Drone roof inspections in Kingsbridge

A medieval market town on the estuary

Kingsbridge grew up around a bridge between two royal estates. The Abbot of Buckfast was granted a market here in 1219, and by 1238 it was a borough. Weaving brought early prosperity; in the Victorian era, shipbuilding, tanning and trade kept the quay busy. The result is a steep town centre full of 18th- and 19th-century buildings.

Fore Street has the town's greatest concentration of listed buildings, mostly Grade II, with slate- and tile-hung upper storeys above Victorian shopfronts. The Shambles, rebuilt in 1796 on granite piers dating from 1586, is Grade II*. Slate hanging, where slates are nailed to a wall as weatherproofing, is common across the South Hams, and it fails the way roof slate does: slipped or missing slates, corroded nails and gaps that let water in behind. A drone can photograph upper walls and roofs on narrow streets where scaffolding would block the pavement. If repairs are needed on a listed building, check with South Hams District Council before work starts.

Coast, estuary and the South Devon National Landscape

Kingsbridge sits in the South Devon National Landscape, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1960, and the TQ7 postcode runs out to the coast at Thurlestone, Hope Cove, Bigbury-on-Sea and Torcross. Coastal homes here take south-westerly gales and salt spray head-on, and homes along the estuary live with damp, salty air all year. Lifted ridge and verge tiles, corroded fixings, failing lead and lichen-choked gutters are the usual results.

Many properties around the estuary and coast are holiday lets or second homes, and owners who live elsewhere often only hear about a roof problem when a guest finds a damp patch. A full roof visual inspection once a year, or after a named storm, gives you dated photos and 4K video to compare. Larger modern houses on the coast often have complex roofs, with several valleys, glazing and flat sections, that a drone covers far more completely than a ladder. Managing several properties? See inspections for landlords and agents.

Typical jobs in Kingsbridge

• Checking slate-hung walls and roofs on older town-centre buildings
• Yearly photo records for holiday lets and second homes on the coast
• Storm checks on exposed homes at Thurlestone, Hope Cove and Torcross
• Inspecting complex modern roofs with valleys, glazing and flat sections

Questions from Kingsbridge homeowners