Commercial Roof Inspection in Texas by a GAF GoldElite Contractor

Before it's a report, an inspection is a fork in the road. Every commercial roof we walk lands in one of four conversations, and the whole point of the inspection is to put you in the right one, with photos and a written scope to back it up. This is the first page of ARP's commercial roofing services, and it's where the money decisions actually start. The inspection itself is typically at no charge, though additional cost may apply depending on roof pitch, building height, and whether a manlift is required.

Here's the thing most bids skip: the diagnostic is the decision. Put an owner in the wrong conversation and it costs twice: once for the wrong work, and again for the right work when they have to do it anyway.

On a commercial roof, the difference between a $1,500 patch and a $25,000 section replacement is usually one core sample, taken honestly. The contractors who skip the sample and quote the patch anyway are the same ones who end up doing the section work six months later — and the owner pays for it twice.

A real commercial inspection isn't a lap around the field membrane. Commercial roofs almost never fail in the middle; they fail at the details, and the details are where we spend the time. On every walk, we document:

• Flashings and terminations: parapet caps, base flashing, counter-flashing, and wall transitions, where most leaks actually start.
• Penetrations: HVAC curbs, pipe boots, vents, drains, scuppers, and expansion joints, each checked for open seams and failed sealant.
• The field membrane: TPO, PVC, EPDM, modified bitumen, or a coated roof, checked for seam integrity, punctures, blistering, and shrinkage.
• Drainage: ponding water, blocked drains, and slope problems that hold moisture on the roof 48 hours after the last rain.
• Substrate and insulation: core samples or an infrared/moisture survey where the surface hides wet insulation the eye can't see.
• Deck condition: soft spots, fastener backout, and structural signals underfoot.

You get more than a pass/fail. You get a photographed, prioritized record of what's holding, what's watching, and what's failing, the difference between checking on a roof and actually knowing what's happening to it.

Three steps. No mystery, no pressure, and nothing signed before you've seen the findings.

1. Book the walk. You tell us the building and the trigger: a tenant leak, a warranty question, a purchase, or a budget cycle. We schedule your site walk, usually within a couple of business days.
2. We walk and document. Our inspector covers every roof plane, flashing line, and penetration, pulls core samples or runs a moisture survey where the membrane looks suspect, and photographs each finding tied to its spot on the roof.
3. You get the report and the recommendation. You receive a written condition report with prioritized findings, budget guidance, and one clear call (repair, restore, replace, or maintain) so you can decide with time on your side.

A standalone commercial roof inspection in Texas is typically $0, flat, never by the square foot. Additional cost may apply depending on roof pitch, building height, and whether a manlift is required, and the fee is often waived entirely when the inspection is bundled with a repair, restoration, or replacement project.

A commercial roof inspection in Texas is priced flat, not by the square foot. A standalone documented inspection is typically $0, waived when the inspection is bundled with a repair, restoration, or replacement project. Otherwise additional cost may apply depending on roof pitch, building height, and whether a manlift is required.

Updated July 2026. Texas commercial market pricing.

Straight up: pricing an inspection by the square foot would be a red flag. The work isn't proportional to your roof area; it's proportional to how hard your building is to walk and document safely. That's why the number is flat and capped.

Because the cheapest time to find a failing seam is before the ceiling tile below it turns brown. A commercial roof rarely fails suddenly; it drifts, quietly, through a couple of dry-looking years while a clogged drain holds water and a lifted flashing wicks moisture into the insulation. By the time it shows up inside the building, you've already lost the cheapest window to fix it.

For a property manager, that's not just a maintenance line; it's the meeting you don't want to be in. An inspection turns a surprise into a plan: a documented condition, a prioritized budget, and a recommendation you can take to ownership before the leak forces the timeline. That's what a preventive-capital decision looks like instead of an emergency check.

