Roofer's Inspection
Built around replacement work, visible conditions, and the scope the contractor would be paid to perform.
Work-centered scope
Forensic Wind Damage Inspection
The roof can look intact. The load path may not be.
The damage that decides a wind claim is usually the damage you cannot see from the ground. High winds lift and load a roof at its edges, ridges, and corners while the roof still appears intact from the street.
A forensic wind damage inspection in Florida establishes what the storm actually did. Everest Building Consulting Group documents roof uplift, structural and envelope damage, separates it from pre-existing wear, and issues a signed engineering report you can rely on with a carrier, a contractor, or a court.
We assess and report. We never perform the roof repair or replacement we evaluate, so our findings answer to the evidence and to you.
PE-Signed Reports
No Repair Conflict
Uplift, Load Path, and Envelope Scope
An Engineering Evaluation
More Than a Roofer's Inspection
A roofing contractor inspects to determine what to replace and then quotes the work. A forensic wind damage inspection is different in purpose.
Forensic Engineering Inspection
Performed under the direction of a licensed Professional Engineer to establish causation, extent, and defensible scope.
Evidence-centered finding
Single-family roofs
Condominium and HOA buildings
Commercial roof systems
Where the Difference Matters
It matters most where payout turns on documentation, a claim was underpaid or denied as wear, or the carrier's scope stops at what is visible from the street.
Same discipline at any scale
What We Evaluate
What a Wind Damage Inspection Establishes
Each finding connects uplift, load path behavior, envelope breaches, and water entry to a defensible causation and scope opinion.
Edges
Ridges
Corners
Openings
Roof Uplift and Covering Damage
Wind uplift breaks seals, loosens fasteners, removes coverings, and can lift the roof covering enough to compromise it without obvious displacement.
Roof Deck and Structural Load Path
We evaluate the deck, roof-to-wall connections, and framing that carry wind force into the structure, because those conditions govern far more than a covering repair.
Building Envelope and Openings
Flashing, fascia, soffits, cladding, windows, and doors are assessed for wind and debris damage, including water intrusion that follows a breached envelope.
Extent and Repair Versus Replacement
Covering, structural, and envelope findings are drawn together into a reasoned recommendation, including matchability and surrounding material condition.
Observe the Totality
Field observations document roofing, deck conditions, exterior components, openings, interior water pathways, and visible wind indicators.
Test Causation Hypotheses
We compare predicted wind markers against what the roof and envelope actually show, including competing explanations like age, wear, and installation defects.
Corroborate the Event
Storm records, wind data, aerial imagery, prior reports, and estimates are reviewed when they help confirm or challenge the field evidence.
Issue a Defensible Opinion
The report states what the evidence supports, what it does not support, and what scope follows from those findings.
When It Is Warranted
When to Order a Wind Damage Inspection
An independent inspection is worth ordering when the scope, the claim, the repair strategy, or the condition of the building needs a neutral technical baseline.
Before Weather Disturbs Evidence
Uplift damage frequently leaves no sign visible from the ground. Early documentation protects both the claim and the building.
Before the Claim Is Submitted
A neutral forensic baseline establishes causation and scope before the carrier and its own experts measure the loss.
When Scope Stops Short
When a carrier attributes damage to age, wear, or a prior event, engineering evidence answers that determination directly.
For Larger Decisions
Boards, managers, and commercial owners need defensible building-by-building scope before procurement or stakeholder commitments.
The Deliverable
A Signed, Prescriptive Report
Most storm reports are descriptive. They record what the inspector saw and leave the rest open to interpretation, which invites supplements, disputes, and denials.
Everest issues a report signed by a licensed Professional Engineer that establishes causation and defines scope, so the claim or repair rests on an unambiguous baseline.
- 01Whether the documented damage was caused by wind, with the basis for that determination stated.
- 02The extent of uplift, structural, and envelope damage, including conditions not visible from the ground.
- 03The water intrusion that follows a breached roof or envelope, and the secondary damage it creates.
- 04A reasoned recommendation on repair versus replacement, documented with photographs and measurements.
- 05A record built for carriers, contractors, boards, public adjusters, attorneys, and court review when needed.
