Had something similar happen, but kind of in reverse. Last year, our inspection report came back pretty clean—just minor cosmetic stuff and a note about some moss buildup—but nothing alarming. A few months later, during a heavy storm, I noticed water trickling down the wall in our upstairs hallway. Climbed up into the attic and found a slow leak around one of the vents. Turns out the flashing around it was cracked and letting water seep through slowly over time.
Funny enough, the drone had totally missed it—probably because from above it looked intact enough, or maybe the angle just wasn't right to spot the damage clearly. But from underneath in the attic, it was super obvious. Thankfully caught it early enough that no major damage occurred, just some drywall patching and repainting.
I guess drones and tech are great for initial assessments—especially for spots that are hard to reach—but there's still no substitute for getting up close and personal sometimes. Technology can miss subtle details that human eyes (or a flashlight beam from below) can catch more easily.
Still, I'd rather have an overly cautious drone than one that's too laid-back about potential issues...better safe than sorry definitely applies here!
Had a similar experience myself. Drone inspection came back looking like something out of NASA—super detailed, high-res images, the works. But it completely missed a cracked shingle that was letting water seep in slowly. Only noticed it because I happened to be cleaning gutters and spotted it from the ladder.
Honestly, drones are awesome for getting a quick overview, especially if your roof is steep or tricky to access. But they're not foolproof. Sometimes you just gotta get up there yourself (or have someone else do it) and poke around a bit. Tech can miss stuff that's obvious when you're standing right next to it.
Still, I'd rather have the drone report as a starting point than nothing at all. Just gotta remember it's not magic—it's a tool, and tools aren't perfect. Glad you caught yours early though...water leaks are sneaky little devils.
Totally agree drones can miss sneaky issues. Did you notice if your cracked shingle was near flashing or a valley? Those spots seem to trip up drone inspections more often...always worth a closer manual check in tricky areas. Glad you caught it early though, saved yourself some headaches.
- Had a drone inspection once, felt like I was in Blade Runner...minus Harrison Ford sadly.
- Good point about flashing and valleys, drones def miss those tricky spots. My cracked shingle was actually near the chimney flashing—drone totally overlooked it.
- Ended up climbing up myself (budget inspector here 🙋♂️) and found a few more loose shingles nearby. Glad I did, saved me from future wallet trauma...
- Moral of the story: drones are cool but nothing beats a good ol' fashioned ladder climb (and mild fear of heights) for peace of mind.
Interesting point about drones missing tricky spots—makes me wonder how reliable they really are for detailed inspections. Do you think it's mainly due to camera quality or operator experience? I've considered a drone inspection myself, but now I'm second-guessing if it's worth the cost. Maybe a hybrid approach would work better—use drones for a general overview, then ladder-up for the suspicious areas? Curious if anyone has tried that combo method...
