Roofs are judged from the ground, by people who cannot see them properly, making decisions worth a lot of money. Buyers, sellers, adjusters, inspectors, the next roofer. Every one of them is guessing unless someone has written it down.
What a roof record is
Three things, kept together and added to every year: dated photographs of every detail on the roof, a written condition report ranking what was found, and a roof map that pins each finding and each photo to a location. Add the paperwork for any repair - what was done, where, when, by whom - and any permit or product approval that goes with it.
The value is not in any single year. It is in the sequence. A valley photographed in 2026, 2027 and 2028 shows a trend. One photograph shows a moment.
Where it earns its keep
Selling. The roof is the first thing a buyer's inspector will hedge on and the first thing a buyer will try to negotiate against. A dated record answers the question before it is asked, and it separates a maintained roof from a roof that merely is not leaking yet.
Buying. Ask for it. If the seller has one, you know what you are getting. If they do not, get your own before you close.
Shopping a policy. A current condition report and wind-mitigation documentation are worth having when you shop your policy. That is as far as we will go, and it is as far as anyone should: what an insurer does with the information is the insurer's decision, and nobody can promise you an outcome.
The next roofer. Whether it is us or someone else, a contractor who can see what was found and repaired over five years quotes a better, more accurate job than one starting from nothing.
After a storm. The most useful photograph after a named storm is the one taken before it. Without a baseline, "the storm did this" is an argument. With one, it is a comparison.
What it is not
It is not a warranty on the roof's condition - no honest inspection can be. It is not a wind mitigation report; that is a specific form completed by a licensed inspector, and a roofing licence is not on the list of people who can sign it. And it is not a promise about coverage, premiums or claims. It is a record. Records are useful precisely because they do not argue.
Every Roof Sentry visit adds a year to the record - photographs, report and map, yours to keep.
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