Roofing construction defect expert for Colorado claims.
Independent review of roof installation defects on residential, multifamily, and commercial buildings. Workmanship, product, or design, measured against the adopted code and the manufacturer's installation instructions.
Where roof installations go wrong
Most roof defects live in the details: the laps, fasteners, and flashings that disappear under the finished roof. We open, measure, and photograph those details so the record shows what was actually installed.
We review steep-slope shingle, tile, slate, cedar, synthetic, and metal roofs, and low-slope TPO, EPDM, and modified bitumen systems on single-family, multifamily, HOA, and commercial projects.
- Underlayment and ice barrier. Type, laps, and extent at eaves, valleys, walls, and penetrations.
- Fastening. Nail type, count, placement, and depth against the manufacturer's pattern.
- Flashing. Step, counter, headwall, chimney, skylight, kick-out, and drip edge details.
- Ventilation. Intake and exhaust balance and its effect on ice dams, condensation, and warranties.
- Low-slope membranes. Seams, terminations, drainage, crickets, and ponding.
Workmanship, product, or design?
Allocation often decides a defect case. Each source leaves a different pattern.
Workmanship
Installation that departs from the manufacturer's instructions or the adopted code: high nails, short laps, missing kick-out flashing, unsealed penetrations. It usually repeats wherever the same crew did the same detail the same way.
Product
Failures that appear across the roof regardless of technique, such as widespread blistering, sealant strip failure, or factory seam defects. We record lot numbers, packaging, and warranty registration where available.
Design
Details that cannot perform as drawn: inadequate slope on low-slope areas, missing crickets behind wide chimneys, valleys discharging against walls. Questions involving structure or building science beyond roofing are flagged for the right professional.
How we investigate a roof defect
Document review
Plans, specifications, submittals, permits and inspection records, warranty registrations, daily logs, and the manufacturer's installation instructions in effect when the roof was installed.
Non-destructive survey
Every slope and detail photographed and mapped, with moisture readings and controlled water testing where they help locate an entry point.
Destructive testing
Test cuts and tear-backs under a protocol agreed by the parties. Each layer is photographed and measured, samples are preserved under chain of custody, and openings are left weathertight.
Code analysis
Findings tied to the IRC Chapter 9 or IBC Chapter 15 edition and local amendments the jurisdiction had adopted when the work was permitted, not today's code.
Repair scope
A repair that fixes the defect without overreaching, priced line by line. See our cost estimate services.
Rebuttal
Review of opposing defect reports and repair scopes, item by item.
Local code adoption and CDARA
Building codes in Colorado are adopted locally. Cities and counties adopt editions of the International Residential Code and International Building Code with their own amendments, so the governing requirements in Fort Collins, Greeley, Boulder, Denver, or a mountain town can differ.
The Construction Defect Action Reform Act
Colorado's Construction Defect Action Reform Act (CDARA, C.R.S. 13-20-801 and following) sets a notice-of-claim process that generally requires a claimant to give a construction professional written notice before filing suit, with an opportunity to inspect and to offer to repair or settle. Limitation and repose periods for construction claims appear in C.R.S. 13-80-104.
Our role is technical: attending and documenting notice-of-claim inspections, evaluating proposed repairs, and preparing defect and repair-cost opinions. Deadlines, damages, and procedure are for counsel. We provide technical opinions, not legal advice.
How an engagement works
Defect matters often involve several parties and a destructive testing protocol, so we plan the inspection with counsel before anyone goes on the roof.
Intake
Parties, project, roles, and deadlines. Conflict check before anything substantive.
Records
Plans, permits, submittals, warranties, and the installation instructions in effect at the time.
Protocol
Inspection and destructive testing plan circulated to the parties in advance.
Report
Findings by defect, allocation analysis, code and manufacturer citations, and repair scope.
Testify
Deposition, mediation, arbitration, or trial.
What you receive
- Defect inventory with each condition located on a roof plan and photographed.
- Allocation analysis separating workmanship, product, and design issues.
- Standards citations to the adopted code edition and the manufacturer's instructions.
- Repair scope and estimate in line-item format.
- Chain-of-custody log for every sample removed.
Independence and disclosures
Our opinions follow the evidence. We do not take contingency fees on expert work, and we do not bid, sell, or perform roofing work on a property where we are retained as an expert, and we disclose any prior relationship with the property or parties at intake. Engagements are hourly or flat fee under a written retention agreement.
A CV and fee schedule are provided on request, along with any prior testimony disclosures the rules require., and reports are prepared to support Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and C.R.C.P. 26 expert disclosures.
We provide technical opinions, not legal advice.
Other litigation support
Construction defect questions
How do you tell a workmanship defect from a product defect?
By pattern and by evidence under the surface. Workmanship defects usually follow the installer, repeating at the same details. Product defects tend to appear across the roof regardless of technique. We open representative areas, measure what was installed, and record product lot information where available.
Which code edition applies to the roof?
The edition and local amendments the jurisdiction had adopted when the work was permitted, together with the manufacturer's installation instructions in effect at the time. The report identifies both.
Can you attend a CDARA notice-of-claim inspection?
Yes. We can attend for either side, document conditions and any destructive testing, and evaluate a proposed repair. We provide technical opinions, not legal advice on CDARA deadlines or procedure.
Do you perform destructive testing?
When the parties agree on a protocol. We photograph each layer, measure and record what we find, preserve samples under a chain-of-custody log, and leave openings weathertight.
Do you review multifamily and commercial roofs?
Yes. We review single-family, multifamily, HOA, and commercial buildings, including steep-slope shingle, tile, slate, metal, and low-slope membrane roofs.
Can you price the repair?
Yes. We prepare line-item repair scopes and cost estimates tied to the defects we identify, including access, staging, and code-required work.
Evaluating a roof defect claim?
Send the parties and the project. We follow up the same or next business day.