Checking your roof and exterior walls before winter hits

What to look at along the roof edge and eaves

Start at the roof edge, since this is where water concentrates and where damage shows first. Look for lifted, cracked or missing tiles or sheets, especially along the bottom row and near any valleys. On older roofs, check whether the roofing felt underneath is visible or torn where covering has shifted.

The fascia board and soffit deserve a proper look too. Peeling paint, soft patches when you press with a thumb, or dark staining usually mean water has been sitting there longer than it should. On panel-block extensions and wooden houses alike, this is often the first place rot sets in because it is out of sight from the ground.

While you are up there, this is also the moment to check the gutters themselves are still pitched correctly and not pulling away from the fascia. If they are full of debris or sagging, our gutter cleaning service (from 120 € per job) sorts that out before the first hard frost.

The condition of the chimney and flashing, seen from the ground

You do not need to climb onto the roof to check a chimney. From the ground, or from an upstairs window, look for a chimney that leans, for missing render, or for a crumbling cement cap on top. Loose bricks or wide cracks in the mortar joints are worth photographing and mentioning to whoever services your heating.

Flashing is the metal strip sealing the join between chimney and roof, and around any roof windows or vents. Watch for it lifting at the edges, rusting through, or having been patched with sealant that has since cracked. This is a common source of slow leaks that only become obvious as a stain on the ceiling months later.

If you can see daylight through a gap, or the flashing has clearly come away from the surface, that is not a paint-and-wait situation. It needs resealing or replacing before snow settles against it.

Inspecting the facade and any exposed timber

Walk the full perimeter of the house and look at the cladding at eye level and above. On wooden houses in areas like Kalamaja or Nõmme, check window sills, corner boards and the base of vertical boarding, since these hold moisture longest. Push a screwdriver gently into any grey or soft-looking wood; if it sinks in easily, that is rot, not just weathering.

On plastered or panel-block facades, look for cracks that let water behind the surface, and for render that sounds hollow when tapped. Damp patches near ground level often point to a blocked downpipe or splashing from paving rather than a wall problem itself, so trace the water before assuming the worst.

Fences and gates take similar punishment and are easy to forget during a facade check. Loose posts, rotting bottom rails and gates that have dropped are worth fixing before winter frost heave makes the ground move further; our fence repair and installation work (from 45 € per hour) covers exactly this.

• Roof tiles or sheets: lifted, cracked, or missing
• Fascia and soffit: soft spots, staining, peeling paint
• Chimney: leaning, crumbling cap, loose mortar
• Flashing: rust, lifting edges, cracked sealant
• Cladding and sills: soft or grey timber, hollow-sounding render
• Ground level: damp patches, blocked downpipes, splashing

When looking from a ladder is enough, and when to call someone in

A visual check from a stable ladder against the eaves, or with binoculars from the garden, is enough to catch most of the issues above. If what you find is cosmetic paint wear or a bit of debris, it is genuinely a job you can tackle yourself with basic tools and a free Saturday.

Anything that involves walking on the roof itself, replacing tiles, resealing flashing at height, or working near a chimney is a different matter. Roofs get slippery even when dry, and a fall from a pitched surface is not a risk worth taking to save a callout fee.

If you are unsure what you are looking at, a photograph from the ground is often enough for us to tell you whether it needs a specialist roofer or whether it is within the scope of general building maintenance. Our office and building maintenance service (from 49 €/h) covers smaller repairs to fascia, cladding and flashing that do not require roofing-specific equipment.

The best time of year to do this check

Late September to mid-October is the practical window in Estonia: the weather is usually still dry enough to inspect properly, and there is enough time left before the first snow to get any repairs done. Waiting until November often means booking a specialist into a queue that is already full.

It is worth repeating a shorter version of the same check in spring, once the snow has gone and the thaw has finished. Ice sitting on a roof for weeks can lift tiles or open up flashing that looked fine in autumn, so a look in April catches anything the winter caused.

A dry stretch in summer is the easiest time to actually carry out repairs, since materials like sealant and paint need dry, warm conditions to cure properly. Treat autumn as the inspection, and summer as the fix, and you are working with the climate rather than against it.