Forensic Roofing Sciences

Minnesota · Forensic Roofing Sciences, our assessment firm

Evidence first. Always.

Most roofing assessments start with a bid. Ours start with a record.

We document the condition of roofs and building envelopes, track the storm events that put those assets at risk, and produce a record that holds up when someone asks how you know. We do not guess at causation. If the evidence supports a storm-damage finding, the report says so and shows why. If it does not, the report says that too.

The inspection costs you nothing. The record is yours whether or not you hire us.

Storm Check

See how many severe thunderstorm warnings have covered an address since 2021.

Warnings are issued by the National Weather Service. A warning is a reason to look at a roof, not a finding of damage.

  • 70+roof replacements since 2024
  • 15+years in financial services and insurance
  • 8Minnesota counties plus the Twin Cities metro
  • Since 2011serving Saint Paul neighborhoods

What a warning can mean on a roof

Storm Check tells you how often warnings covered an address. Hail size is what usually decides whether a roof was hurt. Slide to see common sizes at roughly actual scale.

Hail, to scale

Slide to compare common hail sizes. On most screens the stone is close to actual size.

PeaDimeQuarterGolf ballBaseball

Quarter · 1 in

Typical effects only. Actual damage depends on wind, roof age, material and installation, and only an inspection can document it.

Request an inspection

Three things we do

Assessment, intelligence and response — each one built around the same record.

Forensic assessment

An independent, on-site assessment of a roof or building envelope. We identify the systems, document their condition and any damage, look for the collateral evidence around them, and write it up with observations kept separate from findings. The result is a record you can hand to an owner, a lender, a carrier or a contractor without rewriting it for each one.

Storm intelligence

We track hail and wind events against your buildings' coordinates using public radar and ground reports. When a storm crosses one of your properties, you know which building, which day and roughly how severe — and you know where to look first, before a small problem becomes an interior one.

Rapid response

When something happens, someone answers. We respond within 24 hours with a defined escalation path: who comes out, what gets secured and documented first, and when you get the written record. Call 952.220.9026.

Who this is for

Anyone who needs to know the condition of a building — and be able to show how they know.

  • Homeowners who want an honest answer before they call their carrier, sign a contract, or spend money on a roof that may have years left.
  • Property managers and multi-building owners who need one consistent record across every building, not a different contractor's opinion on each.
  • Institutions and facility teams — schools, healthcare, churches, municipalities and campuses — that answer to boards and budgets and need documentation that stands up to review.
  • Buyers, sellers, lenders and agents who need the condition of a roof and envelope documented during a transaction, before it becomes a dispute.

What we document

Every assessment covers the same ground, so records from different buildings and different years can be compared.

RIDGEDECKRoof deckIce and water shieldUnderlaymentShinglesFlashingGuttersSoft metalsVents

Tap or hover a layer

Each layer of a roof tells part of the story. Pick one to see what we document there.

From deck to ridge: deck, ice and water shield, underlayment, shingles, flashing, gutters, soft metals and vents.

Request an inspection

System identificationWhat the roof and envelope are made of: material, assembly, approximate age and how the systems meet at edges, walls and penetrations.
ConditionThe general state of each system apart from any storm: wear, aging, maintenance issues and how much service life appears to remain.
DamageSpecific, located damage — where it is, what it looks like, how extensive it is — photographed and measured.
Collateral evidenceThe surrounding marks that help explain what happened: gutters, downspouts, vents, window wraps, screens, equipment and neighboring surfaces.
Environmental contextThe weather history and site conditions around the building: recorded storm events, exposure and drainage, from public sources.
ConsequenceWhat the documented conditions mean for the building: what needs attention now, what can wait, and what is likely to happen if nothing is done.

What you receive

A record built to be read by someone who was not there.

  • A written report with observations separated from findings. What we saw is recorded on its own; what we concluded from it is stated separately, with the reasoning.
  • A located, dated photo record. Every photo tied to where on the building it was taken and when.
  • Measured geometry and quantities. Areas, pitches, edges and component counts taken at the building.
  • An optional scope. If you want one, a written scope of the work the record supports — which you can take to any contractor you like.

Request a report  We'll inspect and send you a written condition report.

How it works

  1. Tell usAbout the building and what prompted the request — a storm, a leak, a sale, or a question.
  2. ScheduleWe set a time for the on-site assessment that works for you and anyone who needs access.
  3. AssessWe document the building on site, inside and out where it matters.
  4. ReportYou receive the written report and photo record, typically in about five business days.
  5. You decideRepair, claim, sale, maintenance — or nothing. The record is yours either way.

Know which of your buildings was hit, and when

Storm intelligence for owners who cannot be on every roof after every storm.

We register the coordinates of each building you want watched. When hail or damaging wind crosses one of them — based on public radar estimates and ground reports — you hear about it with the building, the date and an indication of severity. Instead of wondering after every storm, you know where to look first.

