Should I Get a Drone Roof Inspection?

For commercial and residential properties, routine roof inspections are essential for assessing the condition of a roof, identifying potential damage, and monitoring the overall safety of a building. Traditionally, these inspections involve professionals physically climbing onto the roof, which can be time-consuming, risky, and difficult for certain types of roofs.

This is where drone roof inspections come in. They offer a faster, safer, and more efficient way to inspect roofs, capturing detailed aerial images and videos of hard-to-reach areas as and when they are required. However, when should you get a drone roof inspection, and how frequently are they required? This article will cover everything you need to know, from the benefits of drone surveys to choosing a reputable, fully qualified drone pilot. 

Contents

1. What Is a Drone Roof Inspection?
2. Where Are Drone Roof Inspections Used?
3. What Are the Benefits of Drone Roof Inspections?
4. What Are the Limitations of a Drone Roof Inspection?
5. How Often Should a Drone Roof Inspection be Carried Out?
6. How Much Do They Cost?
7. What Can Drone Inspection Reports Tell Us?
8. How to Choose a Drone Inspection Service
9. So, Should I Get a Drone Roof Inspection?

What Is a Drone Roof Inspection?

A drone roof inspection, sometimes known as a “drone survey” or “UAV inspection”, is a process in which a drone equipped with a high-resolution camera is used to survey and assess the condition of a roof. Instead of requiring an inspector to physically climb onto the roof, the drone flies over and captures detailed imagery and videos of the roof’s surface, highlighting issues such as leaks, cracks, or structural damage.

The data captured by drones can be used to create insightful, actionable and easy-to-read reports: 

• Photogrammetry: Taking measurements from photographs to create digital 3D models. 
• Orthomosaics: 2D aerial photographs comprising tens, hundreds, or even thousands of smaller, overlapping images. 
• Thermal Drone Surveys: Thermal imaging cameras on a drone can help us understand areas of heat loss from a building, or structural weak points which may pose a risk. 

Where Are Drone Roof Inspections Used?

Drone roof inspections can be used across almost any property. Common examples include:

Large commercial and industrial properties, such as factories and warehouses.

Buildings with steep or complex roof structures, such as cathedrals or churches.

Buildings that require regular maintenance inspections, such as hospitals and schools.

Residential or commercial properties which have been damaged by a storm.

Properties that have had solar panels installed, to assess their condition.

Construction projects, where any roofing progress checks are required.

What Are the Benefits of Drone Roof Inspections?

There are a wide range of benefits to using a drone for successful roof inspections, such as:

• Safety: Using a drone removes the need for inspectors to physically climb onto a roof, meaning there is no risk of falls or accidents, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
• Problem Detection: Drones can detect issues such as areas of roof damage before the issue worsens, allowing the property owner to act swiftly. 
• Efficiency: Drones can quickly cover large areas, such as superstores, completing inspections much faster than traditional methods.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Fewer resources and labour are required, lowering the overall cost of each inspection. Installing scaffolding for traditional surveys isn’t cheap!
• High-Quality Data: Drones capture detailed, high-resolution images, enabling thorough analysis, 3D mapping, and accurate assessments.
• Comprehensive Reports: You receive the full footage captured in your drone survey report. This means you can see the state of the roof for yourself and make an informed decision.
• Reports You Can Trust: Once you receive your roof inspection report, you can take your results to a roofing maintenance company, meaning you won’t get sold on problems that aren’t there.
• Minimal Disruption: Inspections can be conducted without interrupting daily operations or requiring scaffolding or ladders, meaning you can continue to trade as usual.

What Are the Limitations of a Drone Roof Inspection?

Like most things, there are a small number of limitations associated with drone surveys, although experienced pilots will easily overcome these issues! These limitations include:

• Weather Dependency: Drones cannot operate effectively in poor weather conditions, such as heavy rain or high winds, which can impact flight stability and image quality.
• Regulations: Drone flights are subject to local regulations and airspace restrictions, which may limit where and when drones can be flown.
• Limited Physical Interaction: Drones can only provide visual data and cannot perform physical tests like checking for roof strength or material condition.

It is worth noting that traditional roof inspections also suffer from these same limitations, as they become riskier in poor weather, and scaffolding regulations can be even more strict than drone flying regulations.

How Often Should a Drone Roof Inspection Be Carried Out?

As a general rule of thumb, drone roof inspection should typically be carried out at least once a year as part of routine maintenance to monitor the roof's condition, ideally ahead of the winter season. For properties with ageing roofs or buildings subject to extreme weather, these surveys may need to be carried out more frequently than usual.

Routine drone roof inspections can help you to notice problems before they arise, by comparing previous drone roof reports to new ones. The high-quality cameras attached to drones can help to identify defects on the roofing system before they become a serious issue. Often before these issues are noticeable or visible to the human eye!

How Much Do They Cost?

There’s no “one price fits all” answer to this question, but there are rough guidelines which indicate that a service is both quality and reasonably priced. Residential drone surveys are typically the cheapest since they are usually more simple structures, typically starting at £400. 

The pricing starts to rise for more complex structures, such as large industrial units, or heritage buildings, such as churches. These will often start at £600 but can go into the thousands for large commercial properties which take longer to inspect and analyse the data for.

What Will a Drone Roof Report Show Me?

The drone roof report you receive after your inspection will give you a huge range of relevant information, depending on the drone survey service you choose. Our drone roof reports provide all the raw data for you to see yourself, as well as our in-depth and expert roofing analysis. This will provide you with information on things such as:

• Structural integrity
• Water damage
• Material wear and tear
• Roof age and quality
• Areas of heat loss
• Debris and obstruction
• Damage caused by storms
• Condition of solar panels

How To Choose a Drone Inspection Service

Choosing the right drone roof inspection service for your needs is simple, as long as you know the key things to look out for. Your service provider should:

• Offer a range of different drone roofing services to handle varying inspection needs.
• Display specialist knowledge in roofing, knowing the types of things to look out for.
• Use high-tech specialist equipment, such as thermal imaging, and be qualified to do so.
• Produce honest reports, with no vested interest in finding non-existent damage.
• Create accurate reports that are easy to make sense of and action. 
• Offer fair-priced inspections - too cheap may demonstrate a lack of experience or low-quality equipment, but too expensive puts people out of pocket!
• Respond to callout requests promptly, something which large companies may not be able to do.

So, Should I Get a Drone Roof Inspection?

Deciding whether to opt for a drone roof inspection depends on your specific needs. If you’re due a roof inspection, or your building is often subject to adverse weather conditions, take advantage of this modern solution over a traditional roof inspection. Alternatively, if you think your roof has already sustained some damage, a drone roof report could be beneficial to show you a clearer picture of any damage, allowing you to act swiftly to get it repaired.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective, non-invasive inspection method and don’t need hands-on assessments, a drone roof inspection that gives you a clear, drone roof condition report could be the right choice for you. Otherwise, consider whether the situation warrants a more traditional approach.

No Need for Ladders and Scaffolding - Full View Have You Covered

When it comes to the things you should be looking for in a drone inspection service, we tick every box. We are affordable, efficient, and honest, demonstrating roofing expertise during every inspection that we conduct. For any questions, please feel free to make an enquiry online or call us at 01993 259228, and we’ll be happy to help.

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