Planning your commission
Drone survey costs, deliverables & turnaround
Compare the outputs before choosing a flight. This guide explains what affects a quote, how to plan the handover and what an inspection report can contain.
What affects the price?
Drone work is priced around the site and the deliverable. A short photography visit, a thermal inspection and a measured mapping project involve different capture and processing work.
- Site and travel: location, area, number of buildings and access arrangements.
- Flight planning: airspace restrictions, permissions, site induction and the need for ground support.
- Capture: visual imagery, thermal data, repeat visits or overlapping photographs for mapping.
- Processing: selecting images, annotating observations, editing video or building maps and models.
- Specification: report detail, file formats, accuracy requirements and specialist interpretation.
A meaningful quote needs the town or postcode, approximate site size, intended use and required outputs. Ask for travel, processing, VAT where applicable, optional work and any revisit charges to be itemised. A headline flight price alone may not include a report or model.
Which output should you request?
| Output to discuss | Useful for | Specify in the brief |
|---|---|---|
| Visual image record | Roof condition, property imagery or construction progress | Coverage, close-ups, dated viewpoints and image resolution |
| Annotated inspection report | Sharing visible observations with a property manager or contractor | Overview images, observation references, limitations and report format |
| Thermal and visual image set | Locating temperature patterns for further investigation | Capture conditions, matching visual references and required interpretation |
| Map or 3D model | Site planning, design coordination or progress comparison | Site boundary, coordinate system, file format and accuracy/checkpoint requirements |
| Repeat monitoring visits | Comparing progress across project stages | Visit frequency, consistent viewpoints and a delivery format for comparisons |
These are scope options to discuss, rather than fixed packages. The written quotation defines what is included.
When will I receive the results?
Separate the proposed flight date from the delivery date. Weather, airspace and access can move a flight; processing and review happen after capture. An image selection and a checked mapping model need different amounts of work.
- Before booking: state your deadline and whether it is flexible. Agree the required outputs and a proposed capture window.
- Before the flight: confirm site access and suitable capture conditions. Thermal work may need a different weather window from visual photography.
- At handover: receive the agreed files and supporting information. Any staged preview, report revision or specialist review should be included in the scope.
Ask for the delivery interval to be stated from the successful survey date, and for the process if weather causes a postponement. Contact us to confirm availability before relying on a deadline.
Example inspection report structure
- Project summary: site reference, survey date, brief, inspected areas and exclusions.
- Capture conditions: method, equipment, access restrictions and conditions relevant to interpreting the images.
- Overview plan or image: labelled areas to make individual observations easy to locate.
- Observation register: a unique reference for each observation, location, visual image, description and limitation.
- Annotated detail images: arrows or boxes indicating the feature described; thermal images paired with visual references where relevant.
- Follow-up: clearly separate observed features from diagnoses requiring a qualified specialist.
- File index: image names, report version and any agreed data or model files.
| Reference | Location / image | Observation | Follow-up / limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unique observation ID | Roof area, panel row or site zone; matching image filename | What is visibly present in the captured image | What needs checking, by whom, and what the imagery cannot establish |
Service-specific points to agree
Roof inspections: identify roof slopes and details that need coverage. Visual observations do not establish hidden defects or structural adequacy.
Solar inspections: agree array references, thermal conditions and who will investigate suspected electrical faults. A temperature difference is not, by itself, a diagnosis.
Mapping: specify the intended use and required accuracy before capture. Image resolution and positioning equipment alone do not establish a model’s measured accuracy.
Construction monitoring: agree repeat viewpoints, capture dates and how progress records will be compared.