A Roof Checkup Before Winter

November 2026

Why the fall visit matters most

A roof that comes through summer with a small problem usually keeps that problem quiet until the first heavy snow. Then the snow sits for a week, melts against a warm attic, refreezes at the eave, and finds whatever was already open. Snow that sits for days gives water all the time it needs to work its way under a loose edge.

That is why the visit we push hardest for is the one in fall, after the leaves are down and before the snow starts. We like to see a roof twice a year, once before summer and once in fall, and the fall pass is the one that sets a house up for the season ahead. Our roof maintenance work around Herriman is built around that visit, and a crew works it from the bottom of the roof up, finishing in the attic.

The gutters come first

We start at the lowest edge because that is where everything on the roof ends up. Leaves, pine needles, shingle granules and whatever the wind carried in all settle in the gutter.

A gutter full of wet leaves holds water against the fascia board and the roof edge. In winter that water freezes into a solid trough, and the next melt has nowhere to go but back up under the bottom courses. So the gutters get emptied by hand, the downspouts get flushed so we know water actually runs out the bottom, and we look at the seams and the hangers while we are there. A sagging run that holds a puddle in the middle will hold ice there too.

The grit in the bottom

Ahead of summer storms the wind here arrives dry and loaded with grit. Rain then packs it into a paste in the gutter seams and the valleys. It holds moisture against metal long after the surface dries. We scrape it out, and the amount we find tells us something too: a heavy layer of shingle granules mixed into it means the roof above is shedding its surface faster than it should.

The eave edge and the slopes

From the gutter we move to the bottom courses. We lift the first row gently to check that it is sealed down and look at the drip edge for gaps or bent sections where water could get behind it. Drip edge that has pulled away lets water run behind the gutter and down the fascia, so any loose run gets refastened on the spot.

Then we walk the field, slope by slope, and the slopes do not all age at the same rate. On a house here, the one facing between south and west takes the midday and afternoon sun and wears out first. That is where we look for cupped tabs, patches where the mat shows through bare, and corners that have lifted and lost their seal. Hail coming across the valley from the west adds its own wear to those same faces, often as scraped granules along the upslope edge of a tab that looks fine from the ground.

A loose shingle, a popped nail head pushing up under a tab, or a corner that will not lie flat is a small fix in fall. Each one gets resealed, renailed or replaced before winter, and each one gets photographed.

Where the roof meets everything else

Most leaks start at the edges of the roof, at the places where it meets a wall, a trim board, a vent or a chimney. Those joints get the closest look on a maintenance visit.

Where shingles run into painted trim or siding, we check that the flashing is still tight and the joint is closed. A dark open gap along that line is a straight path for wind-driven rain. Where the roof meets stone or brick veneer, we look behind the flashing as well as at it, because birds and animals like to pack nesting straw into that corner. Nesting material holds moisture against the metal and the wood, and the droppings that come with it are not good for either.

Every pipe boot gets checked for cracked rubber, every box vent for a loose or damaged cover, and every exhaust cap for a missing flap or a nest. The ice barrier under the shingles at the valleys and penetrations is the backstop, and keeping the flashing above it tight means it rarely has to work.

The ridge and the cap

The top of the roof is the most exposed run on the house and the part people forget, because it is the hardest to see from the yard. We walk the ridge and the hips looking for cracked or missing cap pieces and for nails that have backed out.

Wind works on the ridge harder than anywhere else on the roof, and a cap piece that cracks or loses its seal is an opening at the highest point of the house. We run a hand along the cap edges for anything that lifts, check that the nail heads are still covered by the piece above, and reseal what has let go.

Hips get the same walk. A hip line sheds water down both sides at once, so a missing cap piece there can leak into two rafter bays instead of one. Where a ridge dies into a wall or a taller section of roof, the end of the cap is a small detail that is easy to miss and worth a careful look. Ridge vents get a look too: a vent clogged with debris or knocked loose by wind changes how the whole attic breathes once the cold sets in.

The layer a checkup cannot see

Some of what keeps a house dry in winter sits under the shingles, where no maintenance visit can look without taking the roof apart. The most important piece is ice-and-water shield, the self-adhering membrane that seals around every nail driven through it. It belongs at the eave, down every valley and around every penetration.

At the eave, how far up the slope that membrane runs is measured from inside the house: it has to reach past the interior wall line. An older roof that went on with too little leaves a band above the wall where melting snow can back up under the shingles and get in.

We cannot see that band from the roof, but the attic and the ceiling below the eaves often give it away. Staining along the exterior walls, or a wet strip of insulation just inside the eave, after a winter with heavy snow is the classic sign. If we find that, we note it for the next replacement so the membrane goes in where it should, and we keep an eye on that edge every fall until then.

Then the attic

The last stop is inside, with a flashlight. The attic shows what the roof is hiding.

We look for dark staining on the underside of the deck, especially around vents and along valleys, and for rust at the nail points coming through the sheathing. We check for daylight where there should not be any, and press on any stained wood to see whether it is still firm. Wet or matted insulation marks a spot where water has been landing, even if no stain ever reached a ceiling. A slow leak that drips a little every storm can rot the deck for years with nothing showing in the living space, and this is the only place it can be caught early.

We also look at airflow. Insulation stuffed into the eaves, blocking the vents there, cuts off the air that keeps the underside of the roof cold, and a warm roof deck is how ice dams start.

Bath fans and the kitchen exhaust get a look up there as well. A duct that ends in the attic instead of at a roof cap dumps warm, wet air under the deck all winter, and that moisture frosts on the cold nail tips and drips back down at the first thaw, which can look exactly like a roof leak from the room below.

What you get afterward

When the visit is done, you get the photographs, top to bottom, with what we fixed on the spot and anything that should be watched or planned for. Plenty of roofs simply get a clean report. We would rather tell you a roof has years left in it than invent work.

The roof maintenance page has more on what a visit includes, and the Herriman page covers our other work in town. To get a checkup on the calendar before the snow, call (801) 382-8898 or reach us through the contact page.

Questions about a fall checkup

How often does a roof need a maintenance visit?

Twice a year is ideal, once before summer and once after the leaves are down. A newer roof in good shape can get by with the fall visit alone. Either way, a check after any big hail or wind storm is worth it, separate from the regular schedule.

Can I clean my own gutters instead?

You can, and plenty of people do. Work from a steady ladder and stay off the roof itself. What a maintenance visit adds is the rest of the roof: the slopes, flashing, cap and attic, which are hard to judge from the top of a ladder.

What if you find something bigger than a quick fix?

We tell you and show you the photographs before anything else happens. Small items get fixed on the spot. Anything larger, like a failed flashing or soft decking, gets explained so you can plan it on your schedule instead of finding out during a storm.

Is late fall too late for a checkup?

Not as long as the roof is dry and there is no snow on it. Sealant bonds poorly in the cold, so repairs done late in the season may get hand-sealed. Earlier is better, but a late visit still beats going into winter with an open problem.

Do birds and animals really damage roofs?

They can. Nesting material packed behind flashing holds water against the metal and the wood under it, and animals sometimes tear at vent screens to get into the attic. Clearing nests out in fall, before they settle in for winter, keeps those spots dry.

Ready for the snow

A fall checkup catches the small openings while they are still small. Call (801) 382-8898 or use the contact page, and see past work in the gallery.