Roof inspections
How much does a drone roof inspection cost in the UK?
A drone roof inspection in the UK typically costs £200–£300 for an ordinary house, and more for large, complex or commercial roofs. Checkatrade puts the average drone roof survey at around £210 and a standard roof inspection at around £260 (September 2026).
Here is what drives the price, what you should get for it, and how it compares with scaffolding.
Our prices
- Standard house — £225. Two to four bedrooms, a conventional pitched roof, one building. Most terraced, semi-detached and detached homes.
- Larger or complex — £315. Extensions, outbuildings, several roof levels, dormers and valleys.
- Commercial and flat roofs — from £445. Blocks of flats, industrial units, larger flat roofs; priced once we see the address.
- Second flight over the same roof — 20% off. After repairs or a year later, on the same saved route, so the images line up frame for frame.
Travel is included within 15 miles of Harold Wood, 15–30 miles adds £50, and further afield we quote before booking. We are not VAT registered, so the price you see is the price you pay.
What changes the price
Roof size and shape; access and airspace (some parts of London sit inside airport restriction zones, and we check every address before quoting); how far we travel; and what you need at the end — a set of images or a written report.
Drone or scaffolding?
Just to look at a roof, scaffolding is expensive: a tower for tile repairs is typically £150–£350, and scaffolding a semi-detached house for roofing is often £750–£1,300 with a minimum hire of several weeks — more in London.
A drone inspection takes under an hour on site, nobody climbs anything, and you get images of every slope, ridge, valley and chimney. If the roof needs work, the roofer puts up scaffolding once, for the repair itself.
What you should get for the money
Overview images from every side, close-ups of ridge, hips, valleys, flashing and the chimney, gutters and fascias, notes image by image, and a PDF report you can forward to a roofer, surveyor or insurer — delivered within 24–48 hours. All images at full resolution, yours to keep.
What a drone inspection is not
It is not a structural survey. We photograph what can be seen from the air and describe it honestly; whether a roof is sound is a judgement for a chartered surveyor or a roofer. What we give you is a complete picture, so that judgement isn't a guess — and you don't pay for scaffolding just to find out whether there is a problem.
See the whole roof without a ladder.
Send the address and we will come back with a price and the first available date.
Market prices: Checkatrade, roof inspection cost guide; MyJobQuote, scaffolding cost guide (September 2026).