Drone Roof Inspection: A Flight of Fancy?

You can’t fail to notice the increasing use of aerial drones in a wide range of fields; from photography and fun to search and rescue, but what benefits can UAV technology bring to the roof maintenance industry?

The most obvious application for an unmanned drone is to conduct roof inspections. In the past our only option was to send someone up to visually identify any damage. Not only is this job dangerous, but it is likely that clambering around broken shingles and loose tiles will exacerbate any existing problems.

You are also at the mercy of your customer’s schedule, as erecting scaffolding or ladders to reach a roof is often a major inconvenience, and sometimes requires planning weeks in advance.

The problems don’t stop once your workers have reached the roof, as tight angles and safety requirements make some areas un-viewable and completely off limits. This is where drone roof inspection offers a great advantage.

The Importance Of Drone Roof Surveys

Whereas previously you would need expensive equipment to guarantee the safety of a human worker, now the danger and cost are both minimised by sending a drone up to record photo and video of the suspected damage.

Drones can inspect places a human never could, or perhaps would ever want to. This also makes those endless Health and Safety forms a thing of the past, until the robots form a union of course.

You will also achieve a much better view of any potential repair job than you would from a single trip by a human with a camera. Modern HD video and image technology allows you to pinpoint specific areas with far greater accuracy than ever before.

It’s certainly more reliable than someone balancing on a ladder with one hand and taking shots with the other. Still photography and video recorded by the drone can then be inspected from the comfort of your desk on a laptop, and can even be shared with the client as a visual reference for the task at hand.

There are obviously some situations where a drone roof survey may not be the best course of action. Some damage may need to be physically inspected by hand, low-level roofing can often be quick to assess, and certain weather conditions make drone flight impossible.

Heavy rain, severe winds, and the presence of power lines or trees are just some of the obstacles which you’ll need to account for when deciding if your job requires the use a roof inspection drone.

The advantages of using unmanned drones to conduct roof inspections far outweigh the negatives. It is much easier and cheaper to arrange a drone flight than to book in all the variables required for a manned inspection.

At NWIR we offer a state of the art Drone Roof Inspection service which can provide an assessment of your roof’s condition in a fraction of the usual time, so call us now on 0800 046 1500 and book a Drone Roof Inspection today.