The complete guide · Jersey, Guernsey & the Channel Islands

Drone roof surveys explained

What a drone roof survey actually is, how the flight works, whether it’s legal, what you get back, and when you’d want one — everything a Channel Islands homeowner or buyer needs to know, in one place.

Book a survey How it works

CAA-licensed · No scaffolding · 4K imagery · Flown in around an hour · Report in 2–3 days

The basics

What a drone roof survey is & how it works

A drone roof survey uses a high-resolution camera drone to inspect a roof from the air, instead of sending a person up on ladders, scaffolding or a cherry picker. The drone captures sharp 4K stills and video of every part of the roof — tiles, ridges, valleys, flashing, chimneys and flat sections — so its real condition can be assessed safely from the ground.

In practice it’s a simple, four-step process:

1. Book & confirm access — we agree a date, check the location and handle the airspace permissions
2. Fly the roof (~1 hour) — we capture methodical 4K imagery of the whole roof on site
3. Process the imagery — we review every shot and pick out condition and defects
4. Deliver the report (2–3 days) — you receive the imagery and, on the full package, a written Roof Health Report

Legal & licensed

Is it legal — and who can do it?

Flying a drone commercially in the Channel Islands isn’t something just anyone can do. It needs the right authorisation, registration and insurance — and that’s exactly what separates a professional survey from a hobbyist with a camera.

CAA Operational Authorisation — we hold the formal permission required to operate commercially
Registered with the DCA — a licensed operator with the Channel Islands Director of Civil Aviation
Fully insured — appropriate cover for commercial drone operations
Permissions handled for you — we manage the airspace approvals so you don’t have to

Because we work to those standards, the imagery and reports we produce are credible, dated and insurer-ready — not just snapshots.

What you get

4K imagery and a written Roof Health Report

A drone roof survey isn’t just a few photos. The visual survey gives you clear 4K close-ups of the actual roof surface — the detail you simply can’t see from the ground or the loft.

Upgrade to the full package and you also get a written Roof Health Report, produced with a professional roofing contractor and RICS Technology Partner. It assesses the condition of every roof element, flags defects, and gives you a dated, insurer-ready document — the kind of evidence that stands up with insurers, lenders or a seller.

Drone roof survey imagery of a Channel Islands property

When you’d want one

Common reasons to get a drone roof survey

There’s rarely just one reason. These are the situations where a drone survey earns its keep — follow the links for the detail on each:

Buying a property — check the roof before you exchange with a pre-purchase roof survey
Insurance & claims — dated evidence for cover or a claim, see insurance roof surveys
Suspected leaks — locate the source without tearing the roof open
After a storm — assess wind or impact damage quickly and safely
Routine maintenance — catch small defects before they become big bills
Commercial & flat roofs — ponding, splits and seams on commercial flat roofs

We survey across Jersey, Guernsey and the wider Channel Islands.

Drone vs traditional access

Why a drone beats ladders and scaffolding

For most pitched and flat roofs, a drone reaches places a person can’t safely or affordably get to — faster and with no disruption:

	Drone survey	Scaffolding / climbing
Safety	Operator stays on the ground	Working at height risk
Time on site	Around an hour	Hours to days to erect
Cost	From £249	Hundreds to tens of thousands
Disruption	None — nothing erected	Scaffold left in place
Detail captured	4K of the whole roof surface	Limited to where it’s safe to reach

Accuracy & weather

How accurate is it — and what about weather?

Modern survey drones shoot in 4K, so the imagery is detailed enough to pick out cracked or slipped tiles, failing flashing, blocked gutters, moss and ponding on flat roofs. For visual condition assessment, that level of detail matches or beats what you’d see standing on the roof — and you can review it as many times as you like.

Drones don’t fly in strong wind or heavy rain, so the flight is weather-dependent. In practice this rarely causes delays — we pick a suitable window and most surveys are still completed within the week, with the report following in 2–3 days.

Simple, fixed pricing

What a drone roof survey costs

Visual drone roof survey

from £249

Full 4K aerial inspection of the roof
Flown on site in around an hour
Key imagery shared with you
Ideal for a quick condition check

Survey + full written report

from £375

Everything in the visual survey
Dated, insurer-ready Roof Health Report
Condition assessed for every roof element
Produced with a professional roofing contractor

See the full breakdown on our pricing page, or get a fixed quote for your property.

Drone roof surveys — FAQs

Your questions, answered

What is a drone roof survey?

A drone roof survey uses a high-resolution camera drone to inspect a roof from the air, instead of sending a person up on ladders or scaffolding. It captures sharp 4K stills and video of every part of the roof — tiles, ridges, valleys, flashing, chimneys and flat sections — so its real condition can be assessed safely from the ground.

How does a drone roof survey work?

It’s a four-step process: we book the survey and confirm access, fly the whole roof in around an hour to capture 4K imagery, process and review every shot to pick out condition and defects, then deliver the imagery — and, on the full package, a written Roof Health Report — within 2–3 days.

Is a drone roof survey safe?

Yes — it’s far safer than the alternative. Nobody has to climb onto the roof or work at height, because the operator stays on the ground throughout. That removes the main risk of a traditional roof inspection while still capturing a complete view of the roof.

Is it legal to fly a drone for a roof survey in Jersey and Guernsey?

Yes, when it’s done by a properly authorised operator. We hold a CAA Operational Authorisation and are a registered operator with the Channel Islands Director of Civil Aviation (DCA), and we’re fully insured. We handle all the airspace permissions for you across Jersey, Guernsey and the wider Channel Islands.

Do I need to be home for the survey?

Not usually. As long as we have confirmed access and the permissions in place, the survey is flown from outside, so you don’t need to be present. We’ll always agree access arrangements with you in advance.

How long does a drone roof survey take?

The flight itself takes around an hour on site. The written report then follows within 2–3 days, weather permitting, and most surveys are booked in and completed within the week.

How much does a drone roof survey cost?

A visual drone roof survey starts at £249, and the survey plus a full written Roof Health Report starts at £375. You’ll have a fixed price up front before we fly. See our full pricing.

Will insurers accept a drone roof survey?

Yes. The full package includes a dated, insurer-ready written report with high-resolution imagery, produced with a professional roofing contractor and RICS Technology Partner. That gives insurers and lenders the credible, documented evidence they look for.

Can a drone roof survey find leaks?

It can find the likely source of many leaks — slipped or cracked tiles, failing flashing, splits in flat-roof felt, blocked gutters and worn seams are all visible in 4K imagery. Pinpointing where water gets in is one of the most common reasons people book a survey.

Drone survey vs scaffolding — which is better?

For most inspections, a drone wins on safety, speed and cost. The operator stays on the ground, the flight takes around an hour with no structures to erect, and it starts from £249 — far less than scaffolding, which can run into the hundreds or thousands and takes time to put up and take down.

What types of roof are suitable for a drone survey?

Most are — pitched tiled and slate roofs, flat and felt roofs, and commercial roofs all suit drone inspection. It’s especially useful for steep, large, complex or hard-to-access roofs where climbing up is difficult or unsafe.

How accurate is a drone roof survey?

Very accurate for visual condition assessment. Modern survey drones shoot in 4K, detailed enough to pick out cracked or slipped tiles, failing flashing, blocked gutters, moss and ponding. For most purposes it matches or beats what you’d see standing on the roof — and you can review the imagery as many times as you like.

Ready when you are