I have stood on enough commercial roofs after a spring cell moved through Northwest Arkansas to know the scramble: property manager on the phone, tenant asking about leaks, contractor wanting a scope, and an adjuster visit that may be days out. Everyone wants photos. Nobody wants another person walking a wet, damaged membrane if they do not have to.
That is when a storm damage roof scan earns its keep. Fly the building soon after the weather clears. Capture high-resolution visible imagery of the whole roof—plus thermal when moisture or soft spots are part of the question—and hand the owner a dated aerial record before the meeting on the deck.
What we are documenting (and what we are not)
We document what the camera sees: uplifted membrane edges, missing or displaced ballast, punctures visible from altitude, ponding patterns after the storm, debris fields, and thermal anomalies that may indicate wet insulation under low-slope systems. We do not invent “what your insurer requires.” Carrier rules, deductible language, and claim forms belong to your agent and adjuster. Our job is clear imagery and, when scoped, thermal context—not claim advice.
If someone promises that a drone flight “guarantees” a claim outcome, walk away. Dated, well-labeled aerial evidence helps professionals argue from shared pictures. It does not replace their roles.
Why fly before the adjuster
Access and safety. After hail or wind, walking every bay is slower and riskier. Aerial coverage gets a whole-roof picture in one window. Consistency. The same orthomosaic can be shared with the roofing contractor, the PM, and the adjuster so everyone argues from one map. Speed. Storm seasons stack jobs; early documentation beats a foggy memory of “it looked worse on Tuesday.”
Thermal is optional but useful on flat roofs when you suspect water intrusion under the membrane. Visible-only still helps for obvious mechanical damage and missing pieces.
Core geography only
This lane is for everyday commercial roofs in our core market: Northwest Arkansas (Springdale, Fayetteville, Rogers, Bentonville), Joplin and southwest Missouri, northeast Oklahoma, and southeast Kansas. We are not building far-state “storm SEO” pages for random metros. If you are in the core and the roof took a hit, we can usually schedule around weather and airspace faster than a full climbing crew.
What you should receive
- Orthomosaic or high-overlap still set covering the full roof
- Close-pass imagery of damaged zones when safe and useful
- Thermal overlays when moisture survey is part of the scope
- Date, time, and basic condition notes (not a legal opinion)
Hand that package to your roofing contractor and your insurance contact. Let them own scopes and claim language.
Field notes from real storm weeks
Gate codes change when facilities lock down after severe weather. Escorts matter on schools and distribution centers. Standing water and soft membrane mean we plan flight paths that do not require techs to wander the worst bays just to “get a better angle.” Tell us about active leaks into conditioned space—that changes priority zones even if the whole roof gets mapped.
Visible detail that helps meetings
Close passes on damaged corners, HVAC curbs, and parapet edges often matter more than another wide ortho alone. When weather and safety allow, we capture extra frames on the worst zones so contractors can discuss repair vs. replacement without a second site visit. Still, nobody should treat aerial imagery as a substitute for hands-on moisture probes or structural opinions from qualified professionals.
After the meeting
Archive the storm flight in the same folder habit you use for routine roof thermal. If another cell hits next month, comparison against the post-storm baseline answers “is this new?” faster than memory. Label files with the storm date, not only “roof flight 3.”
Soft next step
Call 888.901.5150 or request a quote with building address, approximate roof size, and whether you need visible-only or visible plus thermal. We will give you a capture plan aimed at documentation you can use in the next meeting—not a sales lecture about drones.
How this fits the rest of the job
Aerial data only helps when someone opens it the same week. Name the decision owner—O&M lead, superintendent, ranch manager, plant accountant—before the flight so the deliverable format matches how they work. Gate codes, escort rules, and “do not fly” zones belong in kickoff. If weather slips the window, we would rather reschedule than deliver a compromised product dressed up as certainty.
Call 888.901.5150 or use get a quote when you are ready to scope the next capture. Related services stay on services without marketplace or software cross-sells that do not belong on this site.