Traditional scaffolding
£850
- Setup & access window
- 10–14 days
- Safety risk
- High
- Site disruption
- Significant
Cost & time calculator
Scaffolding vs drone inspection
Compare Hampshire access costs for a visual building survey—before you book a scaffold or a flight.
Council pavement permit
Hampshire / Southampton pavement licence (est. £150)
Standard · within 2 weeks
Urgent
Standard
Total savings
You save £601 and 8–13 days of disruption
Solent Aero diagnostic
£249
- Flight to report
- 1–2 days
- Safety risk
- Zero height work
- Deliverable
- Defects flagged
Estimates only. Scaffold figures reflect typical South Coast hire for inspection access, not full re-roof works. Large or complex sites are quoted.
How the figures work
Built from Hampshire access reality—not national averages alone.
Scaffolding costs in this calculator use typical South Coast hire bands for inspection access: about £850 for a standard residential roof, £1,400 for a larger domestic roof, and £2,800 for commercial units or low-rise blocks. If a pavement licence is required—common on Southampton and Hampshire street frontages—we add an indicative £150 council fee.
Those totals still exclude the larger risks HSE Working at Height Regulations are designed to control: fall exposure for operatives, neighbour disruption, and hire minimums that stretch a “quick look” into a 10–14 day mobilisation. A drone diagnostic does not remove the need for scaffold when repairs start—but it usually means you only scaffold the areas that actually need work.
Solent Aero flights are priced from £249 for standard buildings and £499 for larger commercial stock. Footage is reviewed for defects and issued as a structured aerial diagnostic report—typically within 1–2 days, or inside 48 hours on an urgent booking window.