Commercial Thermal Roof Inspections
Find the wet spots before they force a full tear-off.
A 250,000 sq ft roof, a replacement quote with a scary number, and no proof of whether the whole system is failing or just a few sections. Or an insurer wants documentation before they'll pay a claim. Either way, someone needs to walk the roof to figure out what's actually wrong, and putting a crew on an aging membrane to core-test it is its own liability. This survey is built for the low-slope membrane systems Houston has most of: mainly TPO and modified bitumen (Mod Bit) roofs.
Get your roof scopedWhat you get
An aerial infrared plus high-resolution RGB survey that maps exactly where moisture is trapped under the membrane: a marked-up report you hand to your board, your adjuster, or your repair crew. No cores, no destructive testing, no one walking a compromised deck.
What it lets you do
Repair the 15% that's actually wet instead of replacing 100%. Back an insurance claim with dated, defensible imagery instead of a contractor's word. Turn a guess into a prioritized, budgeted maintenance plan instead of an emergency spend.
How the inspection runs.
- 01
RGB control flight before sunset
The pilot arrives before sunset and flies a high-resolution RGB pass of the entire roof in daylight, the visual baseline every thermal finding is checked against.
- 02
Thermal flight within an hour after sunset
As the roof sheds the day's heat, the radiometric thermal pass is flown. Dry membrane cools fast; trapped moisture holds heat and reads as warm anomalies against the cooling surface.
- 03
RGB-to-thermal anomaly comparison
The pilot studies both image sets side by side, confirming each thermal anomaly against its RGB reference and separating trapped-moisture signatures from surface artifacts like patches, debris, or HVAC shadows.
- 04
Thermal report, delivered
Findings land in a marked-up report with dated, geolocated thermal and RGB imagery for each anomaly, produced by a Certified sUAS Thermographer and formatted for the board, the adjuster, or the coating supplier's warranty file.
One survey, three decisions it settles.
Building owners & facility managers
A replacement quote landed and you need to know whether the whole system is failing or just sections of it. The survey turns that quote into a scoped decision: repair what is actually wet, budget the rest, and hand your board a marked-up report instead of a contractor's estimate.
Commercial roofing contractors
Most of the contractor work we fly is silicone restoration: before the coating goes down, the product supplier requires a thermal scan proving no moisture is trapped under the membrane: no clean scan, no warranty. We fly the roof and hand you either the clean scan or a moisture map of what to dry in first, plus independent evidence your customer and their adjuster can act on. Fast turnaround, a consistent report format, and no competing bid: we inspect, you do the work.
Insurance carriers & adjusters
Storm claims need documentation that stands up. Every report carries dated, geolocated radiometric imagery with an RGB reference for each anomaly, produced by Certified sUAS Thermographers on a repeatable process, so a desk reviewer six months from now can follow the evidence the same way the adjuster on site did.
Why Axis
Certified sUAS Thermographers who read radiometric data and are trained specifically on capture conditions and interpretation for roofs and energized equipment, rather than pretty heat maps. TWIC-credentialed for secured industrial and port-adjacent facilities that turn away uncredentialed vendors at the gate. High-resolution RGB paired with every thermal pass, so every finding carries a visual reference. The process and report format are already proven on completed, paid inspections for Houston-area clients and roofing contractors.
Houston is a commercial roofing market like no other.
Texas handles one of the highest volumes of wind and hail roof claims in the country, and the Houston area adds tropical storm and hurricane exposure on top of it. Every severe-weather season puts thousands of commercial roofs through impacts that don't show from the ground and don't always leak right away.
Houston also has an enormous inventory of exactly the roof this method is built for: large, low-slope membrane systems on warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities. On a 250,000 sq ft roof, the difference between replacing everything and repairing the wet sections is routinely a six-figure decision, and the thermal survey is what makes that decision defensible.
We're based in Houston, so a post-storm flight is a scheduling call, not a mobilization. One pilot, a couple of hours on site, and a report your contractor, board, or adjuster can act on.
Frequently asked questions.
How does an aerial thermal roof scan actually work?
The pilot arrives before sunset and flies a high-resolution RGB control pass in daylight. Within an hour after sunset, we fly the radiometric thermal pass: a dry membrane sheds the day's heat quickly while moisture trapped under it holds heat, so wet areas read as warm anomalies against a cooling roof. Every anomaly is then compared against its RGB reference before it goes in the report.
Which roofs does this work on?
The method is built for low-slope commercial membrane roofs, mainly TPO and modified bitumen (Mod Bit). TPO is the reflective single-ply membrane common on warehouses and distribution centers; Mod Bit is the asphalt-based multi-ply system. Other assemblies behave differently under thermal. Ask, and we'll tell you straight whether your roof is a candidate.
What weather conditions does the survey need?
Under 50% cloud cover, no standing water on the roof, and preferably no rain within the previous 24 hours. Standing water and fresh rain mask the signal of moisture under the membrane, and heavy cloud flattens the temperature differential the method depends on. If conditions aren't right, we reschedule rather than deliver a survey that can't be defended.
Is this as reliable as a core sample?
A thermal survey tells you where to look; it's not a substitute for confirming a finding with a core if a repair decision hinges on it. What it does is turn a guess-and-check process into a targeted one: instead of coring a 250,000 sq ft roof blind, you core the handful of spots the thermal survey flags.
Do you need roof access?
No. The entire survey is flown, and no one walks the roof deck, which matters most on aging or storm-damaged roofs where foot traffic is its own risk.
Will this hold up for an insurance claim?
The report includes dated, geolocated thermal and RGB imagery with marked findings, the kind of documentation adjusters expect to see. We can't guarantee a claim outcome, but we can guarantee the evidence is defensible.
How soon after a hailstorm or wind event should the roof be flown?
As soon as conditions allow, and before repairs start. Fresh damage documents most cleanly: moisture that entered through storm impact migrates over the following weeks, and temporary patches or early repair work can erase the evidence a claim depends on. If a storm has just moved through Houston, call us before you call for repairs.
Who orders the inspection, the building owner or the roofing contractor?
Either. Owners and facility managers order inspections to decide between repair and replacement or to document a claim. Roofing contractors bring us in to scope a job and give their customer independent evidence of what the roof needs. We work both ways, and contractors who use us regularly get a consistent report format their customers and adjusters have seen before.
What does an insurance adjuster actually need to see in the report?
Dated, geolocated imagery. Thermal anomalies paired with a visual RGB reference. The capture conditions and methodology, so the findings are repeatable. And the credentials of the person interpreting the data, which is why every Axis roof report is produced by a Certified sUAS Thermographer.
Related services
Field notes
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