In Collinsville, Illinois, our team at Ridgeline Roofing & Solar decided to switch things up during a recent inspection by using a drone to get an aerial view of a residential shingle roof. While we don’t typically rely on drones for inspections, it offered a fun way to explore roof conditions from a different angle—and it helped us spot several issues worth addressing.

From the air, we identified signs of wear and tear on the architectural shingles. Although we couldn’t confirm the exact cause of the damage from the drone alone—it could be hail, foot traffic, or simply age-related deterioration—it was clear this roof needed a closer look.

The inspection also uncovered a few key installation and ventilation issues:

• Improper Ridge Vent Capping: Shingles were cut and used to cap the ridge vent, which is not a recommended method.
• Conflicting Ventilation Systems: The roof had both box vents and a ridge vent installed, which can disrupt airflow and reduce overall efficiency.
• Neoprene Pipe Flashings: These plastic flashings are prone to cracking and leaking over time, especially in varied weather conditions.
• Unaligned Valley Cuts: In one area, the valley cut wasn’t straight, and while often overlooked, this detail impacts both appearance and water runoff efficiency.

Tim also highlighted a helpful roofing tip: when two roof pitches intersect, the steeper slope should always be the one that’s cut for a proper valley—something many installers get wrong.

After wrapping up the drone flyover, we pulled out the ladder for a traditional up-close inspection. Whether you’re dealing with minor wear or more serious issues, Ridgeline Roofing & Solar is here to help keep your home protected.

Video Transcript:
"It's Tim Yates with Ridgeline Roofing and Solar. We are in Collinsville, Illinois right now. We're drowning a roof. If you can see where we got the drone up here. I don't recommend drones for inspections.

We're just kinda having a little fun today. So, we can see it's an architectural shingle. It's, definitely we've been looking at it for a second. It's definitely got some damage on it. And, you know, until we get up there, I'm not gonna guarantee that this type of damage is is hail damage.

It could be foot traffic. It could have been put on in the summer. It could be deterioration due to the age of the roof, but it's definitely showing some wear and tear up there. The ridge vent, which also has ridge vent for ventilations on top of box vents, the ridge vent is, capped with shingles. They actually cut the shingles and put them on the the the ridge vent and not recommended either.

And, also, you shouldn't double up your ventilation like that because it confuses the air. And then the pipe flashings are neoprene, and they are plastic pipe flashings. And there's been a few let me get my gimbal up here. There's been a few areas on here that are repair areas. You can see those pretty well.

Got a little chimney up there. And then this area here, the the valley's obviously not cut straight. But this gable that's coming off the front of this roof right here is steeper than the rest of the roof. So steeper always cuts, so they'd actually cut the right part of that. A lot of people think the main roof always cuts, but it doesn't.

Even though it's higher, if it's steeper coming off of it, then then that's the area that gets cut. So we're gonna pull out a ladder and, jump up on this roof. And if you need assistance with your roof, residential or commercial, please give us a call. Thank you."