What is everyone's preferred choice for measuring roofs from satellite view? I was using Google Earth for the longest time but the ruler fearure is not Android compatible.
I'm looking for free. I already employ the services of eagleview for large projects when needed but can't pay that fee for every roof.
I used it years ago before Google Maps Pro was free. A few things I don't like are, zooming stops at a fixed value and you can't go back to find pictures without leaves on the trees. Few options for what we need.
John Aloisio said
Mar 2, 2018
We use Eagleview/Pictometry. Been using it for years.
Brian C Jackson said
Mar 2, 2018
John Aloisio wrote:
We use Eagleview/Pictometry. Been using it for years.
I will be looking at these today.. thanks John
Zach Maynard said
Mar 2, 2018
Brett I have got to say thank you!!! I did not know that Google Earth Pro had a feature that let you see the historical pictures. This is going to surely prove valuable. Thank you!!!
BlueRidge said
Mar 2, 2018
Zach Maynard wrote:
Brett I have got to say thank you!!! I did not know that Google Earth Pro had a feature that let you see the historical pictures. This is going to surely prove valuable. Thank you!!!
Once you start using it and get use to it Zach it will make life much easier for you. For something free, it does a great job and it pretty accurate. There is so much in Google Earth pro I haven't taken the time to look at. Maybe one day.
Zach Maynard said
Mar 2, 2018
I used it for my Christmas light business because it's so easy to measure roofs, but now with historical data I can get a better view on a house in certain situations (like you mentioned with big trees etc)
DirtyRoofcom said
Mar 2, 2018
I used to use google earth just like you Brett. the tool bar is not existent on android or my desktop. My desktop is pretty old might have to update it but they should be able to fix it for android.
DirtyRoofcom said
Mar 2, 2018
John Aloisio wrote:
We use Eagleview/Pictometry. Been using it for years.
John your using eagle view for every house? do you have an unlimited account or paying per property?
BlueRidge said
Mar 2, 2018
DirtyRoofcom wrote:
I used to use google earth just like you Brett. the tool bar is not existent on android or my desktop. My desktop is pretty old might have to update it but they should be able to fix it for android.
It is not Google Earth but Google Earth Pro.
Eric Schnaible said
Mar 2, 2018
I do the same as Brett, have for a few years now. Yes, the ability to go back and get photos from the past is great for finding the best image for clarity, find a winter photo and you can see through tree coverage. I also use it at times to find out how old a roof is or when an addition was done or if they have gutters. Measuring the house and taking a screenshot is the first thing I do for jobs. With street view, you can see the pitch so I just multiply accordingly. Attached are some examples. I name the job after the street its on and put the actual square footage after the street name. I always send the screenshot along with my proposal.
I use another cool trick for measuring building exteriors (mainly for large commercial projects). Click on the '3d Buildings' feature (bottom left) and at the bottom right of the screen, it shows the elevation at the point of your cursor. You can get the height of the structure with this feature. Multiply the lineal feet of the building by its height and you have the square footage of the exterior. It's not perfect but it is very close. It also impresses customers. An example of this is the Lombard image. I actually have a lot of fun with it.
I do the same as Brett, have for a few years now. Yes, the ability to go back and get photos from the past is great for finding the best image for clarity, find a winter photo and you can see through tree coverage. I also use it at times to find out how old a roof is or when an addition was done or if they have gutters. Measuring the house and taking a screenshot is the first thing I do for jobs. With street view, you can see the pitch so I just multiply accordingly. Attached are some examples. I name the job after the street its on and put the actual square footage after the street name. I always send the screenshot along with my proposal.
I use another cool trick for measuring building exteriors (mainly for large commercial projects). Click on the '3d Buildings' feature (bottom left) and at the bottom right of the screen, it shows the elevation at the point of your cursor. You can get the height of the structure with this feature. Multiply the lineal feet of the building by its height and you have the square footage of the exterior. It's not perfect but it is very close. It also impresses customers. An example of this is the Lombard image. I actually have a lot of fun with it.
One thing we do differently Eric is I measure each segment of the roof and add them together. The square footage is close enough without guessing on pitch.
We have been talking about changes this year and one is to either send the satellite view or the street view. I need to play with the #D part of this. Thanks!
