Houston's free roof leak detection inspection
Roof Leak Detection in Houston
The stain on your ceiling is almost never below the leak. Water runs along decking, follows rafters and surfaces a room away — which is why patching the stain does not work, and why finding the actual entry point takes instruments rather than a guess.
We scan the roof with thermal imaging, confirm with a moisture meter, and walk it with a thirty-point visual inspection. You get photographs, the readings, and a photo record — whether or not you hire us to fix it.
Water coming in right now? Emergency roof repair — answered 24/7, typical response 2–4 hours.
- 13Years in Houston
- 5,000+Roofs completed
- 4.8★Over 400 reviews
- $0For the inspection
How we find it
Ten Instruments, and What Each One Is For
A leak inspection is not a man on a roof with an opinion. Here is exactly what we bring, what each thing finds, and why it matters to you.
FLIR thermal imaging
Temperature differences invisible to the eye
Wet insulation holds heat differently from dry insulation. On a thermal scan a soaked area shows as a distinct cold patch long before it stains a ceiling — which is how we find the extent of a leak, not just its symptom.
Moisture meter
Confirms what the thermal camera suspects
Thermal imaging shows a temperature anomaly; a moisture meter proves whether it is actually water. Using one without the other produces false positives, which is how homeowners end up paying for repairs they did not need.
Drone
The whole roof, including what nobody can walk on
High-resolution aerial survey of every slope, including steep pitches and areas that cannot be safely walked. You get the footage — it is your roof and your record.
GoPro
Close-up video of what we are looking at
Worn at the roof, so you see what the crew sees rather than taking their word for it. Particularly useful for valleys and flashing details you would otherwise never lay eyes on.
Digital microscope
Granule loss at a level you can actually see
Shingles are layered, and when the granules go the fiberglass beneath starts to show. Under the microscope, with a syringe of water, you can watch a worn shingle absorb rather than shed it. It is the difference between being told a roof is failing and seeing it.
Infrared thermometer
Surface temperature across the roof and attic
Temperature differentials point at inadequate ventilation and trapped heat — which is what ages a Houston roof from underneath, often with no leak involved at all.
Endoscopic camera
Inside wall cavities and behind flashing
For the places nothing else reaches. Where water is running inside a wall, this is how we trace it back to the entry point rather than opening the wall to find out.
Carbon monoxide detector
That the roof work has not disturbed your ventilation
Roof vents and flues share space. A safety check most contractors do not carry out, because it protects you rather than them.
Shingle gauge
Thickness, wear and remaining life
Measures what is actually left of the shingle. It is how we can tell you a roof has years in it when a salesperson would tell you it needs replacing.
Core sampler
What is underneath, on flat and low-slope roofs
A small extracted core shows the layers, the insulation condition and whether moisture is trapped in the system. On a commercial flat roof this is often the only way to know.
The eleventh
Knowing which one to reach for
Any company can buy this equipment. What it cannot buy is thirteen years of watching roofs fail in one climate — knowing that a cold patch near a chimney usually means failed step flashing, that granule loss on the south slope runs ahead of the north, and that a wet reading in February often traces back to a hailstorm the previous spring.
The instruments narrow it down. Experience tells you where to point them. A thermal camera in untrained hands produces a colourful picture and a wrong answer.
What you keep
You get the evidence, not a summary of it
Thermal images, moisture readings, drone footage and close-up video — handed over with a written report. Yours to keep, whether you hire us or take it to another contractor.
On work we carry out, you also get a link to a photo album of the entire job — not a handful of finished shots, but the whole thing, from tear-off to final sweep.
Why it is worth insisting on. A contractor who documents everything has made it impossible to cut a corner quietly. That is the point of it — and it is a reasonable thing to ask of anyone bidding your roof.
The process
From Your Call to a Roof That Stops Leaking
Typically three to seven days from first call to completed repair, depending on weather and what we find.
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The call
We ask where the stain is, when it appeared, and whether it leaks in all rain or only some. That last answer narrows the search before anyone arrives — a leak that only shows in wind from the south is a different problem from one that leaks every time.
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On site: scan, confirm, walk
Thermal scan of the affected area and the slopes above it. Moisture meter to confirm any anomaly is actually water. Drone survey for anything that cannot be safely walked. Then a thirty-point visual inspection of flashing, valleys, penetrations, ridge and edge.