Planning-Level Estimate
When Scope Needs a Budgeting Basis
Where replacement is indicated, Everest can develop a planning-level estimate to give an owner or association a reasonable basis for budgeting and a common technical scope contractors can competitively bid.
The estimate is grounded in industry-standard estimating, states its exclusions clearly so an unpriced item is never mistaken for a priced one, and is explicitly a planning basis rather than a contractor bid.
Who We Serve
A Neutral Baseline Creates Certainty
Different parties need different things from the report, but all of them benefit when scope starts from a signed, independent technical record.
Enter the Claim With Evidence
Know the full extent of the damage, including what cannot be seen from the ground, rather than relying on a contractor's estimate a carrier can discount.
Build a Defensible Position
A conflict-free PE-signed report addresses causation and scope on evidence built to withstand carrier experts in a disputed or denied claim.
Support Board-Level Decisions
A defensible building-by-building assessment supports repair or replacement decisions across large or multiple roof systems.
Start From a Neutral Scope
An independent causation and scope determination gives the work a defensible basis and reduces friction when a carrier contests scope.
Why It Matters
Why an Independent Engineer Belongs Before the Claim
A roofing contractor is retained to perform work, and a report from the party that profits from replacement invites exactly the skepticism carriers apply to wind claims.
An independent engineer is retained to determine what the evidence shows. Ordering a forensic wind damage inspection in Florida before the claim gives you a neutral, credentialed record and gives every contractor who later bids the work a common, defensible scope to price against.
Everest assesses and reports. We do not perform roof repair or replacement, and our fee does not change based on what we find.
Our Team
Veteran Storm Damage Investigators
Wind losses often touch structure, roof coverings, envelope behavior, water intrusion, estimating, and disputed-claim support. Everest brings those disciplines under one independent inspection team.
Licensed Professional Engineers
Florida-licensed Professional Engineers direct every inspection and sign every report.
Structural and Envelope Specialists
Credentialed professionals evaluate uplift loading on roof systems, connections, and the building envelope.
IICRC Certified
Restoration-trained professionals read the path of water that follows a wind-breached roof or envelope.
Catastrophe and Storm Experience
A team retained across storm-damage matters statewide, familiar with Florida wind events and construction patterns.
Xactimate Certified Estimators
Trained and certified professionals translate documented scope into an industry-standard planning estimate when needed.
Expert Testimony
Engineers able to support their findings through the scrutiny of a disputed or litigated claim.
Do you perform the roof repair or replacement?
No. Everest is strictly a diagnostic and forensic engineering firm. We never perform the repair or replacement we evaluate, which keeps our reports anchored to engineering evidence rather than to a scope we would be paid to carry out.
How is this different from a roofing contractor's inspection?
A roofer identifies what to replace and quotes it. Our engineers establish whether wind caused the damage, distinguish it from age and wear, evaluate the covering, deck, structure, and envelope, and issue a signed report.
The roof looks fine from the ground. Do I still need an inspection?
Often, yes. Wind uplift commonly breaks seals, loosens fasteners, and compromises the covering and deck without leaving damage visible from the street. An inspection documents that concealed damage before it surfaces later as a leak or a denial.
My wind claim was denied as wear and tear or age. Can you help?
Often, yes. That determination is exactly what a forensic inspection addresses. We document whether the evidence supports wind causation or the carrier's attribution to wear, then state the basis in a signed engineering report.
Can you evaluate a commercial or association roof, not just a house?
Yes. The same discipline applies at any scale, from a single roof to a large commercial roof system or many buildings across an association. For larger properties we assess building by building and can develop a planning-level estimate.
Is it too late if the storm was a while ago?
Often not. Wind damage leaves durable evidence, and storm data and imagery can corroborate the event. Documenting sooner is always better before further weather or repairs disturb the evidence.
Get Started
Do Not Guess. Know What the Storm Did.
Whether you are filing a claim, contesting a denial, or planning a repair across large or multiple roof systems, a forensic wind damage inspection in Florida gives you causation, scope, and a defensible recommendation delivered by engineers with no stake in the work that follows.