Site visit required

Roof Certification Letters in Texas, Sealed by a Licensed PE

The letter an underwriter asks for when the appraiser flags the roof: condition observed, deficiencies named, and an estimate of remaining useful life, sealed by an engineer.

Join the waitlist See what arrives

Opening soon

Sealed Engineering is not yet accepting orders. Firm registration is pending with the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, and no engineering services are being offered or performed under this brand until it is granted. Founding customers on the waitlist are contacted first when ordering opens.

What a roof certification letter covers

A roof certification is an observation of the roof covering and the visible components that keep water out, followed by an engineer's estimate of how much serviceable life remains. Lenders typically want to see a stated number of years, most often two, three, or five, because that is what their guidelines are written around.

The observation covers the covering material and its condition, flashing at penetrations and transitions, valleys, ridge and hip treatment, visible fastener condition, drainage and gutters, and evidence of active or prior leakage where it can be seen from the interior. Where the attic is accessible, decking condition and staining are looked at from underneath, which is where an old leak that has been patched over on the outside actually shows.

What it deliberately does not cover

This is the section most worth reading, because the gap between what a roof certification says and what people assume it says is where disputes come from.

It is not a warranty or a guarantee. Nobody is promising the roof will not leak.
It is not a structural evaluation of the roof framing. That is a separate scope and a separate letter.
It does not report on what is underneath the covering where the covering was not removed.
It is not an insurance claim document, and nothing in it is written to support a claim.
It does not certify installation quality or code compliance of work performed by others.

The Texas conditions that shorten roof life

Texas is hard on roofs in three specific ways, and an engineer looking at a Texas roof is looking for all three. Ultraviolet exposure and sustained summer heat age asphalt shingle faster here than the manufacturer's rated life suggests, particularly on south and west facing planes. Hail is a regional certainty across the northern and central parts of the state, and the question on an older roof is usually not whether it has taken hail but whether the resulting damage is functional or cosmetic.

Wind is the third, and it varies enormously by region. A roof on the coast has been through a different service life than one in the Hill Country, and the observation reads the fastener and edge condition accordingly.

What arrives

A sealed and signed letter addressed to the lender or the requesting party.
Roof covering type, approximate age where it can be established, and observed condition.
Deficiencies itemized, separated into items affecting serviceability and items that are cosmetic.
An estimate of remaining useful life stated in years.
A photo record of the observed conditions.
Digital PDF suitable for direct upload into a loan file.

Scheduled around a site observation. Weather moves it, and nothing else does.

What has to exist first

An engineer seals what the evidence supports, so this list is the work rather than the paperwork around it. Anything missing is named rather than assumed.

Property address and access arrangements.
The addressee exactly as the lender wants it written.
The underwriter's condition language, if one has been issued.
Roof age, prior repairs, or any roofing invoices the owner has.
Attic access location, if there is one.

Roof Certification Letters: common questions

Will a roofing contractor's letter work instead?

Sometimes. Some lenders accept a licensed roofing contractor's certification and some specifically require a professional engineer, usually when the contractor also stands to be paid for the repair. Read the condition language before choosing, because ordering the wrong one costs a week.

Can you tell me the roof will pass before you look at it?

No, and any engineer who would should worry you. The letter is worth something to an underwriter because the conclusion follows the observation rather than the request. What can be said in advance is exactly what will be looked at and exactly what the letter will contain.

Does it cover hail damage for an insurance claim?

No. A roof certification is written for a lender or a transaction and is not a claim document. Hail damage is observed and reported as a condition finding where present, but nothing in the letter is framed to support a claim, and Sealed Engineering does not solicit or prepare insurance claim work.

What if the roof needs work?

The deficiencies are itemized and the remaining life is estimated as observed. If repairs are made afterward, the roof can be re-observed and a letter issued against the corrected condition. That sequence is normal and it is faster than it sounds.

Do you get on the roof?

Where it is safe and the pitch and covering allow it, yes, because walking a roof shows things a ground level observation does not. Where it is not safe, the observation is made from a ladder at the eave and from the ground with optics, and the letter says which method was used.

Where this is ordered most in Texas

Wind speed, soil, and the permit office all change by market, and so does what this document has to address. These pages are written for the market rather than templated across it.

Often needed alongside this

Need a roof certification letter?

Start with the property address and we will tell you exactly what else is needed.

Join the waitlist

Opening soon. Founding customers get first turnaround slots.