The attic too, where there is access — often the fastest route to the entry point, because the underside of the decking shows the track the water took.
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You see it before we explain it
Thermal images, moisture readings, drone footage and close-up video, reviewed with you on screen. Not a verdict — the evidence, so you can see what we saw and reach the same conclusion.
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Written findings and options
What is wrong, where, and what it will take to fix. If there is more than one sensible option — repair now against replace sooner — you get both, priced, with our honest view of which makes more sense.
The report is yours whether or not you hire us. Take it to another contractor if you would rather.
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The repair
The actual entry point, not the stain. Repairs carry a 24-month workmanship warranty — where most Houston contractors offer three to six months.
We decline repairs we cannot guarantee. On a roof too old or brittle to hold a proper fix, we will say so rather than take the money and come back in a year.
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Verification
The repaired area re-scanned before we leave, so there is a thermal image showing the anomaly gone. Then a follow-up after the next significant rain.
If we cannot find it on the first visit
It happens, and any contractor who says otherwise is overselling. Some leaks only appear under particular conditions — wind-driven rain from one direction, a specific temperature, or several hours of sustained rain rather than a downpour.
Where that is the case we say so and come back, ideally while it is raining. What we will not do is guess, replace something plausible, and invoice you for it.
Where Houston Roof Leaks Actually Start
In thirteen years the same handful of failure points account for most of what we find. Almost none of them is the shingle above the stain.
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Pipe boots
The rubber collar around a vent pipe. It cracks in Texas UV, usually first, and it is the single most common leak we find.
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Step and wall flashing
Where the roof meets a wall or chimney. Water gets behind it and runs inside the wall, surfacing far from the entry point.
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Valleys
Where two slopes meet, carrying the most water on the roof. Pine needles pack in, hold moisture, and the metal beneath corrodes.
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Nail pops
Decking expands and contracts in Houston heat until nails back out and lift the shingle above. Small, common, and easy to miss.
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Skylights and penetrations
Anything cut through the roof plane. The seal fails before the unit does.
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Ventilation and condensation
Not a leak at all — a poorly ventilated attic condenses moisture on the underside of the decking and drips. Diagnosed as a leak and repaired as one, it never goes away.
Common Questions
How much does leak detection cost?
The inspection is free, including the thermal scan, the moisture readings and the photo record. You keep all of it whether or not you hire us.
The repair is quoted separately. Repairs start at $195, with most single-issue repairs between $350 and $900. Twenty common repairs are priced in full on our repair page.
Why not just patch where the stain is?
Because water travels. It enters at one point, runs along decking or down a rafter, and surfaces wherever it finds a gap in the ceiling — routinely several feet from the entry point, sometimes in another room.
Patching where the stain is treats the exit, not the entrance. It is the most common reason a leak comes back the following season.
Can you find a leak when it is not raining?
Usually. Wet insulation and damp decking hold a different temperature from dry material for days after the rain stops, so a thermal scan finds them well after the fact, and a moisture meter confirms it.
Some leaks only appear under specific conditions — wind-driven rain from one direction, or several hours of sustained rain. Where that is the case we say so and come back, ideally while it is raining.
Is it a leak, or is it condensation?
A question worth asking, because the two look identical from inside and the fix is completely different. A poorly ventilated Houston attic condenses moisture on the underside of the decking, which then drips.
Repaired as a leak, it never goes away, and the homeowner concludes the roofer was incompetent. We check ventilation and attic temperature as part of the inspection specifically to rule this out.
Will my insurance cover it?
If the damage came from a covered peril — hail, wind, a fallen branch — often yes. Wear, age and lack of maintenance are not covered, and that distinction decides most Texas claims.
Our documentation is what a claim runs on either way. How Texas roof claims work.
What warranty comes with the repair?
24 months on the workmanship, where most Houston contractors offer three to six.
If you later replace the roof with us, we credit up to 25% of the repair cost against the replacement.
Where we cover
Greater Houston from two offices — Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Waller counties.
Book a free leak inspection
Thermal scan, moisture readings, drone survey and a photo record — yours to keep whether or not you hire us.
JC&C Roofing Company · 1431 Graham Dr #266, Tomball, TX 77375 · 1220 Blalock Rd #345, Houston, TX 77055 · hello@jccroofing.com