Around here the roofing year has one deadline: the first sustained rain in October. Everything that has been quietly deteriorating through the dry months shows up as a ceiling stain that week. A couple of hours in September buys you a dry winter.
Clear the gutters and downspouts first
Fir and cedar needles pack into gutters more densely than leaves and turn into a sponge that holds water at the fascia. Flush each downspout and confirm water actually exits at the bottom — a blocked underground drain line backs water up against the foundation and, in a freeze, into the gutter itself.
Look at the penetrations, not just the field
Most leaks start where something comes through the roof: pipe boots, vents, skylights, chimneys and the flashing around them. Rubber pipe boots crack and split after roughly ten to fifteen seasons of UV, and that split is directly above a wall cavity. From the ground with binoculars you can often see a cracked boot or lifted flashing without going up.
Check the valleys and the north slope
Valleys carry the most water on the roof, so debris dams there cause outsized damage. The north slope stays damp and shaded and is where moss and organic growth begin. Both are worth dealing with before, not after, the rain starts.
Go into the attic with a flashlight
It's the cheapest inspection there is. You're looking for daylight, dark staining on the underside of the decking, damp or compressed insulation, and blocked soffit vents. Staining that appears in fall and dries in summer usually means a slow leak, not condensation.
Schedule repairs before the calendar fills
Once the storms start, roofers spend their days on emergency tarping and the small repair you could have booked in September waits weeks. If something on this list looks wrong, get it looked at while the roof is still dry.
What fall looks like around Seattle, Bellevue and Kent
In King County the dry summer usually ends in October, and a long run of rainy days follows. Tree-lined streets in Seattle and Bellevue fill gutters with needles and leaves quickly, and homes in the Kent valley deal with heavy runoff from long rain events. Doing the checklist in September gives you time to fix a cracked pipe boot or a clogged downspout before the rain arrives.
Serving Seattle, Bellevue, Kent and nearby communities. Call (425) 783-9543.
Local to this topic: King County roof replacement.