Kent · London and the South East
Drone Roof Survey in Appledore
Drone roof surveys in Appledore and the rest of Kent. Surveys run on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Loose ridge and hip tiles
- Cracked flaunching or loose chimney pots
- Outlets choked with leaves and silt
Drone roof surveys for homes and businesses in Appledore
Some roofs are hard or unsafe to reach. A drone takes close-up photos of those roofs from the air. You see slates, ridges, chimneys, valleys and gutters in detail. The photos go into a written report. It also suits roofs that would be damaged by someone walking on them. If we cannot fly, we tell you why. We are often asked to look into standing water on a flat roof and blocked valleys and parapet gutters, across fragile roofs, tall and steep roofs and flat roofs on upper floors.
Somewhere as small as Appledore, older roofs are often steep and partly hidden by trees or outbuildings. Close-up drone photos and thermal images help show what cannot be reached safely. Both the forecast and the airspace are checked first. Older roofs with steep slopes and tall chimneys are where the extra view helps most.
The report records the roof as we found it on the day. It is useful right away, and a good reference for later, such as when you want to compare after future work.
- Location
- Appledore (TN26)
- Region
- Kent
- Price
- From £400 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Honest limits
It is a careful look at the roof, not the whole story. The main limits are:
- A flight where airspace permission is refused
- Neighbouring roofs the owner hasn’t asked us to survey
- A flight on a day when the weather is not safe
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will tell you before booking. What our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Large and complex roofs
- Fragile roofs
- Tall and steep roofs
- Flat roofs on upper floors
- Chimney stacks
- Valleys and parapet gutters
How we price drone roof surveys
To price your survey, we look at:
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- How big the roof is
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how safely it can be seen. Drone roof survey starts from £400, including VAT.
What to let us know when you get in touch
These details help when you get in touch:
- Access details, such as a loft hatch or a shared roof
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
Once you know what you need, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day.
Also near Appledore
What else we do in Appledore
Appledore questions
How do I find out if my home in Appledore is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Is Appledore within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. We cover the whole of London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned beforehand.
What does the report include?
Written findings with photos, covering the condition of the roof, the defects we found and what we recommend. The Standard Survey adds moisture detection and a structural check, and the Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable and structural analysis.
Can the drone do thermal imaging?
Not as part of the drone survey, which is about close-up photos. Thermal imaging is a separate check in the Premium Survey.
Do drone rules differ in central London?
Central London has restricted areas over Hyde Park, the City of London and the Isle of Dogs, where flights need permission from NATS. We check the airspace for your address and apply where needed.
Do I need to be at home?
Not always. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
What happens if the weather is bad?
The flight waits for better weather. Wind and heavy rain are the two things that ground a small drone, so we’d move the date with you.
Common roof problems in Appledore
Chimney tops take the worst of the weather. Cracked flaunching, loose pots and eroded pointing are often invisible from below. Close-up drone photos show their condition.
Signs worth acting on include:
- Slates or tiles shifted by high winds
- Ridge pieces that have lifted
- Tired mortar and pots at the top of a stack
- Gaps where slates or tiles have gone
For an older house near a landmark like Church of St Peter and St Paul, older roofs can be steep and hard to see from the street, which is where photos from the air and thermal images help.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Their track record with similar roofs
- How soon the report will arrive
- Will the report include photos?
- Are they insured for the work?
What happens on the day
Expect us to ask a few questions before we start, about the roof’s history, any leaks and past repairs. Then the inspection itself takes an hour or two for most homes, with the pre-flight checks included, and longer for big commercial roofs. Somewhere like Appledore needs a little journey planning: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. The roof is looked at from the ground, from windows, from the loft where there is safe access and from the roof where it’s safe.
- We start by making sure a drone flight makes sense for the roof.
- A date is fixed, with a fallback in case the weather turns.
- The roof is photographed from the air, with the camera kept on your property.
- Where there is safe access, we check the loft as well.
- Everything is written up, with the aerial photos and our advice.
How to prepare
- Check pets are kept safely away
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
Arrange a survey
A quick phone call is normally the easiest start: call 07833 053749 or use the contact form. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Advice
Leave it or get it looked at?
On a tall building, problems are frequently found only when water comes in. By then, timbers, ceilings and insulation may be wet. Looking from above picks up the early signs. For an older or listed building in a place like Appledore, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so a defect found early gives time to plan the work properly.
A Basic Survey starts from £150, with VAT included. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400. We confirm the exact price before booking.
Why book us in Appledore
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- An independent look at the roof
- Package prices that include VAT
- Drone and thermal imaging surveys available
See how roof surveys are priced and what we found on two real jobs.
Tips from our surveys
Most of what helps is simple and safe from ground level. Our suggestions:
- Keep a clear space in the garden or drive for take-off
- Allow time for permission if you are in a flight restriction zone
- Mention anything you’ve noticed on the roof
- A word with neighbours beforehand helps
We email the report to you, with close-up photos from the flight. Each finding is explained in plain words, and recommendations are ranked by urgency where that helps.
Keep the loft space ventilated. Poor airflow lets condensation build up, and it is something only an inside check will show. Keep insulation clear of the eaves.
Drone roof surveys around Appledore
We fly a sub-250g drone and are a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). Flights in the open category stay under 120 m (400 ft), with the drone kept in sight. With Smallhythe Place about 3.9 miles west, Appledore sits in an area with a long building history. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
Appledore is about 8 miles south-west of Ashford, in Kent. Appledore gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a careful inspection, photos and a written report. Appledore is one of the towns and villages in Kent we cover for drone roof surveys. Maidstone is in our area too.
Every address in TN26 is covered for drone roof surveys. We offer drone roof surveys to properties on The Street, Old Way and Court Lodge Road and the roads around them. If you are just outside Appledore, we cover Appledore Heath (1 mile north), Stone in Oxney (1 mile south-west), Reading Street (2 miles west), Stone Corner (3 miles west) and Brattle (3 miles north). We also work in nearby towns such as Ashford (8 miles north-east), Hythe (13 miles east), Tenterden (5 miles north-west), Kennington (10 miles north-east), New Romney (7 miles south-east) and Staplehurst (14 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Appledore
Appledore’s nearest station is Appledore (Kent) station, about 1.3 miles east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Brenzett Aeronautical Museum (3.6 miles south-east). Open spaces near Appledore include Orlestone Forest.