HHandywork said
Mar 3, 2018
This is gold gentleman! Now I need to get familiarize with it. Thanks for sharing!
John Aloisio said
Mar 3, 2018
We pay monthly. I think it is the Silver Package. I use it for all the apartment and commercial work we do and it makes for a great proposal presentation and we also use it on residential jobs too. Adds value to us more than our competitors who just sell on price. I use it for scheduling apartment work as well. My guys and the client can get a clear picture of what we are cleaning and when.
BlueRidge said
Mar 3, 2018
John Aloisio wrote:
We pay monthly. I think it is the Silver Package. I use it for all the apartment and commercial work we do and it makes for a great proposal presentation and we also use it on residential jobs too. Adds value to us more than our competitors who just sell on price. I use it for scheduling apartment work as well. My guys and the client can get a clear picture of what we are cleaning and when.
John, do you think $300.00 a month for silver is helping you win that many more bids? At some point all the stuff we use gets to be a pretty good total price tag at the end of the month. Just curious.
John Aloisio said
Mar 3, 2018
Brett,
We have a few other things going on that make it worth it right now. I almost got rid of it this year but then we added some other services and it made it worth it. I think it definitely helps on the commercial bids, especially all the unsolicited multi-family bids we do. Last year we put out 2.6 million in unsolicited bids and would not have been able to do it without that service. Those bids are paying dividends right now and we are seeing PO's from some of them.
Eric Schnaible said
Mar 3, 2018
Wow John, that is a lot of unsolicited bids. Yeah, I think I would pay for that measuring service as well.
Brett, just wondering why you measure each facet individually?
BlueRidge said
Mar 3, 2018
Eric Schnaible wrote:
Wow John, that is a lot of unsolicited bids. Yeah, I think I would pay for that measuring service as well.
Brett, just wondering why you measure each facet individually?
If I measure each section, the measuring tool sees it as one flat surface. No need to be concerned with pitch. I add them all together and get a pretty close total of the roof surface.
Brian C Jackson said
Mar 3, 2018
Wow
I need to step up to the plate and get my game up to par. I have been so set in my ways of how I look at the roofs online .
John Aloisio said
Mar 4, 2018
Eric
I am a firm believer in the saying. ...." Throw as much sh*t against the wall as you can and see how much sticks". All kidding aside, it gets us in the door of a lot of new clients. My inside sales gal spend a a lot of time doing them.
DirtyRoofcom said
Mar 10, 2018
Not sure why I am having a hard time getting Google Earth pro to download or operate correctly. I ve done this on a smart phone, a newer IPAD and a Android smart phone.
I can search and find properties but I have no tool bar. The pic below is what my screen looks like.
I don't use it on a tablet, is there a setting to turn on the toolbar?
DirtyRoofcom said
Mar 10, 2018
Zach Maynard wrote:
I don't use it on a tablet, is there a setting to turn on the toolbar?
I've been looking. I've clicked every button on the screen (which I don't recommend)
BlueRidge said
Mar 10, 2018
DirtyRoofcom wrote:
Not sure why I am having a hard time getting Google Earth pro to download or operate correctly. I ve done this on a smart phone, a newer IPAD and a Android smart phone.
I can search and find properties but I have no tool bar. The pic below is what my screen looks like.
I only use it on a desktop where I can clearly see everything so I can't help with all the stuff you are trying. I never have any issue with the desktop.
Eric Schnaible said
Mar 11, 2018
Erik, that’s the same screen I have on my tablet. On my desktop is where I get all the other options.
DirtyRoofcom said
Mar 11, 2018
So my desktop is a lil ancient and won't support the new version . I was going to up grade to a tablet or laptop instead so i can do this on the go or from the truck.
Has anyone been able to use Google Earth pro on a mobile device ?
BlueRidge said
Mar 11, 2018
DirtyRoofcom wrote:
So my desktop is a lil ancient and won't support the new version . I was going to up grade to a tablet or laptop instead so i can do this on the go or from the truck.
Has anyone been able to use Google Earth pro on a mobile device ?
I use it on a laptop too. I really don't need anything else since I have the phone, laptop and desktop. It is not available from the Play Store so I would only assume it won't work on anything but laptops and desktops.
