The replacement roof looks finished from the drive. The scaffold is booked for removal, but the roofer guarantee handover is missing checks of the rear chimney flashing and photographs of the far valley.
Stop the removal. A roofer guarantee handover has two gates. Inspect and record the finished roof while safe access remains. Then prove what was installed, changed, guaranteed and invoiced before you issue the final pack.
Build the roofer guarantee handover list from the accepted scope
Start with the accepted quote or contract. Not the crew’s memory. Not the invoice draft.
Read the scope line by line. Turn each promised item into an inspection point. List every roof area, covering, ridge, hip, valley, flashing, penetration and drainage item included in the work.
Carry the exclusions across as well. If the quote excluded a porch roof, internal decoration or work to a separate gutter run, keep that exclusion visible. A handover record must not suggest that excluded work was completed.
Add approved variations to the finished-work record
Attach every approved variation to the original scope. Show where the extra work was completed and where it appears on the final invoice.
Hidden deck damage is the common trap. The team repairs it after strip-off, but the approval stays in a message thread. Use a controlled roofer variation process for hidden deck work before the repair disappears under the finished covering.
Do not close the job while completed extra work has no approval record. Resolve the gap first.
Give one person control of the pack
Name one person to collect the roof completion documents. That person checks the inspection record, photo index, guarantee documents, product records, variations and invoice reference.
Use one working folder. Set a cut-off for additions. Without an owner, the product warranty sits in one inbox while the completion photos sit on a tradesperson’s phone.
Keep safe access until the roof inspection is finished
Do not remove the scaffold or other safe access because the covering looks complete from ground level. Finish the planned inspection and close-up photography first.
Keep the job’s access controls in place. Direct questions about scaffold, edge protection and workplace safety to the Health and Safety Executive (opens in a new tab). The HSE does not decide guarantee wording or which client documents apply.
Walk the roof in a fixed order
Carry the accepted scope and variation list. Start at a named roof area and work around the building in the same direction every time.
Check:
- Each roof plane and its visible covering
- Ridges, hips, valleys, verges, eaves and other edges
- Chimney, wall and parapet junctions included in the scope
- Apron, step and other specified flashings
- Vents, pipes, rooflights and other penetrations
- Gutters, outlets and connections included in the work
- Visible damage, loose edges, gaps, debris and leftover fixings
Compare installed products and details with the descriptions the client accepted. Check the recorded profile, colour, component and roof area. If a substitution was agreed, attach that agreement.
A ground check cannot show every outlet or flashing edge. The roof can look tidy from the drive while debris remains in a rear outlet.
Mark the exact location of a fault
Write a location another tradesperson can find without calling you. “Flashing issue” tells them nothing. “Rear roof plane, chimney upstand, left side when viewed from the scaffold” gives them a start point.
Add the required action. Separate a defect from unfinished contracted work. Both stay open, but the person returning needs to know whether they are repairing installed work or completing a missing item.
Take completion photos that can answer a later query
Plan the photo set before anybody starts dismantling access. A phone full of unlabelled images is not evidence you can use quickly.
Photograph each roof plane first. Include enough of the property to identify the area. Then move closer to the details.
Record:
- Valleys, ridges, hips and roof edges
- Chimney, wall and parapet flashings
- Rooflights, vents, pipes and other penetrations
- Gutters, outlets and drainage details in the scope
- Finished variation work
- Every closed snag after reinspection
- Product labels or identifiers that belong in the job record
Do not take only attractive front-elevation pictures. Photograph the parts that would answer a leak, finish or scope query later.
Keep evidence of concealed work
Save installation-stage photographs of work covered by the finished roof. This can include deck repairs, underlay details and concealed flashing work.
Connect each image to the scope or approved variation. Do not ask the client to accept concealed work merely because a completion photo shows the covering above it.
Label every file
Use a file name that identifies the job, roof area, detail and date. Keep the same roof-area names in the quote, inspection record and photo index.
A practical pattern is:
[job-reference]-[roof-area]-[detail]-[date]
Add a short caption where the image needs context. State what the picture shows. Do not use the caption to make a guarantee claim.
Close every snag before marking the roof complete
Give each snag a location, action, owner and status. “The crew knows” is not a status.
Record what was found and what must happen next. Note whether the return visit needs scaffold, another access method, materials or another trade. Keep the item open until somebody reinspects the repair.
Attach a closing photograph. Add the inspection date and the name of the person who closed it. A message saying “done” does not replace that record.
If the client needs documents while work remains open, label the pack interim. List the outstanding item and next action. Do not issue a final completion statement while a known defect or contracted item remains unfinished.
Release the scaffold only after sign-off
Name the person who signs off the completion inspection. Before that person releases the scaffold, confirm that the required photographs are in the index and every snag needing scaffold access is closed.
Record the sign-off and tell the scaffold provider that removal can proceed. Do not rely on an informal message from somebody who has not checked the inspection record.
Do not use one UK completion-document list
The contract, work and property location decide which approval and completion records apply. Do not copy a list from another job and assume it fits.
For a property in England, use the GOV.UK building regulations approval guidance (opens in a new tab) to identify the correct building control route. Ask that body which approvals, inspections and completion record apply to the property, then write down the answer.
