This week I tried a drone for roof inspections and got way more than I bargained for

I do a lot of residential roofing work here in Portland, and I've been hearing people swear by drones for checking shingle damage and gutter issues. So I borrowed a buddy's DJI Mini 3 last Tuesday to scan a 30-year-old ranch house. I figured it would save me ladder time, and it did, but I almost missed a hidden valley leak because I was too busy zooming in on the obvious stuff. The drone footage showed me a small patch of moss that looked fine from the ground, but when I looked closer at the thermal side of things, it was actually a wet spot near a chimney. My big thing is that guys keep using drones just for pretty pictures instead of actually learning how to read the data right. Anyone else find it takes a few tries to spot the real problem areas with these things?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.anna10d ago

Isn't it funny how that same pattern shows up everywhere now? People grab a new tool and think taking a picture is the same as knowing what to look for. I see it with my neighbor and his fancy new oven - he thinks a hot oven just means the food cooks itself, but he burned a roast because he never checked the actual temperature. Drones and thermal cameras are no different, you gotta put in the work to understand what the tool is actually telling you. It's like buying a nice camera and thinking you're a professional photographer just because you can snap a photo.

the_miles10d ago

Yeah the thermal data on those things is a game changer once you figure out how to read it right. A buddy of mine spent a whole day flying around just taking photos and missed a leak that literally showed up as a cold spot on the thermal image from his first pass.

miasanchez9d ago

Gotta push back a little here. I've seen plenty of pros get so caught up in the technical details they miss the obvious stuff. Sometimes a cold spot on a thermal image is just a cold spot, and if your buddy spent a whole day flying around, maybe he was overthinking it. Tools give you data, but they don't always tell you what's important.