Man vs Machine. It is not that simple.

More and more these days the roofing industry is seeing the benefits of drones and their capabilities of handling day to day tasks in our industry. Not only do they offer a safer, faster, and more efficient means of performing a roofing inspection, but they also protect the homeowner’s roof by limiting foot traffic on the roof. Homeowners rarely consider this when allowing a contractor to inspect the roof, perform roofing repairs or routine roof maintenance, but no roofing system is designed for constant foot traffic. Every step taken on roof further degrades its life expectancy as the asphalt granules are displaced reducing the roofs efficiency of shedding water. 

Fortunately, now we have a tool that can not only allow us to more safely perform our job as a roofing contractor, but also minimize the amount traffic that your roof receives. Now, through the use of drones we can use this tool as a first step in identifying storm damage, roofing defects, workmanship errors, and any other issues that would normally be found in an on-roof inspection. Virtually allowing all of this to be viewed and analyzed from the safety of ground.

Look, I have been a roofing contractor for over a decade and I fully understand the importance of being on a roof to diagnose and address any issue that might affect a roof. And I am not saying that on-roof inspections are a thing of the past, but what I know now is that a drone can be an extremely reliable method of roof inspection that not only protects the homeowner but the contractor as well. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of roofs I have inspected that I was uncomfortable or even scared while scrambling from ridge to valley. I know those days are not behind me, but I sure am glad to have another tool in belt to use first.