Interested in feedback from anyone using a drone to inspect roofs. Would like to know what makes and models work best in capturing decent pictures for reports.
Brian
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Here is a link to a good thread with all kinds of feedback and recommendations. I am sure others will come along and add to your thread as well.
I am happy with my DJI mini 2. Only thing that I have noticed is that my eyes have aged over the past couple of years and it is much easier to use an iPad with it than it is with an iPhone.
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What good are pictures of a roof? You could send up a Go-Pro on a balloon and get those.
How does that help with an inspection? How does a picture test for loose shingles or soft spots and weak/broken sections of sheathing.
What about…?
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The expensive ones. You get what you pay for…
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They make a pretty report, don’t ya know!?
Interestingly, my drone actually adds time to my inspection. I am still getting my ladder out regardless. I will throw up the drone to access things I would have to disclaim as not visible in the past which I like. I have serious doubts about these inspectors in a KIA with no ladder and only a drone (which there are many)
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I’m about to retire my old Typhoon H for a a DJI mini 3 pro or possible a Mavic.
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I’ve narrowed my choice down to DJI Mini 3, just trying to figure out if it’s with an extra $200 for the pro with 48mp camera vs only 12mp camera on the base model.
This is what I use and it works just fine. I access 90% of my roofs but there’s always those that are very difficult or dangerous to walk.
I prefer a GoPro on a pole if I can’t walk the roof however, last week I had a two-story house on a coastal pile foundation, and the pole was too short or would not access areas I want to access. The drone was the best option.
A drone limits your inspection if that is all you’re going to use. I believe boots on the roof is your best option. The standard of practice does allow an inspection from the ground so a drone is one step above.
I’ve taken work away from inspectors that don’t access the roofs when they perform an 11 month inspection. Neighbors talk and they know I walk every roof I can access, so this is something you need to keep in mind.
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It’s interesting that InterNACHI repeatedly says inspectors are not required to go on the roof. While I agree with you, there’s also a safety factor to stepping on a soft roof. I certainly, coming from a contracting background with try to walk almost any roof. I simply see a drone as an added tool to document roof issues.
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DJI Mavick Mini @ $400.00.
So you just don’t do any inspections on 3 story homes with high pitch metal roofs.
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I encounter some roofs I just won’t get on: too steep, too high for the ladder I carry, brittle shingles, slate or most metal roofs. Don’t worry about the machismo factor. Clients understand this. Same guy who rolls up in a $60k truck and walks a 12:12 might not squeeze through an undersized attic space. We all have our strengths.
Get a pair of Cougar Paws so you’ll feel ok on the roofs you should feel ok on. For the portions of those roofs I don’t walk, I use a DJI MAvic Air (bought it as a factory rebuilt). Even if I walk the roof, I’ll get it out to see the top of the chimney.
Testament to the durability of the Mavic Air. A few months ago, I hung the drone up in a tree about 10’ above the roof. Was upside down with its camera pointing at the sky. Came back a day later, after several hours of rain and knocked it out of the tree, thinking I would just recover the battery and the data card. It bounced off the roof and fell a good 50’ (the house was on a hillside) onto the neighbor’s astro-turf-covered paved patio. The propellers were chipped from hitting the branches, but it flew and works fine. Amazing, or lucky.
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Non-issue… Those don’t exist in my service area, at least in my 26+ years of inspecting!
Just remember you need to have your FAA Part 107 done pilot license to operate commercially. I’m sure 90 % of people flying drones for commercial proposed don’t. The fines can be close to 30k. I’ve read that the fines are typically close to 2k. All you have to do is “wreck a deal,” and that nice witch of a real estate agent calls the FAA and makes a complaint. I think they’re a great tool for that 3 story metal roof that you’re not going on anyway. 30 + years of inspections and I think, like anything they help but aren’t the ultimate solution. That being said I have a DJI mini SE that I use for non commercial use, that takes adequate pictures.
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Drones are a limitation compared to walking on the roof. But they are less of a limitation than camera poles, binoculars, and looking at the roof from the eaves or the ground. I will add though that even if the roof is done entirely by drone, I usually put a ladder at the eave in one or more places just to check the gutter aprons, drip edge, and shingle sealing.
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My advice is to get a drone with the best obstacle sensors. I fly an Air 2S and love it. I used to have a mini but felt that it got pushed around too much in the wind. The bigger and newer ones handle high winds much better.
I also recommend getting the extra batteries, a hard case, a smart charger (saves the batteries), and a wet suit. The wet suit is the best as almost every DJI drone is made with water-resistant components, but it’s the batteries that are vulnerable to water. It is the wet days that more than anything I want my drone and not to be walking on a roof. Around me, almost every roof is 2 floors or higher and metal.
I admit that the DJI flysafe system is annoying and sometimes very restrictive. As a part 107 pilot, I am still treated like some hobbyist every time I take off in an “enhanced area”. I would consider looking into the other drone manufacturers for that reason alone.
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Do they come with articulating hands that allow you to touch/feel/poke for physical characteristics that are simply impossible to observe with eyesight?
Inquiring minds want to know!
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Well duuhhh, big red truck… 
Well inquiring mind(s),
If you want GPS navigation which will hold your “unit” in a perfect hover and track it should it fly off or crash, a real camera, obstacle avoidance, internal memory storage along with the use of an SD card, real flight time (more than 10 minutes), and be Remote ID compliant, then your NOT going to get it buying something like this:
But you will get all of those things if you buy something like this:
So like I said,
Like many others here, I prefer to walk a roof, provided it is possible and/or safe to do so. I’m not a roof monkey like @bhull1 but have walked some that I probably shouldn’t have and in conditions that were not the safest. The drone is for those times. I also carry a 30’ Doca Pole to stick my camera on, a 20x zoom monocular that I can attach to my phone, a pair of binocs, but all of those have their limitations too.
Exactly. I bet you wouldn’t carry a second ladder on a rooftop, set it up on that roof top, just to have to use the camera pole while standing on said ladder to check out a chimney cap… I wouldn’t.
Ditto…
and you’re not going to do that for $40-$75…
YES, imho. The higher the resolution, the more you can crop and zoom in when the picture is uploaded to a desktop or laptop. You don’t have to get in super close with the drone and risk crashing it into the house you are inspecting.
Example: I saw this exposed roof nail while taking aerial shots of a home’s lot, from about 75 away. Brought the drone in to about 50 ft and took a snap shot (50MP camera) of that area of the roof. Uploaded the picture to my desktop, zoomed and cropped and got this picture:
Here is the same spot, taken with my hand held camera (20MP at 4 ft away) while walking the same roof:
If you are considering DJI, go with the “Fly More” package regardless of the model. Same for any other brand for that matter. Keep in mind RID Compliance starting next month and don’t fly without an
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