A roof condition report is a written, photo-documented assessment of a commercial roof's current state - what system is on the roof, what condition it is in, what it needs, and what the remaining useful life estimate is. We produce three report depth tiers matched to what the owner, lender, buyer, or insurer actually needs the report to accomplish.

The most common request we receive from Salt Lake City commercial real estate attorneys, property managers, and ownership groups is for a roof condition report that is actually useful - not a one-page checklist or a verbal summary delivered by phone. A useful roof condition report tells the reader what system is on the roof, when it was installed, what condition it is in across every zone of the building, what repairs or actions are needed and in what timeframe, and what the roof's remaining useful life estimate is - with the snow-load and Utah climate context that makes the estimate meaningful here.

We produce condition reports in three depth tiers. The basic tier covers single-building inspections needed for insurance renewal, quick lease review, or facility manager documentation. The comprehensive tier covers asset sale due diligence, insurance claims, or ownership groups that need a full written record. The capital-grade tier covers institutional lenders, CMBS portfolio reviews, and situations where the report will be used by multiple parties over multiple years - the kind of report where methodology and defensibility matter as much as findings.

Every tier shares the same physical inspection: a documented roof walk with the zone diagram, photo log, and condition rating scale. What changes between tiers is the depth of the written narrative, the scope of historical documentation, the capital horizon analysis, and the level of detail in the scope and remaining-life sections.

What Every Condition Report Contains

Zone diagram: a to-scale plan drawing of the roof divided into inspection zones, with all drains, scuppers, penetrations, rooftop equipment, parapets, and access hatches marked. Every finding and every photo is keyed to a location on the zone diagram. We produce the zone diagram in the field during the inspection and refine it from satellite imagery and field measurements before delivering the report. For buildings with multiple roof levels - common on the multi-story LDS institutional buildings, University of Utah research buildings, and the Intermountain Healthcare campus structures - the zone diagram covers each level separately.

Photo log: every material finding is photographed with a consistent framing convention - wide shot to establish location, close-up to show the deficiency or condition detail. Photos are labeled with the zone reference from the diagram and the finding description. Every photo carries embedded GPS coordinates and timestamp. A typical comprehensive condition report on a 50,000 sq ft Salt Lake City office or industrial building produces 80 to 120 photos; a basic inspection produces 30 to 50.

Scope columns: we organize findings into three scope columns - Immediate, repair needed within 30 days to prevent further damage or warranty compromise; Near-Term, repair needed within 90 days to prevent deterioration; and Capital, replacement planning within one to five years. This structure lets the owner triage response without reading the full narrative. In Utah, the Immediate column takes on additional urgency when winter is approaching: a flashing condition rated Near-Term in July becomes Immediate by September if snowmelt infiltration will drive it from marginal to failed over one winter season.