Free roof inspection with deck photos before we talk money - GAF and Owens Corning certified installation
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AfterFast, Reliable Roof Inspection Across Novato
A roof inspection in Novato typically costs between $150 and $400, and most take 45 to 90 minutes depending on the size of the house and how much attic access we have. Here in Novato, the inspection needs to do two jobs at once: check for marine-layer moisture damage on fog-facing slopes, and verify the assembly meets Marin County’s wildfire overlay requirements where it applies. The two are related, and a roofer who doesn’t know Novato’s microclimates will miss one or the other. Call (361) 320-9467 to schedule yours. We write the findings down, with photos, and you get a straight answer about what needs attention now versus what can wait.
Why Brennan Roofing Is Novato’s Preferred Roof Inspection Company
Novato homeowners call us because we inspect the way a building inspector does, not the way a sales rep does. We open the attic. We walk every slope. We photograph what we find and hand it to you on the spot. That matters in a town where a 1960s ranch in Hamilton and a 1920s farmhouse in Old Town have completely different failure patterns, even though they sit three miles apart.
Our technicians are background-checked and arrive in uniform, on time, inside the window we promised. The phone is answered by a live person around the clock, not a callback queue. And because Roof Inspection is a core part of what Brennan Roofing does, we’re not using the inspection as a loss leader to sell you a roof you don’t need. We’re telling you what’s actually going on up there.
Every inspection is backed by the same Garrison Standard we apply to every repair and replacement: a written price before any work starts, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing on any work we end up doing. If it’s not done right, we come back and make it right, at no charge, for a full year.
Roof Estimate in Novato
A roof estimate in Novato for repairs to an older home typically runs $0 for the estimate itself when it’s part of an inspection, and the written repair quote comes out of what the inspection turns up. We walk the roof, check the attic, and put a number on paper. No work starts until you have that number in your hand and you’ve had time to read it.
Inspection First, Numbers Second
We don’t quote a roof without looking at it. In Novato, that matters more than in drier parts of the Bay Area. A south-facing slope in the Ignacio hills can look fine from the street and have sheathing rot creeping up from the eave where fog drip has been working under the underlayment for years. If we quoted that from a satellite photo, the number would be wrong. So we walk it.
Allowances Written Into the Quote
When we do give you a price, it includes allowances for what we can’t see until the shingles come off: rotted decking, fire-rated sheathing upgrades, failed flashing at the valleys. Those allowances are written into the contract in dollars, not percentages. You know the worst-case number before we start. If we don’t use it, you don’t pay it.
Free Roof Inspection in Novato
A free roof inspection in Novato is what we offer when you’re not sure whether you have a problem at all, just a stain on the ceiling or a shingle that looks odd from the driveway. We come out, walk the roof, get into the attic if there’s access, and tell you what’s happening. It costs nothing, and you’re under no obligation to hire us for the repair.
What We Look At
Flashing at chimneys, skylights, and valleys. Pipe boots around plumbing vents. Drip edge and gutter attachment. Shingle granule loss and blistering. And in Novato specifically, we check the underside of the sheathing at the eaves on south and west slopes, because that’s where fog drip does its quiet work. We also check whether the roof-edge detailing meets Class A ember-resistance standards if the house sits in the wildfire overlay.
You Get It in Writing
After the inspection, you get a written summary with photos and a plain-English explanation of each finding, ranked by urgency. We don’t do verbal handshakes. We don’t do “trust me.” We hand you a document you can read later, at your kitchen table, without a roofer standing over you. That’s the way it should work.
Trusted Brands We Service in Novato
We install and inspect roofing systems built on GAF, CertainTeed, Atlas, and Tamko materials, and we stock common flashings, boots, and underlayment locally so a Novato repair doesn’t wait on a truck from Sacramento. Whether your house has 1960s composition shingles in downtown Novato or a 1990s Atlas system in Pleasant Valley, we know how those materials age in this specific climate, and we know what fails first. Roof Inspection in Novato means inspecting the actual materials on the actual house, not a generic checklist.
Common Roof Inspection Problems We See in Novato Homes
- Sheathing rot on fog-facing slopes. South and west slopes in the hills above town get daily marine-layer moisture. It wicks up under the underlayment at the eaves, rots the decking from the bottom up, and stays hidden until someone opens the attic or the shingles come off.
