ROOFS

[ajakos]

Hey, has anyone heard of the "eye-stick" its a big long extension pole for a camera so you dont have to go on the roof. Is it a good idea in terms of the roof inspection?

[Mark P]

It has been discussed here before, do a search and you should find it. I would not spend my money on one, but that is just me.

[John Kogel]

I have a camera tripod taped to a paint roller handle which screws onto a 12' extendable paint pole. I used black electrical tape for a professional look. []

With a pruning pole attachment, I can go 24' up. Only done that twice since I built it.

I use the paint pole either from a balcony or from the top of a ladder, about 5 times a year. Some people use the movie function of their camera. I prefer to use a camera with a 10 sec timer for still shots, quicker to upload and use. I can then show these pics to my clients on a laptop.

Here's an example from a month ago. 12 in 12 pitch with an invisible flat section. I'm at the gutter on my long ladder, two stories up.

The white spots are seagull poop. They love flat roofs on the waterfront.

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This is all I could see from the ladder and no, I ain't climbing up that valley.

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I got 5 or 6 good high res pics of the roof with the paint pole.

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This pic is blurry maybe from the wind shaking my pole, but there's the pole cam shadow, lower right.

[Rob Amaral]

I got one. It's expensive, but it has saved the day and paid for itself already... It should be in your tool-box of things to own as a home inspector. Had it almost 2 years. Great device.

[ajakos]

with having the expensive camera, whats the tallest ladder you bring to the inspection?

[hausdok]

How do you frame a shot in the viewfinder and adjust your exposures from the bottom of the pole?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[John Kogel]

How do you frame a shot in the viewfinder and adjust your exposures from the bottom of the pole?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

I set my timer and have a 10 second count to position the pole, then hold it steady. Bring it down, check the pic. The tripod has an angle adjustment. Auto focus. Trial and error.

I imagine the fancy rigs have a remote viewer.

The pole I use doesn't replace walking the roof. It gives me pictures where there is no way to get up there, such as a condo roof where access is denied.

[kurt]

You guys is livin' in the dark ages.......go mobile

[islander238]

You guys is livin' in the dark ages.......go mobile

Only $14,995 for the base model. I thought I'd pick up two in case I forget to charge the battery.

[hausdok]

Yep,

Am'a still livin in them thar dark ages. I still don't got wun uf them thar infry red doohickies and am'a still climin' 'round on roofs and typin' out full narrativity reeports.

Eyup, eyup.

Wun Teem - Wun Fyt

Mike

[AbsoluteInspector]

They're very expensive, personally I wouldn't bother, I either walk the roof or if it's very steep or bad weather conditions I just climb a ladder up to the roof in three or four spots and see as much as I can see from there which is probably more than I would see with that camera and I'll save a load of money.

[Rob Amaral]

The cure for all this will eventually be some sort of remote aerial thing.. That industry is getting close... not there yet. .but in a few years..

[ghentjr]

Bought my kids the GoPro for Christmas. You can use your cell phone to view what the camera sees and give you really great control over your pix. The camera is smaller than a pack of cigarets and only weighs a few ounces.

Gopro.com

[Steven Hockstein]

The cure for all this will eventually be some sort of remote aerial thing.. That industry is getting close... not there yet. .but in a few years..

Thinking about trying one of these:

http://ardrone2.parrot.com/

Anyone have one yet?

[Marc]

The cure for all this will eventually be some sort of remote aerial thing.. That industry is getting close... not there yet. .but in a few years..

Thinking about trying one of these:

http://ardrone2.parrot.com/

Anyone have one yet?

I tried one out. It wasn't stable enough to maneuver close enough and hold position steady enough to take good photos. If you hit or even touched anything, it responded unpredictably. If it crashed on a roof or an inaccessibly location, you have a problem.

That was a year ago so maybe the stabilization program is improved.

About the battery. Life is very short. Much shorter than advertised and it takes time to get the bird into position and then wait for a lull in the wind to take the photo. When the battery gets low, it drops like a stone, wherever it happens to be. I couldn't have inspected the roof on my 1800SF house with even three sets of batteries.

Marc

[John Kogel]

Marc, yours was a dud, for sure.

Raymond Wand in Ontario bought the higher end whatever it is and had good success until he clipped an oak tree and crashed it.

Here's a fun video he posted. These are a high-powered craft. Although I suspect the beer box may be empty. Note 6 rotors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CBpaDY4yPc

[Bain]

This is supposed to be the latest and the greatest. Check out the video.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/techn ... .html?_r=0

[Marc]

This is supposed to be the latest and the greatest. Check out the video.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/techn ... .html?_r=0

Think I'll budget for it.

Marc

[bjloden]

I bought one in Atlanta at IW a few years ago. I use it on the dozen or so roofs I can't access per year. I have the spotter wireless camera and a HD video camera. With a little practice you can get pretty good at getting detailed video of the roof. It is also flexible enough to bend around behind chimneys.

They advertise the weight at 10#. Sounds like it would be easy to handle but when you have it fully extended, it can be a handful, especially if the wind is blowing. You will definitely build up some arm strength using it.