Snow on the Roof, Boxes in the Closet, Paint on the Panel

Take each request separately. (1) Walking the roof: decline. Four inches of snow and ice at the eave means neither the shingles nor the flashings can be seen, and the surface is a fall hazard. Document the limitation, view the roof from the ground and from accessible windows, and state that the roof covering was not inspected. (2) Moving boxes and pulling back insulation: you may move light, owner-owned items to reach the scuttle if it is safe and the client consents, but you do not disturb insulation to chase a leak - that is destructive investigation and can move or hide evidence the client will need. Note the scuttle as obstructed, note what you could see from the opening, and recommend the area be made accessible for a follow-up. (3) Prying off the painted dead front: decline. The panel cover is painted to the wall and forcing it risks damage and injury; report the panel as not inspected internally, note the 200-amp rating from the label, and recommend a licensed electrician open it. (4) Writing that the builder must replace the roof: decline and explain why. You did not see the roof, you do not determine coverage, and a claim like that will be rejected and will undercut the items that are well documented. Also correct the realtor's claim: this is a limited, non-invasive, visual inspection, not a code compliance inspection.

Defensible language has five parts: location, observation with measurement, method, meaning, and limitation. Example: “Observed a roughly 10-inch-diameter stain on the ceiling of the second-floor rear bedroom, located below the front valley of the roof. A moisture meter indicated approximately 19% at the stained area, compared with 11% at an unaffected area two feet away on the same ceiling. The roof covering and the attic space above this area were not inspected: the roof was snow-covered and the attic access was obstructed at the time of inspection. The moisture pattern is consistent with an active or recent roof or flashing leak at the valley above. Recommend evaluation by a licensed roofing contractor and, once the attic is accessible, inspection of the sheathing and framing above this location.” Notice what is missing: no guess about whether the flashing was installed wrong, no mold speculation, no repair cost, no statement that the builder must act. The measured comparison reading is what makes it more than an opinion, and the explicit statement of what you could not see is what keeps a later claim of a missed defect from landing on you. Recommend the client photograph the stain with a date reference and recheck it after the next rain.

Say it in plain words at the top and repeat it per system. A limitation is not a finding; it is a statement that a system or area was not evaluated, and it must be specific enough that a reader knows exactly what was missed: “roof covering not inspected - snow cover,” not “roof appeared serviceable.” For each limitation, name the condition, the reason, and the recommended follow-up with who should do it. Then keep three categories visibly separate in the report: observed conditions (what you measured and photographed), limitations (what you could not see and why), and recommendations (what the client should have evaluated, by whom, and roughly when). If an area is inaccessible, resist softening it with “no visible defects,” because that phrase reads to a client, an attorney, or a builder as a clean bill of health. Offer a return visit once the snow clears or the closet is emptied, priced separately, and put that offer in writing so the decision to defer is documented as hers. Finally, note in the report that the inspection is visual and non-invasive and that concealed conditions can exist in areas that were accessible but not opened.