Estimating roof age

[Russel Ray]

Yes.

My point, though, was that if I had guesstimated that the roof was 30 years old (and that's how old it looked) I'd have been wrong. It was only 2 years old. I think that would have created more problems. But by simply saying that it was nearing the end of its useful life, the age of the roof really doesn't matter. That's the beauty of those statements which, by the way, were provided to me by my attorneys and endorsed by my E&O insurance provider.

I never ever guess the age of anything because extenuating circumstances can alter the looks of just about anything.

[David P. Valley]

Russel,

I don't guess the age of the roof, As I stated earlier, I'm always telling my clients how old their roofing material appears to be.

You can simply find a young 2 year old roof that appears to be 20 years old due to inadequate ventilation.

Appears to be is my keyword.

[Brian E. Kelly]

The roof appears to be approximately eight to ten years old, but this is just an estimate and you should request the installation permit from the seller

Straight from Inspectvue.

I also would not say anything about the remaining life. If the roof needs repair I recommend a roofer. A roofer will certify a roof here in AZ if it has 2 years of life left. A roof with 2 years of life left is pretty rough.

[Robert Wade]

Idle curiosity. Was any reason given for sealing the vents? Would love to hear how they got to that point.

[Russel Ray]

They thought they could lower their utility costs if they sealed the attic.

[kelliott]

A few posts back, someone brought up an interesting point. How much can you believe and use from the sellers disclosure statement? It's a legal document, right? So if the seller says on their disclosure statement that the roof is 2 years old, and you put that in your report, but the buyer later discovers - clairvoyantly - that the roof was really 12 years old, who's going to court, you or the seller who lied on the disclosure?

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by kelliott

A few posts back, someone brought up an interesting point. How much can you believe and use from the sellers disclosure statement? It's a legal document, right? So if the seller says on their disclosure statement that the roof is 2 years old, and you put that in your report, but the buyer later discovers - clairvoyantly - that the roof was really 12 years old, who's going to court, you or the seller who lied on the disclosure?

Most times you can take what is in a sellers disclosure with a grain of salt.

Personally, I do not ask, or look at them.

[msaxton]

I completely agree with david, but my question is,,,,,Why would they do that to the vents!!!! looks like they got some bad advise from the bro in law who helped roof three roofs back in college!!!!
I really like RRAY's useful life terminology

[Dale Duffy]

I used to cover my roof turbines in the winter here many years ago, it gets cold in January, sometimes into the thirties at night...what little heat is saved from the daylight hours will keep your home warm at night in the desert.

You just need to remove the plastic in February, since it was about 85 today.....

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by kelliott

A few posts back, someone brought up an interesting point. How much can you believe and use from the sellers disclosure statement? It's a legal document, right? So if the seller says on their disclosure statement that the roof is 2 years old, and you put that in your report, but the buyer later discovers - clairvoyantly - that the roof was really 12 years old, who's going to court, you or the seller who lied on the disclosure?

The disclosure statement begins: "To the best of my knowledge. . . ."

Who can truly tell what knowledge the seller does or does not have?

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by msaxton

looks like they got some bad advise from the bro in law who helped roof three roofs back in college!!!!

Or no advice at all.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by dduffy

I used to cover my roof turbines ... what little heat is saved from the daylight hours will keep your home warm at night in the desert.

I've never read any research that agrees with you. If there were any, then I would suspect that one might find auto-closing vents where, when the temperature fell below, say, 60°F, the vents would close themselves. Hey. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe I've just invented something that I can sell through Home Depot.

[Brian E. Kelly]

This got me thinking, yesterdays house had two layers of asphalt shingles. Should I add the ages together? Should I mention that the first roof was done?

[mrowan]

Folks

Form our experience we have found using probabilities to be a better approach. We know what we are doing is not an exact science so we must use whatever clues we can see to come up with the most probable answer.

With roofing systems there are two issues that attorneys will get you one. One is for leakage and one is for replacement. In our reporting we cover both. I have attached a picture for a better understanding.

Firstly, what is the 5 year replacement probability of the roof that you are looking at? Determining the age is normally not a problem based on the condition of the roof covering, age of home, surrounding homes, slope, material etc.

Yes the lower the slope the shorter the life expectancy and the steeper the slope the longer the expectancy. Ventilation issues will cause granule wear and lesson the expectancy, roofing over with a second layer will also lesson anticipated roof life.

In our company for example, almost every roof less than ten to 12 years old has a low probability of replacement. Shallow roofs at 12 years may have a medium to high replacement probability.

On the other issue of leakage we use leakage probabilities based on roof complexities and age. The more complex a roof system, the higher the likelihood or probability of leakage. The older the roof the higher the likelihood or probability of leakage. On complicated or specialized roofing systems we also notify our clients to budget for higher annual maintenance where we believe it is needed.

Using probabilities is an excellent method of limiting your liability whether it is a roof system or HVAC system. Our software merely notes these within the report until such time as your client suffers from amnesia and you get the dreaded call that starts like “you did an inspection for me …..”

In closing our job is to reduce or minimize the likelihood to issues not eliminate the risk of home purchase. We are limited to what is visible and accessible and we cannot use destructive measures or specialist testing. In the same way every other business uses statistical information to make decisions and predictions we must do the same.

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by rray

I've never read any research that agrees with you.

You would probably need to speak with a Hillbilly for corroborating evidence covering roof vents in the winter keeps a home in the Desert warm at night from the sun which shines everyday here..........

When I was young and had my first home here, I covered the turbines with plastic trash bags in December and January because most homes have very poor insulation here, the older ones, not being able to afford more insulation twenty five years ago it worked very well.

Make-shift enterprising you could call it. Removing the trash bags in February would be necessary, because the sun begins to regain its intensity, thus, starting to cook the attic and roof covering for the next year, which would lead to very premature deterioration of the shingles.