Drone Roof Inspection: Experience the Power of A Drone Roof Survey By Experts!

Location of the Property

Location is one of the important determinants of price. For example, there is a considerable difference between flying in the countryside vs. flying in the city. 

Inspections in the city generally have additional flight restrictions which can influence the price.

Services Required

The cost of drone inspections really depends on the specific services required, the size of the roof, location of the property, level of reporting detail and whether additional services such as thermal or 3D modelling are also required.

Drone Specifications

When considering which drone is most suitable for roof inspections, there are a number of points to consider:

Camera Selection & Quality

To make sure you get the quality of images that you need to be able to clearly identify condition and damage, it's important to consider which is the best camera for your needs.

When looking at cameras, it's also important to bear in mind whether the camera you intend to use has a zoom capability. Zoom cameras are able to capture close up detail whilst still operating at a safe distance.

DJI, Yuneec and Parrot are a few of the most popular makes of drone that provide some excellent options with cameras tailored to all kinds of needs.

Higher end drones are more likely to feature full 360 degree gimbal features or detachable cameras for more photographic options that capture images and cameras with a higher dynamic range. Higher quality gimbals are better able to keep the camera steady while taking pictures of the roof's surface.

Safety Functions

Depending on the type of drone you use, higher end models are also likely to have a number of useful safety features to help prevent accidents or drone loss. Below are some examples of factors to consider when looking at safety features:

Battery Life

A specification you should consider is battery life if you intend to be flying for extended periods over twenty minutes.While some commercial drones can fly for over 30 minutes or more, drones with longer flight capacity tend to those in the higher budget range.

Consider the time you may need to position your drone in exactly the right place and that you will need to allow some spare battery capacity to be able to safely return to home when working out your exact flying time requirements.

Weight Limits

Weight is an important factor when choosing a drone as if your drone is over 250g as there are legal restrictions of where these may be flown in the UK and appropriate training and accreditations are sought.

You need to be fully aware of the UK Drone Guidelines which will give clear advice on ground and air hazards to review before deciding whether your drone can be safely flown.

Drones are regulated by the UK's CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).

Safety Issues

First and foremost, there's a considerable emphasis on safety. There's no longer a need to put human lives in danger. Roof work can be hazardous and drones mitigate this risk significantly. 

According to the HSE, falls from height account for 41% of construction worker deaths and they advise to avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so.

Gaining clear inspection data from a drone allows for improved work flow and safety planning.

Efficiency

Using drones can collect data far more quickly and efficiently when compared to traditional methods. The data collected can be processed and sent on to be reviewed soon after each survey has taken place.

Automation

Automated processes and cloud-based data are increasingly replacing traditional and more cumbersome methods.

Drone roof inspections are a great example of that. This minimises the risk of human error, incomplete data, delays and possible defects.

Reaching Inaccessible Areas

Drones can quickly gather images of difficult to access areas which may not be safe to access via other means.

Creating 3D Models

As drones are able to quickly and effectively capture high resolution imagery from multiple angles, this allows the potential for accurate 3D virtual models to be built via a process called photogrammetry.

The resulting model can rotated or inspected from any angle or position.

Selecting a drone provider

In some scenarios it can be worth bringing in a specialist drone provider to carry out the survey for you. Some of the benefits of this are that they should know all of the legislation, the best methods for completing and be able to offer a far wider range of options as well as making sure the work is safe and compliant with the law.

If you only need a single item of work completed this can end up being far more cost effective when using a qualified drone pilot. Not only that but the end results you receive are liable to be far better than you could get on your own.

If you are a contracting on behalf of a business, subcontracting can allow you to have a specialist on hand, allowing you more time to focus on your core business. If you do decide that this is the best option for you below are a few factors to consider when deciding the best company to select.

Final Thoughts

Drone roof inspections represent an improved method of examining rooftops safely and quickly.

They're used in a growing number of industries such as real estate, insurance, construction, roofing, property management and more.