Drone Building Inspections can save lives. The right side of this building shows severe damage.
https://cbs12.com/news/cbs12-news-i-team/using-drones-to-prevent-another-surfside
Drone building inspections can make a difference. The Surfside building collapse created immediate awareness of Florida’s aging buildings.
This is from salt, heavy storm damage, rain and contraction/expansion from daily heating and cooling.
The aerial thermal imaging is new. It’s the first time the outside of large building can be scanned to detect damage. This includes structural damage, stucco damage, spaulding and water intrusion.
Thermal Building inspections for exterior walls are also effective in noting structure damage. We see many of the same issues that caused the collapse of the Champlain Tower.
The weather effect happens to all buildings over time. Salt, rain, wind eventually penetrate all buildings. It’s not uncommon to see damage to buildings in as little as seven years after completion.
By using drones to do a thermal scan of the building, a baseline inspection is created. This is important in the event of an insurance claim.
Without documentation of previous condition, insurance companies can minimize claims and have no resistance.
The thermal images are evaluated by a qualified Thermographer to create a report and provide documentation to understand the condition of these buildings.
Palm Beach Drone Pros is a certified Aerial Thermographer and works in with Bruni Infrared. We acquire and interpret the thermal imaging to provide this critical information on building conditions.
Drone building inspections can save buildings from damage with periodic scans and evaluations.
By creating an annual drone inspection scan of the building it becomes easier to know the progress so repair funding can happen. Starting an internal funding for the repairs is essential to maintaining early detection and repairs.
Drone building inspections are not expensive and provide this much needed data. This is new and the only way to evaluate the water damage that is the key to stopping some damage.
When left unchecked the damage can create spaulding of the rebar inside the concrete and weaken the bones of the building. This is part of what we saw in the Champlain Tower collapse.
Since this damage is not visible to the eye many assume that the building is fine. We don’t realize this are living things that are subject to aging damage. Often when the thermal images are discussed, clients surprised at the level of damage.
Repairs can easily be in excess of $10 million and greater. This often causes many internal problems is a building repair fund has not been established.
How Drone Inspections Work
The drone building inspection is quick and eliminates the need for the swing stage building scaffolding. We use a FLIR Thermal Duo Pro R aerial thermography camera and a DJI M600 Pro drone for drone building inspections.
The Duo Pro R thermal camera creates a thermal image and a matching RGB image to create a drone building inspection report. The images are evaluated by our Master Thermographer who then creates a report.
