Your Roofing Inspection: Drones Versus Humans

1 year ago

The use of drones in roofing inspections is becoming more and more popular. But do drones really do a better job than people when performing a roofing inspection? What are the pros and cons of drones versus humans?

What Is A Roof Inspection?

A roof inspection is when a roofing contractor checks your roof for signs of needed repairs and assesses the shape your roof is in. A professional roofer will first check the basic condition and structure of your roof and then look at your ventilation, shingles, decking, flashings, roof penetrations, and gutters. After the inspection, a detailed report will be written up and given to the homeowner.

What’s The Difference Between An Inspection And An Estimate?

An inspection is a thorough check for any repairs that need to be performed, whereas an estimate determines how much an already-needed project will cost. Roofstar Arizona offers estimates for free.

Can You Use A Drone For A Home Inspection?

Drones can be used for both home and roof inspections, and many contractors will perform roof inspections using a drone. However, Roofstar Arizona prefers to use hands-on, physical inspections that provide a more accurate assessment of the state of your roof.

Pros And Cons Of Using A Drone For A Roof Inspection

Drones certainly can be useful during an inspection, but they have their drawbacks as well. What are the pros and cons of using a drone for a roof inspection?

Pros:

Alternate Angles: A drone can fly directly above your home, giving different angles than can be seen by a person on the roof.
A Quicker Inspection: Using drones can make for a faster inspection since there is less setup needed.

Cons:

Less Accurate: When up on the roof, roofers are more likely to catch subtle signs of damage than when looking at the roof through a screen. In addition, some issues may be hidden in cracks or valleys that are difficult to see from a bird’s eye perspective.
Weather Limitations: Since drones are so lightweight, most of them are not able to fly in even moderately windy weather or light rain. That means that a drone inspection may need to be rescheduled due to normal weather.
A Physical Inspection Is Important: While drones can be useful for complementing a physical inspection, performing a physical inspection is important. Roofers need to get a feel for the roof using their own hands and eyes, and walking along the roof can be useful for feeling weak or soft spots. Using a drone just isn’t the same.

So what’s better – a physical inspection, or a roof inspection performed by a drone? In our opinion, nothing beats a physical inspection performed by a roofer on your roof. While drones are an incredibly useful tool, a roof inspection is just one of those things that requires a hands-on approach.

Schedule An Inspection

Ready to get your roof inspected by a licensed, trained, and professional roofing company? Call Roofstar Arizona now at (480) 426-1915 to get the process started. We’ll always tell you the truth about your roof!

Excellent service! They install some bird barriers that other companies do not. They explained everything in easy to understand terms. Very friendly and very knowledgeable. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a quality and reputable company.

J R.

If you are looking for honesty and integrity, look no further. I just had Roofstar repair my roof and they did a great job. We had another company re-do our roof 6 years ago and we were not expecting to have issues. I had a few roofing companies come out and give us estimates on fixing what the other company did wrong. All of the other companies said we had to re-do our whole roof, quoting around $12,000. Roofstar was recommended by my brother who is an insurance agent. He said he has used Roofstar for the past 15 years and said Jeff the owner was the nicest and most honest person he has worked with. He recommends all of his clients to Roofstar.

Bill came out and looked at the roof and said we had a unique issue with the roof. He said he didn’t want to miss quote us and wanted to talk to Jeff (the owner) to get his opinion. The quote came in, but I had a question on how something was going to be fixed. Jeff (the owner) came out to my house and spent at least an hour looking at what need to be done. Tell me, what other company’s owner would come out personally and look at a roof??? Especially in the hot Arizona summer??? Not only did Jeff come out, he figured out that we only needed to repair 50% of the roof and saved us over half of what all the other companies were going to charge. Seriously, who does that these days??? Most companies try to over sell so they can make a larger profit, Jeff didn’t do that!

The crew was great, on time and very professional. They did a great job and made sure they cleaned up after they left each day.

It’s sad that we had to have our roof re-done after only 6 years, but now I feel safe knowing the job was done right.

Thanks to Jeff and Bill for the professionalism and the high level of integrity!

