Roof Inspections

What you need to know about roof inspections with drones

The roof of your building can be easy to ignore — until suddenly it’s not. Small damage from weathering and aging, as well as less subtle threats like storms, can slowly eat away at the performance and stability of your roof, until one day you wake up in need of emergency repairs, and end up stuck with a far larger bill than you ever expected.

The solution? Regular, thorough roof inspections conducted by American Drone Solutions. From reducing man-hours to ensuring more comprehensive analysis, drones have revolutionized the way property owners and contractors alike think about roof assessment.

When and why you need a roof inspection

Whether you own a residential or commercial property, it’s important to know what kind of wear and tear your roof has sustained and look for signs of adverse issues that could arise down the road.

Some reasons you may need American Drone Solutions for your roof inspection include:

Warranty protection: Many warranty agreements require property owners to perform a roof inspection on a set basis for the warranty to remain in effect.

Check for weathering: Weather damage is a tricky thing. On a day-to-day basis, you may not notice many changes. However, the quality of your roof will slowly deteriorate if it isn't properly maintained. An inspection can help you to spot problem areas early and do course-corrective repairs before you need to foot a larger bill.

Leak assessment: There’s nothing worse than a leaking roof. Simple as that.

Drainage issues: Few roof-related problems can be as devastating as clogged drains. If left unchecked for extended periods, these can cause buildups of water that eventually begin to leak through the ceiling and cause damage property-wide. A roof inspection can spot pile-ups of leaves and debris in your gutters and help prevent an issue down the road.

Maintenance damage: While you would always assume that the contractors you hire for other jobs, such as replacing tiles or clearing drains, wouldn’t create new problems, this expectation doesn’t always match reality. If damage goes unreported — whether intentionally or simply because the contractor was unaware of an issue — it can cause major problems in the future.

Solar panel installation: Adding solar panels to your property can provide you an in-house energy source that not only helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions but can also provide major savings in the long term. There are, however, requirements your building will have to meet to be eligible for solar panel installation — such as local and state ordinances. Your roof is a big part of the equation, as it will need to be sturdy, clean, sloped in the correct direction and large enough to carry enough solar panels to make the investment worth your while. A roof inspection can help clarify each of these points so you can make an informed decision.

The advantages of using American Drone Solutions for your roof inspection

There are many advantages to having American Drone Solutions perform your roof inspection — including reduced time, manpower, risk, and, ultimately, a strong ROI for contractors and property owners alike. Some of the top reasons contractors and property owners are using American Drone Solutions roof inspections include:

Accuracy

No matter how much of a professional you are, human error is inevitable — it happens to the best of us! Using proper surveying techniques, American Drone Solutions can create accurately scaled images and keep results consistent across an entire project. This is especially true if you’re working with a drone that can automate flight paths (more on that later), as this takes yet another potential area of human error out of the equation.

Time

Quite simply, American Drone Solutions roof inspections (and site inspections overall) just don’t take as long. In the past, roof inspectors needed to make measurements from the ground and then find a way to climb up to the roof to finish the job. Now, with the aid of a SUAS, American Drone Solutions, run as few as a single flight route, and specialized software. The result? 2D or 3D models in record time.

For contractors, using American Drone Solutions opens up the ability to work on more projects in a day than ever before. For property owners, it removes a lot of the hassle of regular roof inspections.

Safety

The point of a roof inspection is to increase the safety of your building. The last thing you want is for someone getting hurt during the inspection process. With SUAS aerial photography, American Drone Solutions can take images from vantage points that humans can’t safely reach. Taking images of the top of a chimney, for example, is far safer from the confines of the ground than standing on a ladder or on top of a building. Using American Drone Solutions for some or all of your roof inspections can help to reduce the level of risk associated with your project.

Cost

While frugal business owners may be concerned about the price of American Drone Solutions, the case for a strong ROI is still clear-cut. By utilizing drone technology you will cut down on labor costs (and potential insurance payouts for injured workers) as well as take on more jobs than is possible without drone assistance.

How much does a roof inspection cost?

The national average cost for a roof inspection is $290 to $350. The cost varies depending on the size, slope, and material of your roof, as well as the specific type of inspection. Most roof inspectors charge a flat fee but some are price it by square footage of the roof.

For many homeowners, a thorough inspection of your roof is a requirement for insurance, refinancing or selling a home, or spotting damage that needs to be repaired. A roof inspection can also be part of your regular roof maintenance, because a periodic professional inspection can find issues before they turn into major problems—like that leak that hasn’t made its way into your living room yet.

Contact American Drone Solutions Today to get a quote.