Roof Inspections Pile Up in Denver

It will take four more weeks for city inspectors to finish signing off on roofs repaired after hail damage this summer, city officials in Denver, Colo., said.

Denver normally completes inspections of new or repaired roofs required by insurance companies within 24 hours of a request. This summer, the backlog reached an estimated 1,300 to 1,500 inspection requests with an estimated wait of nine to 12 weeks.

There are still 1,060 inspection requests pending.

Robert Reed said the backlog is holding up $1,500 in insurance money for his hail-damaged roof. He must provide an inspection report on his new roof before getting the money.

Denver officials blamed the inspection backlog on a staffing shortage and severe hail damage that led to $146 million in insurance claims.

City officials said they would train other inspectors to do roof inspections to help out.

Elsewhere, Jefferson County inspectors are about four days behind their regular schedule. Lakewood has a two-day wait, up from its regular one-day wait. Golden, which this year has done at least triple its regular number of inspections, is on schedule.

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