Drone Roof and Building Inspections in North West England
North West England covers some very different roofs. Liverpool has Georgian terraces and dock warehouses, the Lancashire towns have former cotton mills and long rows of terraced houses, Chester has its timber-framed buildings, and Cumbria has stone and slate farmhouses and barns. Along the Fylde coast and around Morecambe Bay, roofs take the weather off the Irish Sea. A drone survey suits all of them, because it records the roof from the air without scaffolding, and the region's airports and nuclear sites decide where it needs permission first.
What a drone roof inspection covers
Visual and thermal roof surveys for homeowners, landlords, housing associations, surveyors, farmers and facilities teams. Work a drone survey suits across the region includes slate and chimney checks on terraced streets, surveys of large mill, weaving shed and warehouse roofs, many of them now flats or business units, storm damage checks on exposed coastal roofs, and condition surveys of farm buildings and holiday properties in Cumbria. The usual deliverable is dated high-resolution stills and video, with thermal added where damp or heat loss is the concern.
Local airspace and access
These airports and aerodromes each have a Flight Restriction Zone, active at all times from the ground to 2,000 feet, where a drone may only fly with permission: Manchester, Manchester Barton, Liverpool, Blackpool, Warton near Lytham, Woodvale near Formby and Walney at Barrow, with Hawarden just over the Welsh border west of Chester. Speke, St Annes and South Shore in Blackpool are inside one, and so are parts of Wilmslow and Formby, while Liverpool city centre, Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and Carlisle are not. The nuclear installations at Heysham, Springfields near Preston, Capenhurst near Ellesmere Port, Sellafield and Barrow-in-Furness each sit inside restricted airspace of their own, and so do several prisons, including HMP Liverpool, HMP Manchester and HMP Preston.
What it costs
A drone roof inspection in the North West typically runs from around 150 to 500 pounds, depending on the size and height of the building. A written report is usually charged on top, and thermal imaging is quoted per project.
See how charter types and fees work on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Liverpool city centre inside the airport's restriction zone?
No. The Flight Restriction Zone around Liverpool's airport covers Speke, Hale and the land around the airport, south-east of the city centre, which sits outside it.
Can a drone survey a mill or warehouse roof?
Yes. Large roofs such as former mills, weaving sheds and dock warehouses suit a drone well, because it records the whole surface, including rooflights, valleys and gutters, without anyone going up onto it.
Looking for other aerial work in the area? See all drone services in Manchester or drone services in Liverpool or learn more about drone roof and building inspections in general.
Roof inspections nearby: Manchester
Flying commercially anywhere between Chester and Carlisle? Terasor is looking for pilots across the North West. See what a pilot account includes.
Related reading: How to hire a drone pilot and what it costs