Start to finish
An hour on site, a report two days later, and nothing near the roof
On the day
What happens on the day
- Step 1
The check before the visit
The address gets checked for airspace restrictions and a lawful take off point before the date is confirmed. On an estate that is still partly under construction, that includes checking what is happening on the plots next door.
- Step 2
Ten minutes on the ground
A walk round first. Where any staining has appeared, what has already been noticed inside, and whether the defects period end date changes what gets prioritised in the flight.
- Step 3
The flight
A systematic pass round each roof elevation for the overview frames, then close work on ridges, verges, flashings and the upper render. Half an hour to an hour for a typical new build plot.
- Step 4
The screen check
Before packing up, the imagery gets reviewed on site. If something is unclear or an angle was missed, it gets reflown there and then rather than discovered back at the desk two days later.
- Step 5
The desk work
Images sorted by elevation, anything found identified and marked up, and each one written up with a note on how it compares to a properly finished job. This is the part that takes the time and it is the part you are actually paying for.
- Step 6
The report lands
Within 48 hours of the flight, by email, with the full resolution originals alongside it, ready to go straight onto your defects list.
The report
What is in the report
Elevation overviews
One clean frame per roof plane and per upper elevation, so the building can be understood as a whole before anyone starts looking at individual items.
Marked up detail images
Every item found, photographed close and marked so there is no argument about which ridge tile or which section of render is being discussed.
Plain descriptions
What it is, where it is, and how it compares to a properly finished new build. Written in words a homeowner can follow and a site manager will not brush off.
A view on how it looks
Whether something looks like a genuine defect, ordinary settlement, or something worth watching. Not a coverage decision, because that depends on your own warranty documents.
What could not be seen
Anything obscured by scaffolding still up next door, standing water or an adjoining building is listed as not assessed rather than quietly left out.
The original files
Full resolution images, so whoever is reviewing the defects list can zoom in themselves rather than trusting a compressed screenshot.
Why 48 hours
Because that is how long the desk work takes when it is done properly, and because a defects period does not pause for a report that arrives late. If a survey is tied to a specific warranty deadline, say so when you book and it gets scheduled around it.
Weather and rules
The bits that decide whether a flight happens
Wind
Above roughly 20 miles an hour the aircraft is working hard enough that image stability suffers, and gusts around a building are worse than the forecast suggests. A survey flown in marginal wind produces marginal imagery, so it moves instead.
Rain
Water on the lens ruins the frame and water on the roof hides exactly what a snagging list needs to see. Damp after rain is workable. Actual rain is not.
Light
Bright overcast is the best light there is for this work. Hard low sun throws deep shadow into valleys and behind ridge lines, which makes a genuine defect harder to distinguish from a shadow, so timing on a clear winter day matters.
Airspace and the site next door
New build estates are often built in phases, so an address can sit close to an active construction site with its own restrictions. That is checked before booking, and where a flight cannot happen at all you are told before you have paid anything.
What is underneath
The A2 Certificate of Competency allows closer operation near buildings and uninvolved people than the basic category, which is what makes a tightly packed estate workable. It still means thinking about neighbouring gardens and any site traffic below.
Rescheduling
Moving a survey for weather is normal and costs nothing. It is better than flying a job that produces imagery too weak to put in front of a builder.
Before you book
Common questions
- How soon after moving in should this happen?
- Any time, but leaving it until close to the end of the defects period is the common mistake. Booking it early enough that a listed defect can still be reported, chased and, if needed, followed up before the window closes is what actually makes the evidence useful rather than just interesting.
- Will the developer let a drone fly over the site?
- The survey is of your own property, flown from a lawful take off point, and does not need the developer's permission the way accessing a roof physically would. Where the plot borders a live construction site, that is checked and planned around before the flight rather than discovered on the day.
- Do I need to be at the property?
- No, though plenty of owners want to be. All that is needed is somewhere lawful to launch from and access to the property, which on an estate is usually straightforward.
- Is this the same as a snagging inspection?
- It covers the part a ground-level snagging inspection cannot reach: the roof, ridges, verges, gutters, upper render and anything above eye level. It is not a full internal snag of doors, sockets, paint finish and fittings, and sits alongside that kind of inspection rather than replacing it.
- What if something is found that looks serious?
- The report says what was seen and how urgent it looks, in plain words. It does not price a repair or tell you whether the builder is obliged to fix it under your specific warranty terms, because that depends on your own documents. What it gives you is dated evidence to put in front of whoever needs to see it.
- How much does a survey cost?
- A fixed price agreed before the visit, based on the address and the size of the roof. Send the address and what you want covered and you get the figure back rather than a range.
How the evidence works
Book a snagging survey with New Build Drone Survey
Tell us the address and what you need looking at. Sam Hembury will come back with a fixed price and the next available slot.