I get where you’re coming from, but I’ll throw in a little pushback—sometimes those inspectors catch stuff we’d never notice. I had one call out my “brand new” roof for not having proper ventilation, and turns out he was right... installer totally skipped the ridge vent. Annoying? Sure. But I’d rather have someone nitpick than miss something that could cost me down the line. Still, I agree, half the time they’re just guessing about materials—my green roof got called “mossy shingles” once.
my green roof got called “mossy shingles” once.
That’s classic. I’ve seen inspectors misidentify materials more than a few times—especially with newer eco-friendly stuff or coatings that look odd to them. But yeah, missing a ridge vent is a legit catch. Ventilation’s one of those things that’s easy to overlook but can wreck a roof over time. Still, I wish they’d take a closer look before making calls on material types. Seen too many “asphalt” roofs that were actually composite or even metal with a coating.
Had a similar thing happen last year—inspector called my client’s standing seam metal roof “old asphalt” because of the matte finish. It’s wild how often they miss the details, especially with newer materials. I always tell folks, if you’ve got something unusual up there, keep the product info handy just in case. Makes those conversations way less awkward.
That’s funny, because I’ve actually had an inspector do the opposite—called my 10-year-old shingle roof “brand new” since it still looked pretty clean. Didn’t even bother checking the install date on the permit. I get that they’re busy and can’t know every new product out there, but it’s kind of wild how much guesswork seems to go into some of these inspections.
I replaced my old three-tab shingles with architectural ones a few years back, and the color threw off a contractor who came by for some gutter work. He thought it was some weird composite tile from the ‘80s. Honestly, if you use anything that isn’t “standard” in your area, it feels like you’re always explaining yourself.
Keeping paperwork handy is solid advice, but sometimes I feel like they don’t even want to look at it… Maybe I’m just a little jaded after dealing with city inspectors over the years. Still, better safe than sorry, I guess.
That hits close to home. I’ve had inspectors breeze right past the stuff I thought they’d care about, then get hung up on something totally random—like a color or a trim detail. It’s wild how much depends on who shows up that day. I keep a folder with every permit and receipt, but half the time they just nod and move on. Guess it’s just part of the game if you do anything outside the usual cookie-cutter options. Still, I’d rather over-document than get stuck arguing later.
