---
title: "Roof Damage Report Methodology | What It Covers"
description: "How a Forensalytic roof damage report analyzes photos: mechanism-based evaluation, evidence, consistency analysis, estimate and limits."
url: https://roof4est.forensalytic.com/roof-damage-report-methodology-explained.html
---

# Roof Damage Report Methodology: How Observed Roof Damage Is Analyzed

A Forensalytic forensic roof report evaluates the roof conditions visible in submitted photos and explains which physical mechanisms those conditions are consistent with. This page explains what each part of the report is, how the analysis is done, and what it does not claim.

## What the report contains

- A cover page with the report number, property address, publication date, and aerial and street views of the property
- A photo-by-photo analysis of the visible conditions in every submitted image
- A system-level consistency analysis that compares the photos with each other
- A preliminary roof estimate built from imagery-based measurements
- A methodology and standards reference that states what the analysis does and does not determine


## How each photo is analyzed

Every photo is evaluated the same way and produces the same five fields, so reports can be read and compared without guessing what a section means.

A mechanism is the physical process that the visible conditions are consistent with: the way a force, exposure or movement acts on the roof system to produce what the photo shows.

- Primary damage location: where on the roof the condition is visible, such as the rake edge, eave edge, roof field or a roof-to-wall interface
- Predominant mechanism: the physical response most consistent with what is visible
- Secondary mechanism(s): other responses that are compatible with the same evidence, or "not observable"
- Evidence: the specific visible conditions, listed one by one
- Conclusion: A conclusion statement that explains which evidence is consistent with the primary damage location's mechanism.

A photo with nothing observable is reported as "no observable findings" instead of being filled with speculation.


## The visible evidence it looks for

- Over 80 markers are reviewed as each photo is inspected by a frontier AI vision model
- The framework looks for evidence of those markers and additionally:
  - Patterns
  - Geometry
  - Size
  - Shape
  - Displacement
  - Distortion
  - Separation

## System-level consistency analysis

After the individual photos, the report checks whether the evidence agrees across the whole set. This section lists the mechanisms that are mechanically compatible with the pattern, the contributing conditions, and a condition-response load mapping that connects each visible condition to the response it explains. It ends with a convergence assessment that states how well independently observed regions of the roof point to the same mechanism.


## The preliminary roof estimate

Reports include a preliminary estimate that starts from measurements taken from imagery:

- Roof shape, sloped roof area, pitch, eave, rake and ridge lengths, and the number of roof planes detected
- Squares measured, the waste factor applied, and the order quantity in squares
- Roofing cost per square foot, plus gutters and fascia where they apply, and the total installed estimate

The estimate is a preliminary, imagery-based approximation. It is not a final contractor bid and does not reflect an in-person inspection, local permitting costs or site-specific conditions.


## Methodology and standards reference

The analysis follows a structured, observational, mechanism-based framework informed by publicly available technical literature and building-science resources, including FEMA, IBHS, WBDG, HUD, FM Global, NRCA, ASCE (including ASCE 7 concepts) and ASHRAE, along with peer-reviewed literature on roofing-system behavior and asphalt shingle performance. These references are illustrative and informational. They do not mean any individual standard was directly applied.

Every submission goes through the same standardized process with predefined observational constraints. Those constraints exist to keep the analysis consistent and to prevent unsupported extrapolation and speculative interpretation.

The report does not independently determine chronology, causation, liability, hidden conditions, structural adequacy, engineering certification or code compliance. It describes what is visible in the submitted imagery and which mechanisms that evidence is consistent with.

### Related Articles

- [AI Roof Damage Analysis from Photos](https://roof4est.forensalytic.com/ai-roof-damage-analysis-from-photos.html)
- [AI vs Human Roof Inspection](https://roof4est.forensalytic.com/ai-roof-inspection-vs-human-inspection.html)
- [How to Take Roof Photos](https://roof4est.forensalytic.com/how-to-take-roof-photos-for-ai-analysis.html)