Vent: I dropped $2,800 on a drone for site progress photos and it sat in my truck for 4 months | Construction Management

Tara Ward · 2026-09-24T17:15:05.250055+00:00

Back in March I got talked into buying a DJI Mavic 3 for taking weekly progress shots on a 12 acre apartment job in Frisco. The sales guy said every GC is doing it now and I figured it would save me the cost of hiring a photo guy twice a month. Well turns out that between FAA part 107 stuff, wind days, and the fact that our super refused to let me fly over active crews without a spotter, I used the thing maybe 6 times all summer. I paid $2,800 plus another $300 for extra batteries and a case, and the photos I did get weren't even that useful because I still had to walk the site anyway to check punch items. I ended up selling it on FB Marketplace last month for $1,900, so I ate about $1,200 when you count the accessories. My old method of a $40 selfie stick and my phone on a 3 week walk got me the same info for owner meetings. Anybody here actually getting real value from drone shots or is it just a toy that looks good in a proposal?

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Vent: I dropped $2,800 on a drone for site progress photos and it sat in my truck for 4 months | Construction Management - The Design Community Hub