Start to finish
One booking, one surveyor, wherever the address is in the coverage area
On the day
From booking to the report
- Step 1
The address and the quote
Send the address and what needs looking at. Travel time from Exeter is worked into the fixed price at this stage, so the figure that comes back already accounts for where the job is.
- Step 2
The site check
Airspace and a lawful take off point checked before a date is confirmed, wherever the property sits in the coverage area. Aerodrome zones and restricted airspace exist across the whole of Devon, not just near the city.
- Step 3
The booking
A date agreed against the next available slot rather than a queue. Jobs in the same part of the county are grouped where it helps, but that never becomes the reason a booking waits longer than it needs to.
- Step 4
Ten minutes on the ground
A walk round first on arrival. Where the water is going, what has already been noticed, and anything that changes where the aircraft flies from.
- Step 5
The flight
A systematic pass covering what was agreed at booking, then close work on anything worth a second look. Half an hour to an hour for most jobs.
- Step 6
The desk work and the report
Images sorted and written up, with a plain description of anything found and how urgent it looks. In your inbox within 48 hours of the flight.
The report
What is in the report
Elevation overviews
One clean frame per area covered, so the survey can be understood as a whole.
Marked up detail images
Anything found, photographed close and marked so there is no argument about where it is.
Plain descriptions
What it is, where it is, and how urgent it looks, written in ordinary words.
The original files
Full resolution images, so whoever quotes any follow up work can zoom in themselves.
Why 48 hours, wherever the job was
The desk work takes roughly the same time regardless of how far the flight was from Exeter, so the 48 hour turnaround holds across the whole coverage area rather than slipping on the more distant jobs.
Weather and rules
What decides whether a flight happens on the day
Wind
Above roughly 20 miles an hour the aircraft is working hard enough that image stability suffers. This is checked for the specific site, not just a general county forecast, since Dartmoor and the coast behave differently to the Exe valley.
Rain
Water on the lens ruins the frame. A survey flown in rain is not worth having, so it moves rather than goes ahead regardless.
Light
Bright overcast is the best light for this work. Hard low sun throws deep shadow into valleys and behind stacks, which matters wherever the roof is.
Airspace
Some addresses across the county sit inside a flight restriction zone around an aerodrome or under other restricted airspace. That is checked at the quote stage, not discovered on the day.
Travel and scheduling
A job further from Exeter is not treated as lower priority. It is simply scheduled with the drive time already accounted for, which is the whole point of a fixed price with travel included.
Rescheduling
Moving a survey for weather is normal and costs nothing, wherever in the county the booking was.
Before you book
Common questions
- Do you cover my part of Devon?
- Almost certainly. Coverage runs across the whole county from a base in Exeter, plus the nearest towns across the Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset borders. Send the address and a fixed price comes back that already accounts for travel.
- Is travel charged separately?
- No. Travel across the coverage area is built into the fixed price agreed before the visit, so a booking from the far side of the county is not treated as a special case with an extra line added on.
- How quickly can a survey be booked?
- Based on the next available slot rather than a national queue, and slots move around the weather. Send the address and what needs looking at, and a real date comes back rather than a vague window.
- Do I need to be on site for the survey?
- No. Plenty of surveys are flown with nobody present, for landlords, agents and buyers who are not local to the property. All that is needed is somewhere lawful to take off and land, and permission to be there.
- What if the weather turns on the day?
- The flight moves. Rain and strong wind ruin the imagery, so a survey flown in poor conditions is not worth having. Rescheduling for weather is normal and costs nothing.
- What do I actually get at the end?
- A written report within 48 hours, with annotated photographs, an overview of each elevation covered, a note on how urgent anything found looks, and the full resolution images.
- How much does a survey cost?
- A fixed price per job, agreed before the visit and based on the address and what is being covered. Send the address and the figure comes back rather than a range.
- Are you actually based in Devon?
- Yes, in Exeter. Surveys are flown by the person who quotes the job, not routed to whichever operator on a national list happens to be nearest on the day.
Call now
Book a survey with Drone Survey Devon
Tell us the address and what you need looking at. Sam Hembury will come back with a fixed price and the next available slot.