Seasonal
The 20-minute spring storm check
The short version
Give the house twenty minutes after a spring storm, before the mess gets put away. Walk the perimeter from the ground, look at the roof line with binoculars, then check the attic, ceilings, and basement. Photograph anything new, because storm damage is easier to fix as a stain than as a collapsed ceiling.
After a spring storm, a house can look fine from the driveway while a shingle seal is open on the back slope and water is already moving along a rafter. The point of a twenty-minute check is not to inspect like an engineer. It is to catch the few things that change fast — a lifted shingle, a clogged downspout, a cracked seal at a window — while they are still a repair rather than a project. Do it in daylight, after the rain stops, from the ground and from inside. A wet roof is not a place to prove how much you care about the house.
Start outside, with your feet on the ground
Walk the perimeter in the same direction each time, so you are comparing the same views. Start at the front door and work counterclockwise. You are looking for change, not perfection; an older house will have crooked things, and what matters is what moved.
Look up at the eaves as you go. A gutter pulled away from the fascia, a soffit panel hanging low, a stain on the siding, or caulk that has opened at a window corner all say that wind-driven rain found a way in. Check the fence for a new lean and the trees for limbs resting on the roof or near the service drop.
If a limb is touching a power line, stop and call the utility. Do not try to move it, and do not stand under it while you decide. The same goes for a downed line: keep everyone back and call from inside.
The roof line, from across the street
You do not need to be on the roof to learn something useful. Stand across the street with binoculars or zoom in with your phone, and look at the ridge, the valleys, the chimney, the skylights, and the boots around the vents. Those junctions are where water usually gets in, not the middle of a wide slope.
Look for shingle tabs that are missing, curled, or lifted at a corner; a dark patch that does not match the rest of the slope; granules collecting below one section; flashing pulled away from the chimney; or a roofline that sags instead of running straight.
Granules in a gutter are not automatically bad news. Older shingles shed them as they age. A sudden patch of bare shingle, or a soft spot visible from the ground, is a different conversation. Photograph the same view each time so you can tell change from a trick of the light.
Gutters, downspouts, and where the water went
A storm check is really a water-routing check. The roof did its job if water reached the gutter, the gutter sent it to a downspout, and the downspout put it on the ground away from the foundation. Much of the damage that shows up weeks later started with that last step failing.
Look for dirt lines that show the gutter overflowed, joints that have separated, and downspouts that are crushed, disconnected, or dumping against the foundation. If the ground is soft, follow the downspout and see where the water went. A splash block kicked aside is a small thing now and a wet basement later.
Cleaning a gutter from a ladder is a real fall risk on wet ground. If the gutter is high, the ladder would sit unevenly, or you dislike heights, hand it to someone else. A gutter hanging loose over a walkway should be dealt with before the next wind.
The five-minute interior pass
Attic and ceilings
Start at the top. In the attic, with a flashlight, look for daylight through the roof boards, dark streaks on the rafters, matted or stained insulation, and a musty smell that was not there before. Stay on the marked path or the joists; do not walk across insulation.
Then walk the rooms and look up. A new brown ring, a paint bubble, or a ceiling that feels soft to a light touch is worth noting. Press a dry finger against a stain, gently. If it is damp, the leak is active. Do not poke a sagging bulge with a tool; that is how a small drip becomes a ceiling on the floor.
Windows and basement
Check the windows on the windward side. Water between the panes means the sealed unit has failed, which is a window problem rather than a roof problem. A damp sill or a stain below a window points to the frame, the flashing, or the caulk joint.
Finish in the basement or crawlspace. Look at the wall where it meets the floor, around window wells, and under the stairs. A damp patch after hard rain is information. So is a white, powdery bloom on the concrete, which usually means moisture has been moving through the wall for a while.
What you are seeing, and how soon to act
| What you see | What it often means | How soon |
|---|---|---|
| Granules in the gutter, roof otherwise intact | Normal wear on older shingles | Note it, check again in fall |
| A few lifted or missing tabs on one slope | A seal or nail line has opened | This week, before the next storm |
| Daylight visible through the attic roof | An actual opening in the roof | Now |
| A dry brown ceiling ring | An old leak, currently inactive | Watch it; call if it grows |
| A damp ceiling ring or paint bubble | An active leak | Now |
| Water between window panes | Failed seal in the glass unit | Routine appointment |
| Downspout emptying at the foundation | A grading or drainage problem | This month |
| Damp wall at the basement floor | Water getting in at the cove joint | Soon, before it spreads |
A leak, or just condensation?
Not every water mark is a roof leak. Condensation appears on cold surfaces, often on window glass or a ceiling below an unheated attic, and tends to show up on cold mornings rather than during rain. It dries as the room warms. A roof leak follows weather: it may appear hours after rain starts, or a day after it stops, as water travels a rafter before finding a seam.
If the mark appears only in certain wind, suspect a penetration or an edge. If it appears in every hard rain, suspect the field of the roof. The pattern is the useful part. Write it down while you remember it. For more, see roof leak vs. condensation.
Photograph it properly
A photo is worth more than a paragraph when you call, and it helps if the problem becomes an insurance conversation. Take a wide shot that shows the room or the side of the house, a close shot of the damage, and one with something for scale — a coin, a ruler, your hand. Note the date and direction you were facing.
Photograph the outside before you clean up. Fallen shingles, a dented gutter, and a limb on the ground are evidence. Check your policy before hauling anything to the curb, and do not throw away a damaged part until you know whether anyone needs to see it.
If you are already in it
The desk is open 7am–10pm ET, seven days a week. Call (877) 454-8068 and describe what is happening. The call is free; the independent professional sets their own charges.
When to call now
Call when water is entering a living space, when you can see daylight through the roof, when a limb has broken through or is resting on the roof, when a gutter or soffit hangs over a walkway, or when water is near an electrical panel, outlet, or fixture.
If you smell burning, see smoke, or hear arcing, get out and call 911 or the utility. Treat every downed wire as live and keep people away from it. Those calls come before any repair conversation.
For everything else, describe what you saw, when it started, and what you have done. "A shingle lifted on the south slope, no water inside yet, photo attached" is more useful than "the roof looks bad." A roofer can say whether it needs a temporary patch, a repair, or a full inspection. If you are unsure who handles it, start with roofing or gutters and let the desk route you.
What can wait for the weekend
A loose fence board, a popped screen, a downspout that needs rehanging, a gutter full of leaves, a single lifted shingle with no water inside: worth writing down, not emergencies. The test is whether the damage is growing. A dry stain unchanged in a week is a watch item; a stain larger than yesterday is a call.
The exception is anything that could fall. A loose piece of trim, a hanging gutter, or a cracked branch over a walkway can hurt someone in a way that has nothing to do with water. Secure the area or have it dealt with; do not walk under it and hope.
The bottom line
Twenty minutes, twice a year, is enough to know your house after a storm. Walk the outside, look at the roof from a distance, follow the water, then check the attic, ceilings, and basement. Photograph what is new. Fix the small water paths before they have a season to work on the framing, and call for anything open, hanging, or wet right now. The check is not about finding problems to worry about; it is about finding the few worth acting on while the fix is still small.