National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) — Practice Exam
Roof: practice questions
Our Home Inspector (NHIE) bank has 17 questions on this topic. Here are 4 of them with answers; the full mock exam draws from every topic, like the real one.
Question 1
A rubber plumbing vent boot is cracked. What can result?
- Nothing
- The vent pipe freezes solid in summer and splits open
- Sewer gas stops venting through the roof
- Water leaks into the attic around the pipe
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D. Water leaks into the attic around the pipe — Deteriorated boots are a typical penetration defect.
Question 2
What is a common defect of low-slope (flat) roofs?
- Ponding water that doesn't drain within a reasonable time
- Shingles curling and losing granules faster than they would on a steeper roof
- Granule loss
- Missing ridge vents
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A. Ponding water that doesn't drain within a reasonable time — Ponding is listed under roof drainage defects.
Question 3
What is the purpose of drip edge?
- Holding the gutters up
- Directing water off the roof edge and away from the fascia
- Venting the attic at the eaves so that warm, moist air can escape
- Preventing ice dams entirely
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B. Directing water off the roof edge and away from the fascia — IRC requires drip edge at eaves and rakes for shingle roofs.
Question 4
Under InterNACHI's standards, from where may an inspector inspect the roof?
- Only from inside the attic
- From ground level or the eaves, without being required to walk on it
- Only from a drone flight
- Only by walking the entire roof surface, since viewing from the ground is not allowed
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B. From ground level or the eaves, without being required to walk on it — SOP 3.1; walking on the roof is not required.