Buyer & Tenant Guide

Warehouse Roof Inspection Checklist: Before You Buy or Lease

A warehouse roof inspection before you buy or lease checks the roof sheeting, fixings, drainage, roof lights, the structure underneath and any safety risks such as asbestos, and puts a price on what it finds. The roof is one of the most expensive parts of an industrial building to fix and one of the least visible on a site visit, which makes it the part most worth checking before you sign.

Why Inspect a Warehouse Roof Before You Buy or Lease?

Because whatever is wrong with the roof becomes your cost or your problem on the day you sign. A buyer inherits every defect, and most commercial property is sold voetstoots, so a defect that could have been found before transfer is usually yours to fix. A tenant may be bound by the lease to maintain the roof, or may simply have to run a business under it while it leaks. An inspection turns an unknown into a number.

What Should a Warehouse Roof Inspection Cover?

Six areas: the roof sheeting and coatings, the fixings, laps and flashings, the gutters and drainage, the roof lights and penetrations, the underside of the roof seen from inside, and safety and compliance, including asbestos. The checklist below sets out what to look for in each area. Use it on your walk-through, then have anything doubtful confirmed by a professional inspection.

1. Roof Sheeting and Coatings

• Rust, from surface spotting and streaking to holes that let daylight through
• Coating that is chalking, peeling or flaking, or worn back to bare metal
• Dented, deformed or wind-lifted sheets
• The sheet type (steel, fibre cement or a mix) and when the roof was last restored

2. Fixings, Laps and Flashings

• Loose, missing or rusted fixings, and perished washers
• Side laps and end laps that are open, rusted or full of dirt
• Ridge caps, barge flashings and wall flashings that are lifted or unsealed
• Old sealant and patch repairs, which tell you where the roof has leaked before

3. Gutters, Outlets and Downpipes

• Box gutters that are rusted, holed or holding standing water
• Outlets that are blocked, undersized or missing their guards
• Downpipes that are damaged, disconnected or discharging onto a lower roof
• Somewhere for water to overflow safely when a storm exceeds what the gutters can carry

4. Roof Lights, Vents and Penetrations

• Roof lights that are yellowed, brittle or cracked
• Vents, extractors, pipes and plant that are not properly flashed into the roof
• Solar panels, signage or equipment fixed through the sheets without sealed fixings
• Signs that other trades have cut into the roof and left it unsealed

5. Inside the Building

• Water stains on the underside of the sheeting, on purlins, walls and the floor
• Daylight through the roof: switch the lights off and look up
• Corrosion on purlins, brackets and fixings, and condensation drips
• Insulation that is sagging, stained or wet

6. Safety and Compliance

• Grey fibre cement sheets on a building from before 2008, which may contain asbestos
• Safe roof access: fixed ladders, walkways, anchor points and lifelines
• Fragile areas, such as roof lights and fibre cement, clearly marked or protected
• Previous inspection reports, a maintenance log and any guarantees on the roof

Asbestos products were only prohibited in South Africa in 2008, so many older industrial roofs still carry asbestos cement sheeting. It is not dangerous while intact, but removal is regulated work for a registered contractor, so it belongs in your budget before you buy. Our asbestos services page explains what is involved. Missing roof access safety systems are another cost that is easy to overlook.

What Should You Ask the Seller or Landlord?

Ask for the roof's history in writing. Restorations, guarantees, leaks and insurance claims tell you more about the roof's condition than a single visit can, and a seller or landlord who cannot answer these questions is telling you something too.

• When was the roof last restored, re-sheeted or recoated, and by whom?
• Is there a workmanship guarantee, and does it transfer to a new owner or tenant?
• Is there a maintenance log or a previous inspection report?
• Have there been leaks or insurance claims for water damage?
• What has been installed on the roof since it was built, such as solar panels, plant or signage?
• Under the lease, who is responsible for roof repairs and roof maintenance?

How Do Roof Defects Affect a Purchase or a Lease?

They change what the property really costs you. For a buyer, roof defects are a capital cost that should be reflected in the price or fixed before transfer. For a tenant, the lease decides who pays for roof repairs and maintenance, and the roof's condition on the first day decides who gets blamed for damage on the last.

When Should You Get a Professional Roof Inspection?

Whenever the roof is large, its history is unknown, or your walk-through has turned up any of the warning signs above. On an industrial property, that is almost always. A professional inspection adds safe access to the whole roof, leak tracing with the right instruments and a written report with photographs that you can negotiate with.

Our roof leak diagnosis combines close-up inspection, thermal imaging, moisture readings and controlled water testing to find where water is actually entering. A useful inspection report should include:

• Photographs of every defect, with its location on the roof
• The condition of each area: sheeting, fixings, drainage, roof lights and structure
• Urgent safety items, listed separately
• Recommended work split into roof repairs, planned roof maintenance and, where needed, roof restoration, with costs
• Whether asbestos is present, or whether a sample needs testing

Sicon Group inspects, repairs, restores and maintains industrial and commercial roofs across South Africa, with a team of more than 250 professionals. If you plan to put solar on the building, have the roof assessed for pre-solar roof remediation at the same time, before the panels make the roof harder to reach.

Frequently Asked Questions