Trying to diagnose a persistent ceiling leak from the safety of the driveway is a dangerous guessing game that usually ends with a precarious, unnecessary climb onto a high-reach ladder.
ZeroLadder was called to a two-story residence in Palatine where a mysterious water stain had appeared in a second-floor bedroom. From the ground, the chimney appeared perfectly intact, and even high-powered binoculars couldn’t see past the steep pitch of the roof. We executed a “Vertical Masonry Scan,” hovering our 4K inspection drone just inches from the chimney crown and the flue liner. By orbiting the masonry at peak height, we captured high-resolution evidence of a jagged hairline crack in the concrete cap and deteriorating mortar joints on the chimney’s “blind side.” These defects were physically impossible to see from the driveway but were the primary entry points for water infiltration during every Chicago rainstorm.
We delivered the “smoking gun” photos to the homeowner’s inbox before we left the property, providing the definitive proof needed to hire a mason. The owner bypassed a $150 “diagnostic visit” and used our 4K evidence to get an accurate, fixed-price repair quote, keeping their feet firmly—and safely—on the ground.
