How long does a home drone survey inspection take?
If a house could talk and blurt out all its secrets before you bought it, what would it say about its roof? About its chimney? About the condition of its gutters or hidden upper storeys?
Most homes stay completely silent on these points, and you only find the problems when it’s too late. That’s where drone survey inspections come in. They allow surveyors to understand the parts of the home that other methods can’t always reach – and quickly.
But how long does a drone survey inspection take? This blog takes a closer look.
What actually happens during a drone survey inspection?
Here at GB Home Surveys, we’re making drone inspections a critical part of our RICS home survey process. As an optional add-on service to either a Home Survey Level 2 or a Home Survey Level 3, our CAA-approved chartered surveyors pilot a drone up and collect high-resolution images without the need for scaffolding or ladders.
A drone survey inspection focuses on those hard-to-reach and hard-to-see exterior areas. In general, that means the roof, including chimneys, valleys, tiled, dormers, parapets, guttering, flues, flashing and even solar panels.
The drone comes with our chartered surveyor when they carry out your RICS home survey. Our surveyors all carry drone pilot certification. At an appropriate point, they’ll find a secure position and conduct a series of checks. These include making sure they meet the CAA’s requirements to fly, watching for overhead power, and keeping an eye on the weather forecast.
They’ll fly the drone around the property to capture high-resolution photographs of the external structure. Our drones’ batteries last around 45 minutes. After safety checks and a controlled ascent or descent, that leaves around 35 minutes for taking pictures. In most cases, that’s plenty of time. The drone then lands and gets taken back to the office for the images to be analysed.
Our surveyors can only pilot the drones if it’s safe. If tight access, poor weather or other environmental factors don’t play ball, or they don’t have permission from the CAA to fly, they won’t be able to carry out the survey.
How drone survey inspections save time and improve detail
We’re proud of our drone survey inspections. They represent a massive leap forward in embracing modern technology to save our customers money – and get an even more detailed home survey report.
Without a drone, roof inspections are challenging. They usually require extra access equipment or specialists. The additional time, cost and inconvenience mean there’s still a lot of room to make roof inspections more efficient.
And that sets the scene for our drone survey inspections. Once set up, which doesn’t take too long, our chartered surveyors launch them and get them up to a suitable flight height for capturing images. There’s no physical climbing required at all, very minimal risk to anyone in the vicinity, and the camera can get as close as safely possible to certain areas for extremely high-quality photos. And if the surveyor wants to go over a particular detail again, they simply pull the photographs back up on their computer.
All this means it’s far easier to schedule a drone survey than an in-person roof survey, especially for the current homeowner. It’s a busy time when you’re moving through the buying process. We’re delighted to offer anything we can to improve the process for everyone.
What this means for your survey report
When our surveyors carry out a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 home survey with a drone inspection, we’re able to produce a more detailed report without waiting for additional access or follow-up checks. For example, if there’s a cracked tile on a third-storey roof, we’ll spot it during the drone flight and confirm its condition during the review. We don’t have to rely on educated guesses or binoculars from the ground.
This makes your report clearer, and that pays dividends. The more you know about the property in question, the more peace of mind you’ll have when you complete the sale. If the drone and surveyor do spot any issues, you’ll have the evidence you need to ask the current homeowner to make repairs or price concessions.
Your report, which GB Home Surveys sends as a PDF, will include images taken by the drone. We’ll annotate and flag areas where repairs, maintenance or further investigation might be needed. Even if we don’t spot anything of concern, we’ll attach a minimum of four photographs. Regardless of condition, this visual evidence can prove invaluable when discussing issues with sellers, builders, neighbours, mortgage lenders or even the planning department.
Overall, then? You get a faster roof survey with far more detail. We charge a small fee for the drone survey, but the extra detail and peace of mind make it well worth it.
At GB Home Surveys, all our surveyors are trained drone pilots. They’re qualified and insured, and we handle permissions and safety assessments as part of your survey booking. If you’re looking for a survey that sees what others miss, and gives you sound, trusted advice, get in touch today to book your RICS Home Survey and drone inspection. Speak to our team to find out more.