What is everyone's preferred choice for measuring roofs from satellite view? I was using Google Earth for the longest time but the ruler fearure is not Android compatible.
I'm looking for free. I already employ the services of eagleview for large projects when needed but can't pay that fee for every roof.
I have no clue about Android because I do all my estimates on the desktop.
Download Google Earth Pro and you can measure all the segments of the roof or anything else you can easily see.
The first picture are the two tools I use the most.
Second picture, after selecting the measuring tool select polygon, now you can select the are to measure.
Third showing the measurement of the dormer.
Fourth and fifth showing other things it helps with. Concrete and gutters.
In picture five I choose path to measure those two as one length to measure the gutter.
I've seen this one before.
I used it years ago before Google Maps Pro was free. A few things I don't like are, zooming stops at a fixed value and you can't go back to find pictures without leaves on the trees. Few options for what we need.
We use Eagleview/Pictometry. Been using it for years.
I will be looking at these today.. thanks John
Once you start using it and get use to it Zach it will make life much easier for you. For something free, it does a great job and it pretty accurate. There is so much in Google Earth pro I haven't taken the time to look at. Maybe one day.
John your using eagle view for every house? do you have an unlimited account or paying per property?
It is not Google Earth but Google Earth Pro.
I do the same as Brett, have for a few years now. Yes, the ability to go back and get photos from the past is great for finding the best image for clarity, find a winter photo and you can see through tree coverage. I also use it at times to find out how old a roof is or when an addition was done or if they have gutters. Measuring the house and taking a screenshot is the first thing I do for jobs. With street view, you can see the pitch so I just multiply accordingly. Attached are some examples. I name the job after the street its on and put the actual square footage after the street name. I always send the screenshot along with my proposal.
I use another cool trick for measuring building exteriors (mainly for large commercial projects). Click on the '3d Buildings' feature (bottom left) and at the bottom right of the screen, it shows the elevation at the point of your cursor. You can get the height of the structure with this feature. Multiply the lineal feet of the building by its height and you have the square footage of the exterior. It's not perfect but it is very close. It also impresses customers. An example of this is the Lombard image. I actually have a lot of fun with it.
One thing we do differently Eric is I measure each segment of the roof and add them together. The square footage is close enough without guessing on pitch.
We have been talking about changes this year and one is to either send the satellite view or the street view. I need to play with the #D part of this. Thanks!
We pay monthly. I think it is the Silver Package. I use it for all the apartment and commercial work we do and it makes for a great proposal presentation and we also use it on residential jobs too. Adds value to us more than our competitors who just sell on price. I use it for scheduling apartment work as well. My guys and the client can get a clear picture of what we are cleaning and when.
John, do you think $300.00 a month for silver is helping you win that many more bids? At some point all the stuff we use gets to be a pretty good total price tag at the end of the month. Just curious.
Brett,
We have a few other things going on that make it worth it right now. I almost got rid of it this year but then we added some other services and it made it worth it. I think it definitely helps on the commercial bids, especially all the unsolicited multi-family bids we do. Last year we put out 2.6 million in unsolicited bids and would not have been able to do it without that service. Those bids are paying dividends right now and we are seeing PO's from some of them.
Brett, just wondering why you measure each facet individually?
If I measure each section, the measuring tool sees it as one flat surface. No need to be concerned with pitch. I add them all together and get a pretty close total of the roof surface.
I need to step up to the plate and get my game up to par. I have been so set in my ways of how I look at the roofs online .
Eric
I am a firm believer in the saying. ...." Throw as much sh*t against the wall as you can and see how much sticks". All kidding aside, it gets us in the door of a lot of new clients. My inside sales gal spend a a lot of time doing them.
Not sure why I am having a hard time getting Google Earth pro to download or operate correctly. I ve done this on a smart phone, a newer IPAD and a Android smart phone.
I can search and find properties but I have no tool bar. The pic below is what my screen looks like.
I've been looking. I've clicked every button on the screen (which I don't recommend)
I only use it on a desktop where I can clearly see everything so I can't help with all the stuff you are trying. I never have any issue with the desktop.
Has anyone been able to use Google Earth pro on a mobile device ?
I use it on a laptop too. I really don't need anything else since I have the phone, laptop and desktop. It is not available from the Play Store so I would only assume it won't work on anything but laptops and desktops.