For a property in Wales, check the Welsh Government building regulations guidance (opens in a new tab) and identify the building control route for that address. Confirm the required approvals, inspections and completion record before issuing the pack.
For a property in Northern Ireland, use the nidirect building regulations guidance (opens in a new tab) to find the local building control route. Ask what approval, inspection and completion record applies to that property rather than carrying across an answer from England or Wales.
For a project in Scotland, ask building standards which approval and completion records apply. Use the Scottish Government building standards guidance (opens in a new tab) to find the proper route for that question.
Do not send product-warranty or workmanship-guarantee questions to building control or building standards. Those bodies deal with building regulations approval and project records, not the wording supplied by a product issuer or your business.
If the job is in Northern Ireland, keep its approval trail tied to that project. The Northern Ireland building control approval guide explains how to record that check without assuming the same process applies elsewhere in the UK.
Separate guarantees, warranties and approval records
Do not bundle different promises under one label. State what each document is, who issued it and which work or product it identifies.
Workmanship guarantee
A workmanship guarantee records the terms issued by your roofing business for identified installation work. Keep the issuer, covered work, property, issue date, stated conditions and claim route clear.
Do not expand the promise during handover. If the written terms do not say that the guarantee transfers to another owner, do not say that it does. If separate cover was arranged, identify its issuer and keep that document separate.
Product warranty
A product warranty belongs to the named product and issuer. Preserve its title, product description, identifiers, conditions and claim instructions.
Do not rewrite it as your own broader promise. Do not claim that registration has happened unless the job file contains the required confirmation.
Approval and completion records
An approval, inspection notice or completion record relates to the project’s building regulations route. It is not a workmanship guarantee and it is not a product warranty.
Keep each record under its proper name in the index. That lets the client find the right route without guessing which document covers the question.
Reconcile the scope, variations and final invoice
Match every billed item to the accepted scope or an approved variation. If it connects to neither, stop. Find the agreement or resolve the difference before issuing the final invoice.
Use the same descriptions across the documents. A vague invoice line makes the client rebuild the job from old messages. The guide to writing a clear quote shows how to state scope and exclusions before they become close-out problems.
Worked example: connect the approved change to the invoice
The Oak Street house example is electrical, but the commercial check is the same.
R. Chen at 14 Oak Street accepted Quote Q-1847 for a bathroom exhaust fan, 150mm and ducted through the roof, plus four LED downlights. The quote was 1,105. The ceiling was lined, and chasing was excluded.
Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 variation. Invoice INV-1847 was 1,265. The variation explains the difference between the quote and invoice. All figures are sample currency units, not roofing rates.
Do not calculate job profit from that invoice. The costs of the variation are not given.
Keep internal labour, material, overhead and cost tracking records in the business job file unless the contract or a requirement says they must be supplied. Use the finished-job cost tracking guide for that separate review.
Assemble one indexed set of roof warranty records
One pack. One version. One issue date.
Use this client handover checklist as the cover. Add or remove fields to match the contract and the project-specific document check.
ROOF REPLACEMENT HANDOVER RECORD Job reference: [reference] Client: [name] Property: [address and postcode] Issue date: [date] Pack version: [version] Pack status: [interim/final] Issued by: [name] AGREED WORK Accepted quote or contract: [reference] Completed roof areas and items: [list] Accepted exclusions: [list] Approved variations: [reference each variation] Final invoice reference: [reference] INSPECTION RECORD Completion inspection date: [date] Inspector: [name] Safe-access inspection completed: [yes/no] Photo index: [file/reference] Open snags: [none for final status; list for interim status] Closed-snag evidence: [references] SUPPLIED RECORDS Workmanship guarantee: [document reference/not applicable after contract check/outstanding] Product warranty records: [issuer/product/reference] Approval or completion records: [body/document reference/not required after check] Care instructions: [document reference] Other contract documents: [list] CLIENT DELIVERY Delivery method: [email/portal/post/other] Delivery date: [date] Recipient: [name] Open actions disclosed: [none or list] Receipt recorded by: [method and date]
If the contract promised a workmanship guarantee and the document is outstanding, keep the pack at interim status. Final status requires no open snags and no promised handover document left outstanding.
Do not use “not required” unless you have recorded how that decision was checked. Do not use the client’s acknowledgement as proof that concealed work is defect-free.
Give the final file a controlled name. If a missing document arrives later, issue a new version and state what changed. Never silently replace the copy already sent.
Walk the client through care and reporting
Show the client where the workmanship terms, product records, approval documents and care instructions sit. Use the supplied care wording. Do not invent extra maintenance conditions at handover.
Give separate routes for an active water-entry report and a routine document question. Tell the client what information helps you locate the job:
- Property address and job reference
- Roof area involved
- When the issue was noticed
- Photos taken from a safe place
- Details of later roof access, alteration or third-party work
- The guarantee or product document involved, if known
Do not tell the client to climb onto the roof. Ask for safe ground-level or internal photos where useful, then decide what access your return visit needs.
Record later work if the client reports it. Keep the details with the issued roofer guarantee handover because work around solar equipment, aerials, vents or other roof details can matter when you inspect a later problem.