Last week I inspected a loss in the Plymouth Minnesota area,  it was an ugly measure, but i did it before I met the contractor who was standard late.  I met the contractor who was bragging up the Eagle View Measurement deal.  Having the roof measured,  I had him send me the report to verify and it seemed really neat and a time saver.  The picture I was sent was indeed a hard to measure hip roof but it wasn't the one I was on.

       Here is how I know, living in Minnesota all of my life there is about three neighborhoods that have canals that hold houses this size(not one of them nowhere near a lake or river).  Also there was a pool in the back yard.  I wonder if they think we are working so fast or don't care that we won't notice.

Has anyone else ran across this? 

The above said contractor states that some of the larger venders are accepting these as scope notes on roofs.    Could a lazier person take a few pictures and call it good?

You can go to Google Earth and print the layout of a roof for diagramming. It is difficult to identify the roof, so it does require a personal inspection to complete the roof measurements. I don't think the insurance industry is ready for eagle view. I personally would not pay $50.00 for their roof diagrams and measurement.

In Google Earth you can use the ruler to measure the slopes, ridges, etc., but on the roof measuring is required. Nor all aerial views are good. If they are good, you can help yourself with the roof diagram, just make sure it is the right house.

I have always thought this could be done. Could it be possible Eagle View is "running over the roofs too fast". If so, just slow down and photograph the right house and give the right measurements for the fee you charge. Some roof thumpers do the same thing.

"dont be a roof thumper" or a" muddler".

Just got a reply from an adjuster trying to work daily claims from home. USAA vendors are requiring the IA to open an account with Eagle View and pay about $40.00 per file fot the report which is accepted as "gospel". Did not mention the ITEL report. With the xmate lease and free milage you should clear enought to pay for a "whopper lunch"

Home builders and some roofers have contented for 40 years of you have the foot print and the pitch factors that adding 15% will always work on a steep cut up roof. It has worked for me. I have never had a turn back that I can remember.

Tim I will bet the health and welfare of their employees was the largest factor in this business decision. We were warned   by our employers about the risk of very severe injury 50 years ago and was instructed to get as close as we could to it{roof}.

I gave Eagle View a tryout on a very difficult job I did 5 years ago, just so I could compare their measurement capabilties and they photo measured a home about 3 blocks away. 

It was a freebie test run, but they never did follow up to my comments to get the actual roof re-measured.

Also, it does include pitch measurements and all perimeter, valley, hip and ridge lengths that can be observed from an overhead view, but no obstructed sections, obviously.

A fellow in JLC Forums said I could obtain the measurements from SketchUp using their measuring tool.

I also tried, iPhotMeasure.com which is now available as an SAAS online usage and re-named uPhoto.com but it took too long to outline the complex roof I tested with it.

Both tools would be fantastic if they were verifiably accurate.

Ed

Was that a sample report from the EagleView Website, or an actual users view and measurement done for a real world job address?

Ed

Like I said when I started this conversation,  wrong house wrong state!!  If a cat adjuster is in too much of a hurry to measure the pitch of a roof and the perimiter measurements...............Xact sketch will fill in the blanks.  If you don't use Xact, Integra when I used it had a pretty good system.  If that doesn't work, resort to good old fashioned Geometry.  Like I said at first,  I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread but now I've been offered it a few more times and don't want my name on anything I didn't measure.  I can see a vendor or carrier buying into this but untill the technology can measure to the inch I personally am not a believer.

New tec. will always try to replace a visit. This tool is probably being used now on hail storms by inside staff adjusters. Many years ago the adjusters located all the large hail in the zip codes and had all the policy pulled then inspected. I have arrived many times and my manager said I have you in this area as its hit hard, or this is very light out here but we will pay you $100.00 per roof and you can do 15-20 per day. I think its great when the factory geak says I will take over your puter and fix it for you. This is progress.

Google Earth will do the same thing as Eagleview. It also has a measuring tool so you can measure the roof. I tried in California on total losses to determine roof configuration and size of home and it works well. Unfortunatley, it is difficult to determine if it is the right home, so you gotta be careful there.