According to Genesis 8, Noah removed the covering from the ark to see whether the waters had dried.
Genesis 8:13 says that Noah removed the covering and looked out, finding that the surface of the ground was dry. This happens after the raven and dove episodes and after the ark had come to rest in the mountains of Ararat. The passage then records God’s command for Noah, his family, and the animals to leave the ark.
The covering is not the same detail as the ark’s window. Genesis 8:6 says Noah opened the window after forty days, while Genesis 8:13 describes the later removal of the covering. Retellings often combine these actions into one general image of Noah looking outside.
Genesis does not describe the covering’s material, design, or mechanism. It also does not say that Noah dismantled the roof. The precise action is simply that he removed the covering and observed the dry ground.