**CLEANFAX**
Commercial restoration contractors are rapidly adopting drone-mounted thermal imaging cameras to detect moisture intrusion in flat and low-slope commercial roofing systems, with early adopters reporting 80% reductions in assessment time and significantly improved detection accuracy.
Traditional roof moisture surveys require technicians to walk the entire roof surface with handheld infrared cameras, a process that can take two to three days for large commercial properties. Drone surveys can cover the same area in two to four hours, capturing thermal data across the entire roof plane simultaneously.
"We surveyed a 200,000-square-foot distribution center in four hours that would have taken our team three days on foot," said Mark Hendricks, owner of Hendricks Commercial Restoration in Dallas. "The drone found moisture in six locations we almost certainly would have missed with manual scanning."
The technology is particularly effective at night, when temperature differentials between wet and dry roofing materials are most pronounced. Wet insulation retains heat longer than dry material, creating clear thermal signatures in post-sunset surveys.
FAA Part 107 certification is required for commercial drone operations. Several restoration industry training providers now offer combined thermal imaging and drone operations courses.
