Drone Roof Survey and Roof Inspections Explained: what the job involves and who is registered to do it

How roof surveys works

1. Agree what is being inspected. A visual inspection from ground level, a survey from a ladder at the eaves, a drone flight over the slopes and a full close inspection from a scaffold are four different products at four different prices. Say which one you are buying.
2. Use a drone where access is the obstacle. A drone roof survey photographs slopes, valleys, chimneys and ridges that would otherwise need a scaffold, which makes it cheap enough to do before you commit to a repair. It cannot lift a tile or test a fixing.
3. Look inside as well as on top. The loft tells you about the underlay, the battens, daylight through the covering, historic staining and current damp. A survey that never opened the hatch has looked at half the roof.
4. Get findings separated from recommendations. A useful report says what was observed, then what it means, then what to do, in that order. Reports that jump straight to a quotation for the surveyor's own remedial work are marketing with photographs.
5. Keep the report dated. Insurers and buyers both care about when a roof was in a given condition. A dated report with dated images is evidence; an undated one is an opinion.

Insurance and paperwork

Common questions

How much of a roof can a drone survey actually see?

Every external surface, in detail, including the parts a ladder cannot reach. What it cannot do is lift a tile, sound a slate, test a fixing or look at the underside, so it complements a physical inspection rather than replacing it.

Is a homebuyer survey enough to judge a roof?

A standard homebuyer report inspects what is visible and safely accessible, which for a roof is often the view from the ground and the loft hatch. Where it flags the roof for further investigation, that further investigation is a roof survey.

Do I need a roof survey to claim on insurance after a storm?

Not always, but a dated report with photographs is the most useful thing you can hand an insurer, particularly where the argument is whether damage was caused by the storm or by pre-existing wear.

Registered contractors by region

• Registered roofers in the East Midlands postcode area
• Registered roofers in the East of England postcode area
• Registered roofers in the London postcode area
• Registered roofers in the North East postcode area
• Registered roofers in the North West postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Scotland postcode area
• Registered roofers in the South East postcode area
• Registered roofers in the South West postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Wales postcode area
• Registered roofers in the West Midlands postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Yorkshire and The Humber postcode area