Post-Storm Roof Assessment

The period immediately following a major storm event is the most important window for roof documentation. Damage that exists immediately after the storm — punctures, displaced membrane sections, failed flashings, hail impacts, and standing water — can change rapidly as secondary weathering, temporary repairs, and normal building operations alter the evidence. Documentation that captures this initial post-storm condition is far more defensible than documentation produced days or weeks later.

Traditional roof inspection methods — walking the roof with a clipboard and camera — are slow, dangerous in post-storm conditions, and unable to survey large commercial roofs comprehensively in a single visit. A 100,000 sq ft flat roof can take a ground-based inspector one to two days to walk completely, during which time conditions continue to evolve. Our FAA Part 107 certified drone operations survey the same roof in two to three hours, producing a complete, high-resolution visual record of conditions immediately after the storm.

Our post-storm aerial surveys produce a comprehensive visual and thermal record of roof conditions:

4K Visual Imagery: High-resolution aerial photography and video documentation of the entire roof surface, including all penetrations, flashings, parapets, drains, skylights, and mechanical equipment — from angles unavailable to ground-based inspection.

Hail Impact Documentation: High-resolution close-up imagery of roofing membrane and metal component surfaces to document hail impact patterns, impact density, and impact dimensions across the full roof area.

Membrane Damage Mapping: Identification and GPS-tagging of membrane punctures, blisters, seam separations, and displaced sections across the full roof area.

Flashing and Edge Condition Survey: Documentation of perimeter flashing, coping, and edge metal conditions — among the most common failure points in storm events.

Thermal Moisture Survey: Post-storm thermal imaging identifies areas where moisture has already infiltrated the roofing assembly — often within 24–48 hours of the event — providing early documentation of moisture damage before it is evident on interior surfaces.

One of the most powerful outputs of our post-storm drone surveys is the georeferenced orthomosaic roof map — a seamlessly stitched, precision-scaled overhead image of the entire roof surface that can be used for damage area calculations, scope development, and carrier submissions.

Unlike a collection of individual photographs, an orthomosaic provides a single, measurable image of the complete roof. Damage areas can be precisely measured in square footage. GPS coordinates can be embedded in the file so that every identified damage location is precisely located. The result is a documentation package that eliminates the scope disputes that arise when damage area calculations are based on estimates rather than measured data.

Following major storm events that affect large geographic areas — hurricanes, derecho events, major hail storms — CDS has the capacity to deploy multiple drone survey teams to document large volumes of properties in a compressed timeframe. Our centralized data processing and standardized reporting format ensure consistent, high-quality documentation across every surveyed property.

We coordinate directly with adjusters and carriers to prioritize the highest-value and most complex losses for early documentation, and we provide status reporting at the portfolio level for large CAT deployments.

Don't wait for interior damage to appear before documenting your roof. Contact CDS at (303) 242-6361 immediately following a storm event to schedule aerial documentation. We deploy nationwide.