive late. A single slipped tile lets water onto the felt below; the felt sheds it for a while, then perishes; the batten beneath it stays wet and rots; and eventually the ceiling below shows a stain. By then the repair involves timber, not one tile.

The same pattern runs along the eaves. A cracked outlet or a joint dripping onto the fascia keeps the board wet all winter. Rotten fascia will not hold gutter brackets, so the guttering starts to drop, which holds more water and rots more timber. Every step of that chain was visible from the top of the ladder.

Most homeowners never look. The roofline is the least inspected part of a house precisely because it is the hardest to get to, which is why so much roof work gets done as an emergency in February rather than as a small planned job in September.

Common mistakes

Only calling someone once there is a stain on a bedroom ceiling
Treating a damp patch as a plaster problem when the cause is at the roofline
Assuming a roof is fine because it looks fine from the pavement
Having gutters cleared by someone who does not know what a failing verge looks like
Ignoring rotten fascia and refixing brackets into it anyway
Leaving a slipped or cracked tile over winter because nothing is leaking yet

How the WorkIs Carried Out

Step 1

Booked with your clean

There is nothing to arrange separately. The check-over happens as part of every gutter clean, at no extra cost.

Step 2

Roofline inspected

Guttering, joints, brackets, outlets and downpipes are looked over, along with the fascia, soffit and the lowest courses of the roof covering.

Step 3

Anything found is photographed

Defects are photographed close up so you can see the same thing we can, rather than take a verbal description on trust.

Step 4

Reported in plain terms

You are told what it is, whether it needs attention now or can be monitored, and what the realistic consequence of leaving it is.

Step 5

Your decision, no pressure

If it is gutter work, it can be quoted. If it is not, you are told that too. Nothing is done that you have not agreed to.

What you get out of it

No extra cost

Included with every gutter clean as standard, not sold as an add-on inspection.

A roofer's judgement

Fifteen years in the roofing trade means the difference between weathering and failure is actually recognised.

Photographic evidence

You see close-up photos of anything found, which is also useful for insurers and landlords.

Catches problems early

A slipped tile dealt with now costs a fraction of the timber repair it becomes later.

Straight answers

You are told plainly what needs doing and what does not. Gutter-focused work only, so there is no incentive to invent a roof job.

Peace of mind

Once a year somebody who knows what they are looking at has actually seen your roofline.

Roof & gutter check-over in detail

What gets looked at

At gutter level: the channel for standing water and silt, joints for weeping, brackets for movement and fixings, outlets and hoppers for cracks, downpipes for splits and secure clipping, and the fascia and soffit for softness or paint failure.

At the roof edge: the lowest courses of tile or slate for slips and cracks, the verge for open or missing mortar, visible flashings and abutments, and the felt at the eaves where it overhangs into the gutter. Anything higher up that is clearly visible is noted too.

Warning signs a homeowner can spot

From the ground, look for a dark vertical stripe on the wall under a joint or a downpipe, green algae growth in one concentrated area, and plants growing in the gutter; the last one means the debris has turned into soil.

Inside, look for staining at the top of an outside wall, cold damp patches that reappear after rain rather than staying constant, and peeling paint on a bedroom ceiling near the eaves. Any of those are worth mentioning before the visit so that area gets particular attention.

Where the scope ends

RGF is gutter-focused: cleaning, repairs, replacement and downpipe work. The check-over is an honest visual report on what is visible from the working position, not a full structural roof survey, and it does not involve walking the roof or lifting coverings.

Roof, fascia and soffit washing are not currently offered. If something outside that scope is spotted, you are still told about it with photos so you can get it dealt with by the right trade.

Keeping a record over time

Because the same photo record is produced on every visit, an annual or repeat clean builds a year-on-year picture of the roofline. That makes it much easier to tell whether something is stable or getting worse.

For landlords and agents this doubles as evidence of maintenance, with a dated photographic record of the property's condition at each visit.

Roof & gutter check-over across Bury, Bolton and Greater Manchester

Based in Bury, Greater Manchester and covering the surrounding towns. If your postcode is not listed, it is often still covered, see the areas covered page, or the homepage for an overview of the whole service.