Building inspections with drones.
Occasionally, it’s necessary to have the fabric of a building inspected. Whether it is for Insurance purposes, or just to check the condition of the external facade or roof, then a building inspection with Drones / UAVs are eminently suitable for the job.
Inspecting a building without a drone.
Traditionally, carrying out a building inspection of the facade or roof of a building, would need to be done via ladder, scaffolding or cherry picker.
Ladders, of course, can be dangerous if used incorrectly A recent Health and Safety Executive report states that 25% of fatalities and 8% of serious injuries at work were due to falling from height.
Scaffolding and cherry pickers can be expensive to hire, and need skilled operators. Using either can also cause disruption for days on end in the immediate vicinity.
How using a drone can help with building inspections.
Using drones, in line with current regulations and aviation law, can considerably speed up the process of inspecting a building. Having the ability to quickly provide video or photographic imagery enabling surveyors or other experts to examine the details of the fabric of the building offsite with minimum disruption onsite.
The high resolution of the images produced can highlight not only the main issues. For instance, see the several damaged roof tiles we found below. In the second image below, there is a hairline crack in one of the tiles, which may have been missed with a visual inspection
Since high resolution images were taken, anyone checking them will be able to see quickly that there is an issue.
Our drones can normally get quite close to the areas needing to be inspected. The large one inch sensors can provide images up to 5472 × 3648 pixels to ensure that any minor issues can be found. We can also ‘stitch’ the images together to provide a full image of a roof or facade.
Also, with the addition of a ‘bump cage’ it’s possible for us to fly in restricted environments, getting closer still to any places of interest.
What if it’s not safe or legal to use a drone / UAV?
Not all locations are suitable for our drones, unfortunately. Safety is always paramount for our drone operations!
For places where drones would not be safe, or legal to use, such as when the property is surrounded by electricity cables, we can utilise our 12m pole cam.
With one of our cameras on top, very similar resolution images can be achieved.
Comparable results can be produced with this method as can be seen in the imagery below.
Even when it’s not possible to use a drone, ClearSkyImaging can help with your inspection needs.
Get in touch.
Holding a CAA OA (Operational Authorisation) with comprehensive Insurance in place, we are happy to discuss any needs that people or organisations have for building inspections.
In addition to the standard OA, we have also completed additional courses in commercial mapping, surveying and photogrammetry using drones. QGIS and agricultural awareness in order to provide the best results for all of our customers.
Feel free to get in touch to discuss any of your needs.