Can a drone facade inspection support a PAS 9980 or EWS1 assessment?

It provides the high-resolution external-wall condition evidence a qualified assessor needs to inform a fire risk appraisal of the external wall (FRAEW) under PAS 9980. The appraisal and any EWS1 rating remain with the qualified assessor; we supply the evidence, not the certificate.

How high can you inspect a facade?

The full height of the building, every elevation, captured close up from the air within the applicable airspace and proximity rules.

Do residents need to be moved or scaffolding erected?

No. Capture is from the air with minimal disruption to occupants, and there is no scaffold to erect or dismantle.

Can you inspect the facades across a portfolio of blocks?

Yes. Multi-block capture is planned as a programme with consistent grading, so the whole estate reads as one dated, comparable facade record.

Insights & guidance

Commercial Facade and Cladding Inspection by Drone

The facade is where condition is hardest and most expensive to see, and where the regulatory stakes are highest. Drone capture changes the economics of getting eyes on it.

Updated July 2026 · 4 min read

The problem at height

Cladding, render, brickwork, sealant, balconies and movement joints all degrade, and all sit where a person cannot easily or cheaply reach. The result is facades that go unexamined until something forces the issue.

Full-height capture, no scaffold

A drone captures every elevation close up, at full height, without scaffold and with minimal disruption to occupants. You get the whole facade, not a sample from the parts that happened to be reachable.

Where it supports PAS 9980 and EWS

High-resolution facade imagery gives a qualified assessor a clearer view of the external wall to inform a fire risk appraisal under PAS 9980. We provide the condition evidence; the appraisal itself stays with the assessor.

What we capture

Cracking, spalling, displacement and failed sealant, and the condition of cladding and high-level detail, graded and located on the elevation so it is traceable later.

Across a portfolio of blocks

For a housing provider or commercial landlord with many buildings, that is one consistent facade record across the estate, dated and ready when a regulator, a lender or a resident's solicitor asks what you knew and when.