For years, exterior cleaning has relied on crews working at great heights to reach glass, roofs, and facades. Now, a Central Virginia company is rethinking that model entirely, using drones to handle the work from above.

That approach is being led by Elevated Exteriors, a company founded by local resident Jay Rutledge.

Rutledge spent the past 15 years working in the construction and building supply industry, developing experience with job sites and how large projects operate from the ground up. Over time, he identified what he described as a major gap in exterior cleaning related to safety, efficiency, and access to difficult structures.

Elevated Exteriors officially took flight in 2025, though the idea had been developing for years before launch. Rutledge said the concept formed around the opportunity to combine drone technology with exterior cleaning in a way that improves safety and efficiency while reducing the need for high-risk access methods.

“I kept seeing crews hanging off buildings, setting up lifts and scaffolding, or putting people in dangerous positions just to clean windows, facades, roofs, and other exterior surfaces,” Rutledge stated. “At the same time, drone technology was advancing rapidly.”

The company primarily uses a specialized cleaning drone called the Sherpa, designed specifically for exterior cleaning applications. The system includes GPS stabilization, obstacle awareness technology, and precision flight controls, while remaining manually operated by trained pilots.

“A lot of people assume the drone is fully autonomous, but in reality there’s a significant amount of skill involved,” Rutledge stated. “The pilot is constantly adjusting positioning, spray patterns, distance from surfaces, wind conditions, and overall jobsite awareness.”

One of those pilots is Louisa resident Bryan Hinnant, a Part 107 U.A.S. Remote Pilot who also operates a thermal imaging and animal recovery drone business. Hinnant explained safety protocol and the differences between flight methods.

“The most difficult part of flying tethered cleaning drones is the proximity to buildings, which means always having proper safety protocol planned out. From vehicles to foot traffic, we have to be sure to always operate safely and keep bystanders away from hoses and our equipment,” Hinnant explained. “Exterior cleaning with tethered drones is totally different from my photography and thermal drone work being that it is far more disciplined. With thermal drones I am either inspecting buildings for energy leakage or generally out in nature looking for lost game, pets or livestock. With photography/ videography drones I am capturing scenery or live events and can freely fly however that scenario allows.”

Elevated Exteriors provides services across residential, commercial, and select industrial properties, including homes, apartment complexes, hotels, windows, roofs, solar panels, masonry, facades, EIFS, stucco, metal surfaces, and industrial structures.

According to Rutledge, one of the primary advantages of the technology is that it allows crews to reach elevated or hard-to-access areas that would normally require lifts, scaffolding, or rope access systems, thus reducing the amount of dangerous scenarios that these situations often present. Those within the industry say jobs that once took a crew of a dozen individuals and a full week to complete can now be done with a third of the manpower in just a few days.

Cleaning methods vary depending on surface type and condition. The company uses soft washing techniques, which rely on lower pressure combined with specialty cleaning solutions, as well as purified deionized water systems for windows and solar panels to achieve a spot-free finish.

Rutledge said each project is evaluated based on surface material, buildup level, accessibility, and manufacturer recommendations.

All operations are conducted under FAA Part 107 certification guidelines, with safety serving as a core priority of the business model. The company emphasizes flight planning and operational procedures as essential components of every job.

Like all aerial operations, weather and equipment conditions play a major role in scheduling and execution, with wind often serving as the biggest variable.

Rutledge said that projects can be delayed when conditions are not suitable in order to prioritize safety and maintain quality standards.

As the drone industry continues to evolve, regulatory oversight has also increased. Rutledge said compliance with FAA regulations, airspace rules, and operational guidelines has always been central to how the company operates.

“In many ways, the increased regulations are actually helping legitimize the industry and separate professional operators from hobbyists,” Rutledge stated.

Pricing depends on factors including building height, surface type, accessibility, severity of buildup, water access, and overall project complexity, with most jobs requiring site evaluation before estimates are finalized. Some of the company’s most notable work includes exterior cleaning projects at the UVA Olympic Training Facility and The Forum Hotel in Charlottesville.

While they primarily serve Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, continued expansion is planned as awareness of drone cleaning grows.

“What’s exciting is that many people still haven’t seen this technology in action yet, so almost every project turns into a conversation once people realize what the drones are actually doing,” Rutledge stated. “We’re not trying to replace people — we’re trying to modernize the way exterior maintenance gets done.”