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The deliverable is a document, not a verbal "looks rough up there." Your report includes:

• Photo documentation tied to a roof map, so each finding has a location you can point ownership to.
• Condition ratings by roof section and detail: flashings, drains, seams, penetrations, field.
• Prioritized findings: what needs action now, what to budget for, and what to watch.
• A clear recommendation: repair, restore, replace, or a maintenance schedule, with the reasoning behind it.
• Maintenance-history documentation you can hand to a manufacturer or an insurance carrier when they ask what's been done to the roof.

The inspection report isn't for us. It's for you. It's the document you hand to ownership when they ask about the roof. It's the document you hand to your insurance carrier when they ask about maintenance history. It's the document that proves you did your job — even if you're not managing this building three years from now. That's why we put everything in writing. Not because we have to. Because you need it.

ARP Roofing & Remodeling is a GAF GoldElite Commercial Contractor, GAF's top commercial designation, covering EverGuard TPO and PVC single-ply systems. We're also an Elevate Red Shield Licensed Contractor and a UNIFLEX Premier Elite Contractor, which means the inspection is done by people who install and warranty the systems they're evaluating, not a generalist guessing at a membrane they've never welded.

The person setting the standard for how we document a roof matters just as much as the certifications:

Randal Williams is a former commercial high-rise field engineer and Xactimate expert with 15+ years in roofing and construction. He has scoped and documented more than $7 million in insurance claim work across Texas, including single commercial claims above $2 million, supporting property managers and building owners through the claims process as the contractor of record.

That's the difference on a storm or insurance inspection: findings documented the way an adjuster reads them, with the line items that separate a spot-repair settlement from a full-system approval. Behind it all is a 5,000+ project portfolio and one accountable company that can carry your roof from the inspection through the repair, restoration, or replacement it points to.

We're honest about this in both directions; an inspection should tell you the truth, and so should the contractor giving it.

You're probably the right fit if you…

• Want a written condition report and photo documentation you can hand to ownership.
• Manage or own a commercial building anywhere in Texas and want one contractor for the inspection and the fix it recommends.
• Want the diagnostic to drive the decision (repair, restore, or replace) instead of a sales pitch.
• Are planning to hold the property and want a partner who'll still answer the phone in year ten.
• Need storm or insurance work documented by a COO with deep insurance-claims experience.

You're probably not the right fit if you…

• Want work to start within 24 hours with no inspection and no documentation.
• Manage a building under 1,000 sq ft; our minimum scope makes the economics work against you.
• Are choosing purely on the lowest bid, with scope as an afterthought.
• Want someone to sign off on a patch you already know won't hold.

Whether you hire ARP or someone else, ask every contractor who inspects your roof these three questions. The answers tell you more than any star rating.

1. "Will I get a written condition report with photos tied to the roof, before I'm asked to sign anything?" A real inspection ends in a document: prioritized findings, photo evidence located on a roof map, and a clear recommendation. If all you get is a verbal "it's bad" and a same-day contract, you're being sold, not inspected.

2. "Will you pull core samples or run a moisture survey, or are you judging the roof from the surface?" Wet insulation hides under a dry-looking membrane. A contractor who never cuts a core or scans for moisture is guessing, and a guess is how owners get sold a coating over a roof that needed a tear-off.

3. "Are you certified on the exact system you're inspecting, and can you do the repair, restoration, or replacement it points to?" Ask which manufacturer certifications the company holds for your membrane, and whether they can carry the work through, not just diagnose it and hand you off. Certification plus follow-through by that company's own crews is what keeps your warranty intact.

• ARP's current pricing (commercial), confirmed July 2026: commercial roof inspection typically $0; additional cost may apply depending on roof pitch, building height, and whether a manlift is required.

Standards & Method:

• ASTM moisture-survey and core-sampling practice: the basis for the wet-insulation findings referenced above.
• NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association): commercial low-slope inspection practice.
• Repair-percentage threshold (the "25% rule"): not a statewide Texas rule and not set by the IBC reroofing sections; where a local jurisdiction applies one, confirm it with the authority having jurisdiction at permit.

Manufacturer Certifications:

• GAF GoldElite Commercial Contractor (EverGuard TPO/PVC single-ply)
• Elevate Red Shield Licensed Contractor
• UNIFLEX Premier Elite Contractor