Roofs in a Reserve Study
The roof is usually the largest single component in a community's reserve study, which means an inaccurate roof number distorts the whole funding plan.
What California requires
The Davis-Stirling Act requires a community association to conduct a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection of the accessible areas of the major components it is obligated to repair, replace, restore or maintain, at least once every three years, and to review its reserve study annually — Civil Code §5550.
Confirm the current requirements and how they apply to your association with your association's counsel or reserve analyst. The obligation also sits alongside annual budget disclosure requirements that summarise the reserve funding plan to members.
What a reserve study's roof number usually is
An estimate based on age, a standard expected service life, and a unit cost from a cost database. It is a perfectly reasonable planning figure and it is not a condition assessment.
Two roofs the same age in the same community can differ by a decade in remaining life depending on ventilation, sun exposure, slope and whether a previous repair was done properly.
Where reserve roof numbers go wrong
- Assuming a tear-off when a second layer already exists, or the reverse
- No allowance for rotted sheathing, which appears on a large share of Sacramento re-roofs
- No allowance for correcting ventilation, which is frequently the reason the roof aged early
- Construction cost inflation since the last study, which on roofing has been significant
- Treating twenty buildings as one component with one replacement year
What we can give your analyst
- System type and approximate installed date per building
- Observed condition with photographs
- A remaining-useful-life opinion per roof, not per community
- Current replacement cost, with tear-off depth and rot allowance stated
- Which buildings could be phased and in what order
Common questions
How often does a California HOA have to inspect its roofs?
Davis-Stirling requires a visual inspection of accessible major components at least once every three years, with an annual review of the reserve study — Civil Code §5550. How that applies to your association is a question for your counsel or reserve analyst.
Will you provide remaining useful life figures for our reserve study?
Yes, per building, with photographs and the reasoning stated, in a form a reserve analyst can use directly. There is no charge for the assessment within Sacramento County.