Over time you build a documented exposure history for every asset: which storms crossed it, when, and what a follow-up assessment found. That history is useful at renewal, at sale, and whenever someone asks when the damage happened.

Who this is worth it for

  • Owners and managers with several buildings, or buildings spread across counties.
  • Institutions and facility teams who need to know about exposure before occupants report a leak.
  • Owners of large or hard-to-reach roofs that nobody checks after every storm.

What this is not

  • Not lead generation. We do not sell or share your building list, and nobody knocks on your tenants' doors.
  • Not a forecast. It reports storms that happened, not storms that might.
  • Not a finding. A radar estimate is a reason to look, not a finding of damage. Only an on-site assessment can document what actually happened to the building.

Portfolio members

For owners who want storm intelligence and assessments working together across every building.

Portfolio members

AD CULMEN report dossier — available to portfolio members. Request the dossier and we'll walk your buildings and build your portfolio record.

Request the dossier

One record per building, kept current

Portfolio members have each building watched for storm events and assessed on a schedule that fits the portfolio. Over time you build a documented exposure history for every asset — one place to see what each building is, what condition it is in, and what has happened to it.

Access is by request, and a request is a site visit: request the dossier and we'll walk your buildings and build your portfolio record.

About Aaron · Founder

Hi, I'm Aaron Forsman.

I started Forensic Roofing Sciences, our assessment firm, because of something I kept seeing on roofs across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The thing that is wrong with how this industry works

A storm comes through. A contractor climbs the roof, takes a dozen photos that support a bid, and leaves. A few weeks later a carrier representative climbs the same roof, takes a dozen photos that support a decision, and leaves. Neither set of photos is wrong, exactly. But both are incomplete, both were taken to answer someone else's question, and the owner is left in the middle trying to decide which story to believe — usually without anyone having measured, located or dated the evidence in a way that holds up.

Before roofing I spent more than 15 years in financial services and insurance — with Aflac, Allstate and State Farm, three Fortune 500 companies, and one of the largest IMOs in the country. At Allstate in 2019 and 2020 I finished first in the Midwest and third in the country for life, financial planning and business sales. Those years were in sales, and they taught me what carriers need to see in a file — and how rarely they get it.

Since 2024 I have led more than 70 roof replacements, more than 30 of them in Minnesota and Wisconsin, through our roofing company, Forsman Roofing Solutions. From 2011 to 2013 I served on the Lexington-Hamline Community Council board in Saint Paul, working with the City on a home-improvement and first-time homebuyer fund. My family has been in the Sauk Centre area for more than thirty years.

So this firm does it the other way round.

We start with the record. We document the whole building, separate what we observed from what we concluded, and hand the owner a report that answers one question honestly: what is the condition of this building, and what does the evidence show happened to it? Whatever comes next — a repair, a claim, a sale, or nothing at all — starts from the same set of facts.

What I'll tell you plainly:

  • If your roof doesn't need replacing, I'll tell you.
  • If the evidence doesn't support a storm-damage finding, the report will say so.
  • If I'm not the right person for your building, I'll say so and tell you who might be.

Independent by design

Why Forensic Roofing Sciences and Forsman Roofing Solutions are separate.

An assessment produced by the company that wants the repair contract is worth less. Everyone reading it knows who benefits from the conclusion. That is why the assessment work lives in its own firm, Forensic Roofing Sciences, and the construction work lives in our roofing company, Forsman Roofing Solutions. They are sister firms with separate jobs.

Take our assessment to any contractor you like. Nothing in the report depends on who builds the repair, and you are never asked to hire Forsman Roofing Solutions to get it. We document damage and work with your adjuster at your request.

We are not public adjusters. We do not interpret insurance policies, advise on coverage, or adjust or negotiate claims. When a repair is built by Forsman Roofing Solutions, no part of a deductible is paid, absorbed, rebated or waived; Minnesota law prohibits it (Minn. Stat. § 325E.66).

Rapid response

Storm damage, an active leak, or a building that needs to be documented before anything changes? Call. We respond within 24 hours with a defined escalation path.

952.220.9026

Or email [email protected].

Request an inspection

Request an inspection

Name, phone, address and a time window. The inspection costs you nothing. The record is yours whether or not you hire us. Want the written report or the portfolio dossier? Use the links below — each one is a site visit.

Request a report — we'll inspect and send you a written condition report.

Request the dossier — we'll walk your buildings and build your portfolio record.

  1. 1 · RequestName, phone, address and a time window.
  2. 2 · We call or textWithin one business day to lock a time.
  3. 3 · We inspectYou keep the record either way.

Forensic Roofing Sciences, our assessment firm · Saint Paul, MN. We use your information only to respond to your request. We don't sell or share it.

Property type
What prompted the request?

Thank you. Request received.

We will reply within one business day.

Need us sooner? Call 952.220.9026.