- Layered roofs on older homes. A lot of the 1920s through 1950s stock in Old Town and Ignacio has two, three, sometimes four layers of roofing over the original wood shake. That traps heat, hides damage, and complicates any repair. We document every layer in the inspection report.
- Cracked pipe boots and sun-baked mastic. After a dry North Bay summer, the first real October rain finds the boots that dried out in the heat spikes north of town. In Pleasant Valley and northern Novato, where 100-degree days are common, mastic cracks faster than in the fog belt.
- Fire-rated assembly gaps in the overlay zone. Homes in Marin County’s Wildfire Hazard Overlay need Class A assemblies and non-combustible sheathing in many cases. We inspect whether the existing roof actually meets that standard, not whether it looks like it does from the ground.
Pricing for Roof Inspection in Novato, CA
Most roof inspections in Novato run $150 to $400. A smaller single-story ranch in central Novato sits at the low end. A larger two-story with complex valleys in the hills, plus full attic access and drone photos if needed, sits at the high end. If the inspection leads to repair work, we credit the inspection fee toward the job in most cases, and we tell you that before we start. Every estimate is free. Every price is in writing before any work begins, and it does not move at the door. Call (361) 320-9467 to schedule yours, and you’ll have a written number in hand before you spend a dollar.
We Also Serve Cities Near Novato
Our Novato crews also cover the surrounding area, including Fairfax, San Anselmo, Petaluma, and San Rafael. Dispatch and scheduling for all of those areas is coordinated from our Bay Area office, and the crews arrive in uniform, background-checked, and ready to walk the roof. If your house sits right on the city line, don’t overthink it; call and we’ll figure out which crew gets to you fastest.
Serving Novato, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Novato area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Roof Inspection in Novato
Most Novato roof inspections take 45 to 90 minutes. A single-story ranch with a simple roof and good attic access runs faster. A two-story shingle home in the hills with multiple valleys, a fireplace chimney, and skylights takes longer. We schedule the full window so nobody rushes the attic walk. If you need an exact time for your house, call (361) 320-9467 and we’ll tell you straight.
On older Novato homes, the most common findings are rotted decking at the eaves on fog-facing slopes, failed flashing at valleys and pipe boots, moisture-damaged underlayment, and multiple layers of old roofing over original wood shake. In Old Town we opened up a 1920s farmhouse where the original wood shake sat under three later layers, and the inspection found cracked mastic at the pipe boots, popped flashing in two valleys, and soft decking at the eave where marine-layer moisture had worked up under the underlayment. We wrote the surprise decking replacement as a priced allowance in the contract and got written approval before touching it, then rebuilt the assembly with GAF architectural shingles, ice and water shield in the valleys, new drip edge, and a ridge vent. That’s how we handle surprises.
We recommend replacement when the decking is structurally compromised in multiple places, the roof has multiple layers that need to come off anyway, or the existing assembly cannot be brought up to the wildfire overlay standard without starting over. We recommend repair when the damage is localized: a failed pipe boot, one section of flashing, a few square feet of decking. We’ll tell you which one applies and why, in writing. Call (361) 320-9467 and you’ll get a straight answer, not a sales pitch.
Surprises are priced as allowances before work starts, and any surprise outside the allowance gets written up, priced, and approved by you in writing before we touch it. That’s the Garrison Code, and it applies to every Brennan Roofing job in Novato. The price on paper before the job is the price. If something changes, you approve the change first. No change orders handed to you after the fact. No “we found rot, it’ll be extra” phone call with a vague number.
Yes. Homes in Marin County’s Wildfire Hazard Overlay need to meet Class A ember-resistance standards and, in many cases, non-combustible sheathing at the roof edge. Because Novato straddles the fog line and the overlay, an inspection here is two exams in one: checking for fog-belt sheathing rot on the south and west slopes, and verifying the assembly actually meets wildfire standards, not just assuming it does. We check both. We document both. You get the findings in writing.
Call (361) 320-9467 to schedule your roof inspection in Novato. A live person answers. You’ll get a written report, a straight answer, and a price you can plan around. That’s the Garrison Standard, and it’s the only way we work.
Written by Travis Oakley, owner at Brennan Roofing, serving Novato and the surrounding North Bay area.