I've run inspections on a few hundred residential roofs at this point, and there's a pattern in what gets missed.

Most people — and even some adjusters doing a quick walk — focus on the obvious stuff: missing shingles, visible leaks, sagging. Fair enough, those matter. But three things consistently get overlooked, and they're usually what turns a $500 repair into a $12,000 replacement if left alone:

1. Flashing around penetrations. Chimneys, vent pipes, skylights — the flashing seals around these fail years before the shingles do. Water gets in through a half-inch gap and travels along the decking before it ever shows up as a ceiling stain. By the time you see the stain, the decking underneath is usually already soft.

2. Granule loss in the valleys. Valleys carry more water volume than any other part of the roof. Asphalt shingles lose their protective granules there first, and once the mat is exposed, UV damage accelerates fast. Check the bottom of your gutters after a hard rain — if they're full of black grit, that's your roof's surface wearing away.

3. Attic ventilation, not the roof itself. This one surprises people. A roof with zero visible damage can still be dying from the inside because heat and moisture are trapped in the attic. Poor ventilation cooks shingles from underneath and voids a lot of manufacturer warranties without the homeowner ever knowing.

If you're getting a roof looked at — by us or anyone else — ask specifically about these three. It's the difference between a surface-level look and an actual inspection.

— Summit Roofing