What a drone roof inspection is
A drone roof inspection is an aerial survey of your roof flown from the ground, producing high-resolution photos and video of every slope instead of relying on what someone can reach from a ladder. Nobody steps onto the shingles.
The point is documentation: a dated record of the roof’s condition, slope by slope, that you can show to someone else. This is the premium, paid product in our inspection line-up. If all you want is an honest answer about whether your roof needs anything, our free roof inspection is a no-pressure way to get one — book that instead.
What you get
A drone roof inspection from us delivers a documented picture of the roof, not just an opinion:
- A drone flight over the roof, planned to cover the whole structure, not a couple of angles.
- HD photos of every facet and slope, including planes you cannot see from the street.
- Aerial video, showing how the slopes, valleys and penetrations relate to each other.
- A written report on the roof’s condition, in plain language.
- Damage marked up on the imagery: hail impacts, missing or lifted shingles, flashing problems and likely leak points.
Together, those answer the two questions homeowners actually have: what is wrong with my roof, and can I show someone else the evidence?
Drone inspection vs walking the roof
Aerial imaging and a hands-on look answer different questions, and a good inspection uses whichever fits the roof in front of it.
| What matters | Drone inspection | Walking the roof |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Reaches every slope, including planes no ladder can be leaned against | Limited to what is safe to climb onto |
| Safety | Nobody leaves the ground: no ladder risk, no weight on the shingles | Working at height on a sloped surface |
| Risk to the roof | No foot traffic, so no cracked shingles or loosened granules | Walking on cold or aged shingles can add damage |
| Documentation | HD photos and video of the whole roof, dated and geolocated | Depends on what someone photographs by hand |
| Detail | Strong on surface condition, impact patterns and overall layout | Better for texture, soft decking underfoot and how a shingle feels |
| Steep or fragile roofs | Well suited, since nothing rests on the surface | Difficult, and on brittle or very steep roofs sometimes unwise |
The short version: the drone is better at seeing and recording, boots are better at feeling. On steep, tall or brittle roofs, the aerial option is often the only sensible way to look.
When a drone inspection is worth paying for
Pay for a drone inspection when you need evidence, not just an opinion. The situations where the report earns its price:
- After a hailstorm, before you contact your insurer. Images of what the storm did beat describing dents over the phone.
- Buying or selling a home. A buyer learns what they are taking on before negotiating; a seller answers the roof question with documentation instead of guesswork.
- Steep or multi-storey roofs. Second and third storeys, sharp pitches and cut-up rooflines are where ladder access runs out.
- Documenting a roof before winter. A dated September record is a useful baseline if something goes wrong under snow, ice dams or a February chinook melt.
- A second opinion on someone else’s quote. If a contractor says your roof is finished and you are not convinced, imagery of every slope is a practical way to check.
- A denied or disputed claim. When an insurer has said no, dated photos give you something specific to point at.
Drone photos and insurance claims
Drone photos help an insurance claim because they turn a description into evidence. Each image carries the date it was taken and, on most flights, the location, so the file shows a specific roof on a specific day rather than a recollection weeks later.
What that does in practice:
- It fixes the timeline. Images captured soon after a storm show the roof close to the event, which matters when the question is whether hail caused the damage or age did.
- It shows the whole roof. Slope-by-slope coverage makes clear whether damage is isolated or spread, often the difference between a repair and a replacement discussion.
- It gives the report something to point at. Marked-up impacts and flashing problems are easier to discuss when everyone sees the same photo.
Keep the report and the image files with your policy documents, and note the storm date beside them. Be clear about the limits, though: your insurer and its adjuster decide what is covered, under your policy wording. Good documentation supports your case, it does not settle it. Our guide to roof insurance claims in Calgary walks through how the process usually runs.
After a Calgary hailstorm
After hail, document first. Calgary sits in Canada’s most active hail belt, hail season runs mostly from June to August, and a storm can cross a neighbourhood in ten minutes and leave roofs that look untouched from the street.
Hail bruising is a random scatter of impact marks across the slopes that faced the storm, and that pattern reads far better from above than from a ladder at the eaves. Our page on hail damage on Calgary roofs explains what those marks look like on shingles, metal and flat roofs.
Timing matters. Capture the roof before the next storm rolls through, so nobody has to untangle which hail event did what, and before any repairs start, because once shingles are replaced the evidence is gone.
Pricing
A standalone drone roof inspection with a written report is $250 to $350. This is Rock Roofing Calgary pricing, not a market estimate. Where a roof lands in that range depends on its size and complexity: a cut-up roof with dormers, valleys and several storeys needs more passes and more review time than a simple bungalow. You are quoted before anything is booked.
It is free when you go ahead with a roof repair or replacement with us: if the inspection leads to work and you hire us to do it, you are not charged for it. Paid on its own, it carries no obligation. The photos, the video and the report are yours, and what you do next is your decision.
How to book
Get in touch through the contact page or the form on this site, and tell us:
- The address, and whether the home is a bungalow, two-storey or something taller.
- Why you want it: hail, a purchase or sale, a second opinion, a disputed claim, or a record before winter.
- The storm date, if a hailstorm or windstorm prompted the call.
- Anything you have noticed, such as a ceiling stain or shingles in the yard.
- Access notes: a locked gate, a dog in the yard, or anything in the way of a safe launch and landing.
We confirm the price before the visit is booked, and we will tell you honestly if a drone inspection is not the right tool for your situation.
Free inspection vs drone inspection
These are two products for two different needs, and most homeowners need only one.
The free roof inspection is a free, no-pressure way to get an honest answer about your roof. It is the right starting point if your question is simply whether your roof needs anything, and you can book one at any time.
The drone roof inspection is the paid, documented version. You are buying the aerial photos, video and written report, marked up and dated, to keep and to show to someone else. If you need evidence for an insurer, a buyer, a seller or a second opinion, that is what you are paying for.
A reasonable rule of thumb: if you want an answer, start free. If you need proof, pay for the documentation.
Limits of a drone inspection
An honest account of any inspection includes what it cannot do, and aerial imaging has blind spots.
It cannot see inside your attic. Frost on the nails, damp insulation, blocked ventilation and daylight through the deck are attic findings, and no camera in the air picks them up. Where ice damming and attic moisture cause so much trouble, that is a genuine gap.
It cannot feel the deck. Soft, spongy sheathing is something you sense underfoot, and a roof can photograph beautifully and still have rotten decking below.
It cannot see under the shingles. Underlayment, ice-and-water shield, fastening and how flashing is integrated are hidden by the finished surface. Aerial photos show symptoms and where to look further, not what lies beneath.
Weather can postpone the flight. Wind, rain, fog and falling snow make a safe, useful flight harder, and snow on the roof hides the surface being recorded. Sometimes the right call is to wait for a chinook window.
Neighbours may notice. A drone near property lines makes some people uneasy. We fly the roof we were asked to look at and keep the imagery to that job, but with close neighbours it is courteous to mention the visit.
None of this makes the inspection less useful. It means treating the attic and the deck as separate questions an aerial survey does not answer. Unsure which inspection suits your roof? Start with our roof inspection page.