What is a thermal roof inspection?

A thermal roof inspection uses a radiometric thermal drone to find temperature differences across a roof that indicate trapped moisture, insulation failures, or membrane problems invisible to the eye. You receive an annotated report with each anomaly mapped, so you can target repairs instead of replacing a whole roof.

Do you map golf courses?

Yes. Castle Pines is golf country, and we provide course mapping, drainage and contour data, and multispectral turf-health analysis for superintendents and course management. These datasets support agronomy decisions, drainage planning, and course documentation.

Are you FAA certified and insured?

Yes. Blue Nose Aerial Imaging of Castle Pines is FAA Part 107 certified and Pix4D certified, and carries $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate liability plus hull coverage. A certificate of insurance is available on request. The business is owned and operated by an airline captain and certified flight instructor.

What areas do you serve?

We serve Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Parker, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, and the wider Douglas County and south Denver metro area. Sites within 30 miles of our base carry no mobilization fee.

How fast do I get my data?

Standard turnaround is 5 to 7 business days from the date of capture. Rush delivery within 48 to 72 hours is available for an additional fee.

Construction Drone Progress Mapping: A Site Team's Guide

The short answer

Construction drone mapping flies your site on a schedule and turns the photos into a measurable, dated record: an orthomosaic you can measure on, surface models for cut/fill, and stockpile volumes. It gives the whole team one source of truth for progress, quantities, and dispute documentation.

On a fast-moving site, the truth changes weekly and everyone remembers it differently. Drone progress mapping fixes a dated, measurable record of exactly what the site looked like on a given day, accurate to a couple of centimeters when it's flown with ground control.

It isn't about pretty aerials. It's about a map your team can measure on, compare week to week, and lay over the design to see what's actually built versus what was drawn.

What you actually receive

Georeferenced orthomosaic (a measurable, stitched top-down map)

Digital Surface and Terrain Models (DSM / DTM) for elevations

Stockpile volumetrics and earthwork cut/fill against a design surface

Contours and a dense point cloud for your engineers

A dated archive you can scroll back through for any week flown

How to read and use the data

The orthomosaic is a map you can measure on

A normal aerial photo has lens distortion and perspective, so distances are wrong. An orthomosaic is corrected and georeferenced, so a foot on the screen is a foot on the ground. You can measure lengths, areas, and pavement, and pull coordinates, right in the viewer.

Flown with RTK/PPK ground control, horizontal accuracy is typically in the 2 to 5 cm range, which is tight enough for quantities, layout checks, and progress claims. For contrast, a drone without corrections is only good to a meter or two. The accuracy on your report is verified against independent checkpoints, points measured on the ground and held out of processing, so it's a measured number, not a software claim.

Surface models drive cut/fill and volumes

The DSM is the elevation of everything (piles, equipment, structures); the DTM is the bare ground with that stripped away. Compare a surface to your design and you get cut/fill maps that show where the site is high or low. Compare two dates and you see how much moved.

Stockpile volumes come from the same data: the software measures the pile against its base. That number holds up at reconciliation far better than a tape-and-guess estimate.

Overlay design to see plan vs. built

Drop your site plan over the orthomosaic and the gaps jump out: a pad in the wrong place, utilities that don't match the as-built, grading that's off. Catching that on a screen on Monday is a lot cheaper than catching it in the field a month later.

Is it worth it for your project?

Existing-conditions baseline before you break ground, so you have a defensible starting point.

Monthly or milestone progress capture for owner reporting and pay applications.

Earthwork-heavy phases, where stockpile and cut/fill numbers directly affect the budget.

Any time there's a dispute brewing, a dated map ends a lot of arguments quickly.

Typical cost

A typical commercial mapping flight starts around $1,500 for sites up to 10 acres, with per-acre pricing beyond that and discounts for a recurring (monthly) program. Standard delivery is 5 to 7 business days; rush is available.

What to watch out for

Mapping flown with no ground control. Without RTK/PPK or checkpoints, the map looks great and measures poorly. Ask how accuracy is controlled.
Deliverables you can't open. Make sure the outputs drop into the tools your team already uses (your design software, your reality-capture platform).
'Mapping' that's really just a folder of photos. You want measurable, georeferenced products, not snapshots.

Questions to ask any provider

How do you control and verify accuracy on my site (ground control, checkpoints)?
What's the turnaround from flight to delivered data?
What formats do I get, and do they import into my platform?
Can we set a recurring cadence and lock pricing for the project?

Frequently asked

How accurate is construction drone mapping?

Flown with RTK/PPK ground control, horizontal accuracy is typically 2 to 5 cm, which supports quantities, layout checks, and progress documentation. Accuracy depends on control and conditions, which is why it's verified, not assumed.

How often should we fly the site?

Most projects fly a baseline before groundbreaking, then monthly or at milestones. Earthwork-heavy phases often justify more frequent capture because stockpile and cut/fill numbers move the budget.

How much does it cost?

A typical commercial mapping flight starts around $1,500 for sites up to 10 acres, with per-acre pricing beyond that and recurring-program discounts. You get a fixed quote up front.

Blue Nose Aerial Imaging provides high-accuracy aerial mapping, measurements, and data. Our deliverables are not legal surveys and we are not a licensed land surveying firm. Where a project requires survey-grade certification, we coordinate with a partnered licensed surveyor.

Drone Mapping & Photogrammetry Accuracy & Methods guide Golf guide Commercial & HOA Property guide

Work with a pilot who treats your data like a flight plan

Tell us about your site and we'll send a fixed quote, no surprises.

Get a Quote