With South Lakes Housing previously using traditional roof inspection methods to assess the estate, concerns remained unaddressed with issues prevailing due to a lack of insight and data being obtained on each property’s upper surface condition. The unique and complex features of the estate, including river-side four-story buildings, underpasses, extensions and hard-to-reach five-story flats, made traditional inspections ever more challenging and costly. The disruptive and intrusive nature of an estate-wide traditional roof inspection was also considered an unfavourable method for residents as it would involve a vast amount of scaffolding.

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Tom, Operations Director at Vantage UAV explained: “A big part of the planning process is advising residents that a drone inspection will be taking place. This allows us to ensure that residents are aware but also allows us to ensure that residents are kept safe in terms of privacy and of course the flight operation itself.”

Vantage UAV’s drone inspection allowed for the identification of a variety of problem areas across the estate, providing greater insight into their severity and the necessary responsive repair action. Several properties had vegetation growth which had already or was in the process of causing structural damage to building roofs and facades.

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The detailed assessment also provided information on minor works needing to be carried out with areas of moss and lichen growth, as well as damaged or missing tiles. The outputs provided data for strategic repairs based on severity and supported planned maintenance for potential issues to be highlighted and resolved before incurring serious damage.