Drone roof inspections in Joliet, including the restricted blocks
10% of Joliet sits in a 0 ft FAA grid square, where LAANC will not approve any drone flight at all. We check your exact address first, because that block decides whether we can fly this week or need an FAA waiver.
Can a drone legally fly over your roof in Joliet?
Every roof inspection we fly has to clear the FAA first. The answer is different in every town, and in Joliet it comes out like this.
Joliet, Illinois
- Airspace class
- Class D
- Controlling airport
- Lewis University Airport (LOT)
- Maximum altitude
- 400 ft above ground
- FAA grid squares over town
- 142
- Approval route
- LAANC, usually under a minute
How high we can fly, block by block
The FAA cuts Joliet into 142 grid squares and assigns each one a maximum drone altitude. Here is how the whole city breaks down.
What this means for your appointment
Most of Joliet is straightforward. But 10% of the city sits in a grid square the FAA has set to zero, where no automatic approval exists at any altitude. If your roof is in one of those squares we will tell you on the first call, because that path needs a filed FAA waiver rather than an instant one.
Source: FAA UAS Facility Map, the dataset LAANC providers check before approving a flight. Grid effective 1/26/2023. Altitudes are feet above ground level. We hold FAA Part 107 certification and file every authorization ourselves, at no extra charge to you.
Book a drone roof inspection in Joliet
Send your address and we will check your FAA grid square before you commit to anything.
Joliet has had a quiet five years, and that is worth saying
Joliet has had a comparatively quiet five years. Both hail and wind reports sit below the average across the twenty towns we cover. That is worth knowing honestly: if nothing has hit your roof, an inspection here is maintenance rather than triage.
The biggest stone logged near Joliet was 1.75 inches, golf-ball sized. It is the size that fools people. It bounces off, the roof looks untouched, and the bruised mat underneath fails two winters later.
Wind has been kinder here: 69 damaging events against an area average of 151, topping out around 82 mph. Worth a look at the ridge and the rake edges after the bigger ones, but wind is not what threatens a Joliet roof.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, 2021-2025. Every hail and thunderstorm wind event whose reported location falls within 10 miles of Joliet. These are reported events, so busier areas generate more reports. Read them as exposure, not a complete storm census.
Where we fly in Joliet
Joliet covers 65 square miles and about 150,000 people, and we cover all of it. These are the areas we get called to most.
- Downtown Joliet
- East Joliet
- West Joliet
- Crest Hill
Joliet at a glance
- Population
- 150,000
- Area covered
- 65 square miles
- Airspace
- Class D
- Maximum drone altitude
- 400 ft AGL
- Inspections from
- $150
Joliet roof inspection questions
Do you need FAA permission to inspect a roof in Joliet?
10% of Joliet sits in a 0 ft FAA grid square, where LAANC will not approve any drone flight at all. We check your exact address first, because that block decides whether we can fly this week or need an FAA waiver.
How high can your drone fly over my Joliet roof?
It depends on your block. Joliet's grid runs from 0 feet up to 400 feet. We look up your address on the FAA map before the visit, and a lower ceiling never means a worse report, only a slower flight.
Which airport controls the airspace over Joliet?
Lewis University Airport. Joliet sits under its Class D airspace, which is why a drone flight here needs authorization at all. We file that request through LAANC as your FAA-certified operator, so there is nothing for you to submit.
What happens if my Joliet address is in a no-fly grid square?
We tell you before you pay anything. Roughly 10% of Joliet sits in a zero-foot square where LAANC will not issue an automatic approval. For those addresses we either file a further FAA authorization, which takes longer, or recommend a traditional inspection instead. We do not fly without approval and we do not charge for a flight we cannot make.
Has Joliet had enough storm damage to justify an inspection?
The National Weather Service logged 22 hail events and 69 damaging wind events within 10 miles of Joliet between 2021 and 2025. The largest hailstone reported was 1.75 inches, golf-ball sized, and the strongest gust hit 71 knots. Hail that size bruises shingles without breaking them, which is why roofs in this area tend to fail a few years after the storm that actually caused it rather than during it.
How long does a Joliet roof inspection take?
The flight itself runs 30 to 45 minutes for a typical Joliet home, a little longer on the lower-ceiling blocks where we fly closer to the roof. Your full report, with annotated photos and thermal imagery, arrives within 24 hours.
Do you serve all of Joliet?
Yes. Joliet has a population of about 150,000, and we cover the whole municipality, with the airspace caveat above for the small share of addresses in restricted squares. Inspections start at $150.
Closest towns we also fly
The FAA rules change as you cross municipal lines. These are the nearest towns to Joliet and where they stand.
Ready when you are, Joliet
Inspections start at $150. Report in 24 hours.