I will recommend Roofstar to all of my friends.

Tino G.

Gilbert, AZ

Roofstar provides great customer service. I was able to text the office manager and our job supervisor when I had questions and their response indicated concern and a desire to be helpful. The work was done in a timely manner and is high quality. I would definitely recommend to others.

Eva D.

Thanks, Jeff. We appreciate your prompt, professional and courteous service. Your team (Pedro Diaz and crew) was great.

Mike

Tempe, AZ

Extremely pleased with our extensive roof repair work. The crew showed up early and we could hear them working on the roof all day for a number of days. The price was extremely fair for the scope of the job. I had other roofing companies give me a bid prior to Roofstar. But once Roofstar came out, inspected our roof and told us what needed to be done, I knew they were who we’d hire. They have integrity and honestly which is refreshing when hiring contractors.

Gail B.

Very impressed with Jeff’s response to my concern over a rain caused leak in our ceiling.

Jeff arrived promptly in the a.m. for an evaluation, congenial, confident – integrity fully present. The same characteristics I respected, wanted and needed and had happily experienced the moment I met him. After observing the
rather slight damage to the ceiling we went to the roof where he promptly flattened himself atop the shingles and like a practiced detective began to assess shingles and flashing, etc, in order to create a likely scenario that might have generated a leak. His minute attention to detail was impressive.

Having isolated the potential problem he proceeded to caulk here and there. He also took the time to address other concerns that I had regarding roofing issues going forward.

All in all Jeff delivered the kind of prompt, competent service all homeowners seek, are entitled to, and hope for in a tradesman.

Thank you, Jeff for living the kind of values that make owning a home worth the while.

Bob H.

Phoenix, AZ

Roofstar provided professional inspection and detail quotes on the repairs needed to be done for our properties. We collected a few quotes from different roofing companies for comparison. Roofstar repair cost was very competitive and reasonable. We ultimately chose to go with Roofstar because we felt confident that they would take care of the problems. They came back to correct the minor issue that we had and finished the job to our satisfaction without further questions. We would highly recommend Roofstar to our families and friends.

Andrea S.

From start until finish, Roofstar Arizona was the perfect choice for our house. We were given a very clear and thorough quote for the work our 30+ year old roof needed; we could’ve choose to ‘band-aid’ key areas and spend less, or we could spend the money and fix it right. We had saved and knew we’d have to spend a good amount of money for the work, but Roofstar was professional enough to offer choices. We had a slight miscommunication with regard to instruction with the on-site supervisor, and though we were able to easily clear things up, Roofstars’ owner Jeff drove himself to our home just to make sure our minds were at ease. Excellent touch. The workers were courteous and very thorough with the work. They stuck to the time needed to complete (we had good weather), and our home has a new roof, ready for the next 30 years. It looks great, and we have the confidence knowing the job was done right. Great work, guys. Highly recommend this company.

….03/2020–an update–we’ve had a few rainy days since the roof work–and everything is in fantastic order. These guys did a great job for us, and I know they will for you, too.

Dan Y.

Thank you Jeff. Your team (Juan Diaz and crew) did an outstanding job and we really appreciated the daily clean up. Awesome.

Sheryl S.

Fountain Hills, AZ

I have been so impressed with Roofstar! First let me say I was amazed with Mathew. From the first time he came to our house. Mathew was running about 5-10 minutes late. Mathew called and let me know he was close but would be a few minutes late. He was less than 5 minutes late. What a nice touch! Looking at his age as he appeared young, I wondered how much can he know about roofing? When Mathew came off the roof and explained every picture he took I was impressed. It was obvious he knew how to inspect a roof.

Mathew’s follow up was exactly what he said it would be. This day and age that type of service is hard to find!

On the 2 occasions that I spoke to your staff on the telephone I hung up thinking these employees must love their boss, because they cared so much for his customers.

I don’t make a habit out of sending this type of email, because we just expect good service. Your employees went above and beyond good service.

I look forward to refer friends and family in the future, hoping I never need your service again, but I know where I will call if I need my roof fixed.

Tom A.

Gilbert, AZ

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