What to do, and when

Keep the penetrations honest

Pipe boots crack, sealant shrinks, and satellite mounts get screwed straight through the covering. Every penetration is a hole somebody decided to make watertight, and each is worth a look.

Twice a year, from the ground

Walk the perimeter with binoculars if you have them. You are looking for missing or lifted material, dark patches, sagging lines, and anything growing where it should not be. Ten minutes, twice a year.

Cut back anything touching the roof

Overhanging limbs cause three problems at once: abrasion, permanent shade that keeps a slope damp, and a highway for rodents into the attic.

Look in the attic after heavy weather

Check after the first real weather of the season rather than at the end of it. A small stain found in autumn is a cheap repair; the same stain found in spring is not.

Clear the gutters before the wet season

Gutters full of grit are not just a drainage problem — the grit is your roof, and its presence tells you something about how far along the covering is.

Deal with growth properly

Cleaning a roof aggressively does more damage than the growth was doing. Gentle treatment, patience, and a strip at the ridge to stop it returning.

In short

Put two dates in the calendar, one either side of November through March. That is the whole programme.