I am looking for suggestions for a good roof inspection course. I don't want to waste my money on one that doesn't cover the necessary information very well. Thanks in advance for your help!
Roof Inspection Courses
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Mavic Mac
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Welcome to the forums - a lot of good info here. Also, the search function (magnifying glass icon upper right) is a great way to find answers to many of the questions a "newbie" will have. We were all "newbies" at one point.
R.Perry
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I had a home inspection business, certified by Nachi, they have a very good roof course, I think you can take the individual courses without the signing up for the entire course.
If you aren't a licensed contractor, be careful doing roof inspections, if you miss something it can get real costly.
If you aren't a licensed contractor, be careful doing roof inspections, if you miss something it can get real costly.
Welcome to the forum.
Be careful how you word your services as "Inspections" require you to be licensed in many states.
Thanks, that's good to know. I am not a licensed contractor, just looking for ways to put my drone to work. May stick to real estate for now. The courses I have looked at all make it sound easy - take the course, go to work.
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Mavic Mac
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Some many courses advertised make it sound soooooooo easy. Take our course - become rich 
. Most don't explain the behind the scenes work, the many hours of time and monetary investments that will be necessary to develop a good business. I always said the advantage of owning your own business is you get to decide which 18 hours out of the day that you will work
. Most don't explain the behind the scenes work, the many hours of time and monetary investments that will be necessary to develop a good business. I always said the advantage of owning your own business is you get to decide which 18 hours out of the day that you will work
Most of those only make the Instruction Facility/Instructor rich.... Caveat EmptorSome many courses advertised make it sound soooooooo easy. Take our course - become rich
AMEN to that!!
We started our current business in ~2013. We were fortunate that at that time we had very little competition so it was a VERY lucrative venture for a while. We had names like The Travel Channel and Disney seeking out our services and paying a PREMIUM for our knowledge and licenses. In 2016 things really changed with Part 107 and the whole dynamics changed literally over night. Even when things were great we worked lots of hours and had to hustle wearing many different hats (accountant, marketing Guru, PR specialist, speaker, teacher, and sometimes pilot LOL). Finally the business found a nice profitable niche and things calmed down but we still work most holidays and weekends because you gotta make HAY while the Sun is Shining.
Fred Garvin
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Zig Ziglar said “The only sure way to get rich is to get people to pay you to tell them how to get rich”.
I understand completely! I started in photography in 1979, long before digital. Digital has made everybody a photographer and people no longer see the difference or value in paying for quality images when cousin Johnny can do it for little or nothing.
Several of the courses offer Certified Aerial Roof Survey Specialist (CARSS) as part of the program. Is that enough to make me reasonably qualified to do this? I will look into the Nachi courses. They seem much more detailed than the 3-5 minutes these drone courses offer on each step of their course.
R.Perry
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One thing I have always done is if I see something questionable on a roof I call it out and refer the client to a licensed roofer. Don't ever make recommendations for repairs other than stating it should be done by a licensed roofing contractor. That way you are protected.
R.Perry
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A proper roof inspection is also done from the attic as well. Many times you will not see anything on the roof but once you get into the attic you can find things like moisture penetration, dry-rot, and a list of other problems. If you are only doing aerial, you are not doing a roof inspection, you are filming a roof and that can be helpful to a homeowner or realtor, but DO NOT call it an inspection, it isn't.
Well stated! And we don't WANT that level of liability either.
We did a Roof Capture for a client this weekend. It was a STEEP roof (12/12) with deteriorating wood shakes that made the roof very dangerous to be on physically. It was for the adjuster to document the "visible" damage to go into his report. This was in addition to his Attic Inspection (his was an inspection mine was a Data Capture.. aka making pictures) that was done previously. I provided the pictures and it's up to him and his agency to use it however they see fit and how THEY want to label it. We just take pictures and the professionals evaluate the pictures and suggest or take action as THEY see fit.
This was for a multi-million $$ home located on a private country club. We were there maybe 30 minutes tops and the payday was excellent. Unfortunately it was 1.5 hrs travel each way but their agency didn't mind paying our fees as apparently 2 other "Professional UAS Companies" had turned the job down stating it was too complex and dangerous (Trees over hanging the roof).
R.Perry
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Fred Garvin
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I do Roof Inspection Images.
Typically after a hailstorm, an insurance adjuster will ask me to closeup image 3 or 4 roofs in the area. They can look at these images and determine the level of storm damage to the roof and if an in-person inspection is warranted or to just go ahead and allow claims in the area. They have storm maps from the NWS that detail the hail core and where it passed, from reports and radar returns. They know exactly where the hail was and was not.
I market these as "Images for your licensed inspector to view in the safety and comfort of their office". I do not market or represent that I in any way do inspections.
Typically after a hailstorm, an insurance adjuster will ask me to closeup image 3 or 4 roofs in the area. They can look at these images and determine the level of storm damage to the roof and if an in-person inspection is warranted or to just go ahead and allow claims in the area. They have storm maps from the NWS that detail the hail core and where it passed, from reports and radar returns. They know exactly where the hail was and was not.
I market these as "Images for your licensed inspector to view in the safety and comfort of their office". I do not market or represent that I in any way do inspections.
Let's see, trees overhanging the roof, it that when you use RTH.
Loss of Connection - Hover in Place.... very important setting to confirm FIRST!!
I work with Licensed roofing Contractors evaluating flat and low pitch roofs for moisture penetration using a thermal sensor. We identify the thermal anomalies, Contractor performs penetration tests and can make better decisions for customer. Can they do an overlay and save money or need a rip and replace.
Flir has a three day roofing course. The course is geared towards ground inspections, so you will not get any aerial knowledge, but you will get the much needed basic background on different roofing materials. For instance, TPO vs EPDM. Very different in how they will absorb and emit thermal radiation.
Flir has a three day roofing course. The course is geared towards ground inspections, so you will not get any aerial knowledge, but you will get the much needed basic background on different roofing materials. For instance, TPO vs EPDM. Very different in how they will absorb and emit thermal radiation.
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