Choosing a survey level
A drone still shows the front slope, and the valley is in shadow. What has that still not inspected?
It has not inspected the valley. The still shows the front slope, and the valley is in shadow. A photograph of one face, with the valley hidden, is not an inspection of that valley. It has not shown the gutter, the flashings or the debris a shadow can cover, and it has not put anyone at the valley to look. Do not rate the valley from a dark wedge in the corner of a picture of the front slope. The still is the front slope, and only that.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Drones can show slopes you cannot see from the pavement. This particular still does not do even that for the valley. Shadow is an absence of information. You cannot turn a dark area into a clean valley or a failed one. The front slope may be readable in the same frame. Leave it as a picture of the front slope. The valley remains unseen, which means it is not inspected, not passed and not condemned by the image.
If the valley matters to the decision, ask for an inspection that actually sees it: from a loft, from a safe vantage, or from a further visit that is not this still. Keep the photograph in the file as a picture of the front slope. Do not tell the lender the valleys were checked by drone because one image exists. A tool is only as useful as the view it captured. Here the view stopped at the shadow.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does any image you hold show the valley, or only the front slope?
- What will you mark where the valley was in shadow?
- What further look would actually see the valley?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not treat the shadowed valley as inspected.
- Use the still, if at all, for the front slope it shows.
- Arrange a view of the valley before you rely on it.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the front slope looks even, has the valley passed?
No. The front slope is a different part of the roof. An even front in a still does not inspect a valley that sat in shadow.
Can you brighten the photo and then call the valley seen?
No. Brightening a shadow does not create an inspection. The valley was not shown. A clearer print is still the same unseen valley, not a survey of it.