We carry out drone roof surveys throughout Dorset — useful on any roof, and especially handy on tall Victorian villas, church-scale roofs and cliff-top coastal properties, where getting a person up there safely means real money spent on access equipment.
What a drone survey can find on a Dorset roof
Roofs rarely fail across the whole slope. They fail at a handful of specific points, and on the tall villas and exposed coastal properties around the county, those points are usually the ones nobody's looked at in twenty years.
- Slipped and cracked tiles or slates, including single units dropped out of line above a valley
- Ridge and hip mortar washed out by driving rain off the Channel
- Lifted or split lead flashing at abutments, dormer cheeks and rooflights
- Cracked chimney flaunching, eroded pointing and damaged pots on stacks you cannot see from the street
- Choked valleys and back gutters behind parapets on older Dorset terraces
- Storm damage — displaced ridge tiles, lifted verges and impact damage after a south-westerly
The parts of the roof the ground never shows you
From the pavement you can see the lower slope and the gutter — the part of the roof under the least stress. The ridge, the hips, the valleys and the chimney head, where water actually finds its way in, sit behind the pitch and out of sight.
- 1The drone surveys the whole roof from above — nobody goes onto it
- 2Ridge, hips, valleys and flashings photographed in detail
- 3Chimney head, flaunching, pots and back gutter
- 4From the ground you see the lower slope and gutter line — and very little else
When a drone survey earns its keep
- Buying a property and wanting to know the roof's real condition before exchange
- A leak with no obvious cause, where the entry point could be anywhere on a large roof
- Tall, steep or fragile roofs where scaffolding would cost more than the repair
- Coastal and exposed properties after a storm, to check ridges, verges and flashings quickly
- Insurance claims that need dated photographic evidence of damage
- Landlords and managing agents documenting the condition of a roof they rarely see
What we look at
Coverings, ridges, hips and verges; valley linings and back gutters; chimney stacks, flaunching, pots and flashings; rooflights and dormer detailing; gutters, fascias and the eaves line; and moss and vegetation growth, which on shaded Dorset roofs holds moisture against the covering for months at a time.
What you receive
A clear set of high-resolution images with the defects pointed out and explained in plain English, plus our honest view on urgency: what needs doing now, what to plan for, and what's simply cosmetic.
If repair or replacement is needed, that report becomes the basis of a written quotation — and it's yours to keep, whether or not you use us for the work.
Flying safely and legally in Dorset
Flights are planned around airspace restrictions, and Dorset has plenty to consider — Bournemouth Airport's controlled airspace, MOD activity, and restrictions over parts of the coast and protected sites. We check the airspace and the conditions before every flight, and we won't fly in wind or rain that would compromise image quality or safety.
How the survey runs on the day
1. Brief
You tell us what's prompted the survey — a leak, a storm, a purchase, or a quote you want checked.
2. Flight
A short flight over each elevation, the ridge, valleys, flashings and chimney — nobody needs to go onto the roof.
3. Imagery
High-resolution stills of the surveyed external areas, with close-ups where something needs a closer look.
4. Findings
A plain-English write-up: what's sound, what needs attention now, and what we can just keep an eye on.
5. Quotation
Only if work's needed, and priced against what the images show rather than a guess.
What a drone survey will not tell you
A drone works outside the building. It won't show the state of the rafters, the underlay or the insulation, and it can't trace where water travels once it's through the covering. On leak investigations, we'll pair the flight with a look in the loft too.
| What you want to know | Drone survey | Also needs |
|---|---|---|
| Outer covering — tiles, slates, ridge, flashings | Photographed in detail from above | No access needed |
| Chimney head, flaunching and pots | Photographed from above and each side | Otherwise needs scaffold or tower |
| Roof timbers, underlay and insulation | Not visible — a drone works outside only | Loft inspection from inside |
| Whether a leak is active right now | Shows likely entry points, not the water path | Internal check, sometimes a water test |
Common questions
What homeowners in Dorset usually want to know about drone roof surveys.
Ask us anything