A Homeowner's Metal Roof Inspection Checklist
You can learn most of what you need to know about your metal roof from the ground, a ladder at the eave, and the attic. Here's exactly what to look at, twice a year.
A metal roof does not need much from you, but it does need to be looked at. Most problems that turn into expensive problems started as something visible and small: a lifted piece of trim, a cracked bead of sealant at a vent boot, an eavestrough packed with maple keys. Twice a year, half an hour with binoculars and a flashlight is enough to catch nearly all of it. Here is what to actually look at.
When to do it
Spring and fall are the natural times. In spring you are looking for what winter did — ice damage, wind-lifted trim, movement at fasteners, debris pushed into valleys by melting snow. In fall you are clearing leaves and confirming everything is sealed and secure before the weather turns. Add a look after any severe storm, particularly one with hail or winds strong enough to bring branches down in the neighbourhood.
Do the whole inspection from the ground, a ladder set at the eave, and inside the attic. There is very little you gain by walking the roof and quite a lot you can damage or fall off. If something needs a closer look than binoculars allow, that is the point to call someone who does this for a living.
From the ground, with binoculars
Walk the full perimeter of the house and look at each roof plane in turn. Low sun in the morning or evening rakes across the panels and shows irregularities that midday light hides. You are looking for anything that has changed shape or position.
- ✓Panels that look lifted, bowed or out of line with their neighbours
- ✓Ridge cap, hip cap and rake trim sitting flush, with no lifted ends or open joints
- ✓Any visible fasteners that have backed out, are sitting at an angle, or have lost their washer
- ✓Rust staining, particularly at cut edges, panel ends, and anywhere metal meets a different metal
- ✓Scratches or scuffs deep enough to show a different colour underneath
- ✓Debris or organic matter collecting in valleys and behind chimneys
- ✓Overhanging branches touching or nearly touching the roof
- ✓Anything on the roof that shouldn't be there — an abandoned satellite dish bracket, an old antenna mount, a loose vent cap
Penetrations and flashings
Nearly every leak on a metal roof happens where something comes through it or meets it, not in the middle of a panel. From the ground, look carefully at each penetration: plumbing stacks, bath and kitchen exhausts, the furnace or water heater vent, skylights, the chimney, and anywhere the roof meets a wall. Rubber and silicone pipe boots are consumable parts — they harden, crack and split with UV exposure and freeze-thaw cycling long before the roof itself is due for anything. A boot that is cracked at the base or pulled away from the pipe is the single most common thing we find.
At walls and chimneys, look for counter-flashing that has pulled out of its reglet, open mortar joints above the flashing, and sealant that has shrunk back or cracked. Sealant is a maintenance item everywhere it appears; it is doing a job with a shorter life than the metal around it.
Eavestroughs and downspouts
Clear them and then look at them. Full eavestroughs back water up under the eave detail and contribute to ice damming, which is a real issue through an Ontario winter. While you have them clear, check that hangers are tight, that seams are not weeping, that downspouts are still connected and discharging away from the foundation, and that the eavestrough itself has not been bent or pulled by sliding snow. If snow is regularly coming off a plane above an eavestrough or a doorway, that is worth a conversation about snow guards.
Seams and fasteners
What you check depends on the system you have. On a standing seam roof the fasteners are concealed, so you are looking at the seams themselves for any place they appear to have opened, and at the trim and terminations at eave, ridge and rake. On an exposed-fastener panel roof, the screws are the maintenance item: look for backed-out screws, screws driven at an angle, washers that have squeezed out or gone chalky and hard, and any screw hole that is showing a rust streak below it. Exposed-fastener roofs need this check on a schedule; standing seam roofs mostly need their terminations watched.
Inside the attic
The attic tells you things the roof surface will not. Go up on a clear day with a good flashlight, and again on a cold morning in winter if you can.
- ✓Daylight visible anywhere it shouldn't be
- ✓Water staining or dark streaks on the underside of the sheathing, especially around chimneys, vents and valleys
- ✓Frost or condensation droplets on the underside of the deck in winter — a ventilation and air-sealing problem, not a roof leak
- ✓Damp, compressed or discoloured insulation
- ✓Soffit vents blocked by insulation, which is extremely common and defeats the whole ventilation system
- ✓Bath or kitchen fans venting into the attic instead of outside
- ✓Any smell of mustiness, which usually means moisture is present even when you cannot see it
Write it down
Keep a simple record — a page per inspection with the date and a few photos taken from the same spots each time. It sounds fussy, and it is genuinely useful. Comparing this spring's photo of the chimney flashing to the one from three years ago tells you whether something is changing or has always looked like that. It is also exactly what you want on hand if you ever need to document a storm event or answer a home inspector's questions during a sale.
When to stop looking and make a call
Some findings are worth a professional look rather than a wait-and-see. Any active leak. Any seam that appears to have opened. Panels that have shifted or lifted. Structural sag along a ridge or between rafters. Rust that is flaking rather than staining. Damage after a storm, especially before you have documented it. And anything you can only assess by getting on the roof — that is the line where this stops being a homeowner job.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does a metal roof really need to be inspected?
Twice a year is a good habit, plus after major storms. If your roof has a lot of penetrations, overhanging trees, or exposed fasteners, lean toward the higher end of that. If it is a simple roof with concealed fasteners and clear surroundings, an annual look plus post-storm checks is reasonable.
Can I inspect the roof with a drone instead?
Yes, and it is a good option — a drone or even a phone on a pole gets you close-up detail at penetrations without anyone leaving the ground. Fly it in accordance with the rules that apply to you, and be careful around trees and wires.
I see a few small rust spots at cut edges. Is that a problem?
Light staining at a cut edge is common and often cosmetic, since the metallic coating on steel panels protects a cut edge to a degree. What matters is whether it is stable or growing, and whether the metal is pitting or flaking rather than just discoloured. Photograph it and compare next season.
There's a small dent from a branch. Does it need repair?
Usually not, if the paint film is intact and the panel is not deformed enough to affect drainage or a seam. Dents are mostly a cosmetic question. Damage that has broken the finish or opened a seam is a different matter and should be looked at.
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