Greater London · London and the South East
Aldwych Chimney Survey
Chimney surveys in Aldwych from an independent, experienced roof surveyor. More than 20 years and over 5,000 surveys.
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
Questions from Aldwych
I let a flat near London Charing Cross station. Can you check the roof?
Of course. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
Is my home in Aldwych listed or in a conservation area?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. It matters most if you’re planning to re-roof in a different material.
How long is the visit?
That depends on the size and shape of the roof, but most surveys take between one and two hours at most homes, and more on a big or complicated roof. The written report follows by email.
Will you go up on the roof?
Not unless it’s safe. Safe viewpoints, the loft space and a drone where applicable cover most of what’s needed.
How can you see the top of the stack?
We use safe viewpoints rather than climbing onto the stack. A drone inspection is part of the Premium Survey where applicable. Any area we couldn’t view is noted.
Does someone need to be in?
That depends on the survey. For inside areas and the roof space, someone has to give us access.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes. Shared roofs just need a little more planning, with the building owner or managing agent. Tell us about it as you book and we’ll explain what’s needed.
Chimney survey in Aldwych: what you get
If a chimney looks out of line, it is worth getting it checked. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down, often after years of flue gases and damp. We record the lean and the condition of the brickwork and pointing. Where it may be a structural concern, we’ll recommend a structural engineer. If you’ve noticed loose, cracked or missing pots and mortar washing out of the joints, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
London has Victorian and Edwardian terraces in almost every borough, often with slate roofs, chimney stacks shared with neighbours and gutters hidden behind parapets. Slates can last a century or more, but the nails holding them corrode, and slates slip. Homes in Aldwych are no exception. Lead flashings and shared chimney stacks on these houses need a proper look too.
Findings are set out part by part, from the coverings down to the gutters, each with a short note and a photo. You will see the good as well as the bad.
- Place
- Aldwych (W1D, WC2H, W1F)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Keep a simple record: dates of leaks, photos from the ground and any work done on the roof. Send it with your enquiry.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. You will not see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from ground level, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Why get it checked now?
Cracked flaunching and worn pointing are frequently modest repairs when they’re caught early. Leave it, and frost can work the stack loose and the job gets bigger. Behind a London parapet, a blocked gutter can sit full of water without anyone seeing it. When the stain finally shows, the damage underneath is often older than it looks.
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Our price is from £150, including VAT.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Aldwych
- PI and public liability insurance
- Packages from £150, including VAT
- A written report with photos
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
What this survey cannot tell you
It is a careful look at the chimney stack, not the whole story. The main limits are:
- Conditions inside walls
- Areas we can’t view from safe positions
- A structural engineer’s assessment
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will tell you. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Aldwych
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
How the survey changes by roof type
Brick stacks
Brick stacks rely on sound pointing to keep water out. We check the bricks for spalling and the joints for erosion.
Rendered stacks
Cracked render can let water in and trap it behind. We record any cracking and where it is.
What a chimney survey looks like in Aldwych
Historic houses like Dr Johnson's House, about 0.4 miles east, show how far back building in the area around Aldwych goes. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Welsh slate on Victorian and Edwardian terraces is a familiar sight across inner London. A butterfly roof with a central valley gutter, tucked behind a parapet wall, is common on these houses. Lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are typical of these houses, if yours is one of them. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If you look after a building such as St Clement Danes CofE Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near St Mary le Strand, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine. Homes near green spaces like Lincoln's Inn Fields can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls.
Aldwych is about 1 mile north-west of London, in Greater London. We provide chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Aldwych and the surrounding area. Aldwych is one of the places in Greater London we cover for chimney surveys.
Chimney surveys in W1D, WC2H and W1F are booked the same way as anywhere else. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Shoe Lane, Drury Lane and New Square or a nearby road, we can help. With the A4 and A301 close by, Aldwych is easy for us to reach. We also cover the places around Aldwych: Clare Market (1 mile north), Covent Garden (1 mile west), Temple Bar (1 mile east), Temple (1 mile east) and Adelphi (1 mile south-west). Further out, we also cover Kensington (4 miles west), Walthamstow (6 miles north-east), Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Ruislip (13 miles west), Stockwell (3 miles south) and Orpington (13 miles south-east).
Around Aldwych
We work in homes and buildings around Ye Old White Horse pub, Lincoln's Inn Fields and Mercers' School. Nearby too are LSE Shaw Library (less than half a mile north-east) and London Nautical School (0.6 miles south-east). For rail, the closest station is London Charing Cross station, about 0.5 miles south-west. Well-known places in the area include Montfichet's Tower (0.7 miles east) and Gabriel's Wharf (0.5 miles south-east). The countryside around Aldwych includes Barnsbury Wood and Ludgate Hill.
Prices for chimney surveys in Aldwych
Not every roof costs the same to survey, and it comes down to:
- The height of the building and how the roof can safely be seen
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on how big and how high the roof is, how it can be seen safely and which survey you book.
What to let us know when you get in touch
These details help when you contact us:
- What kind of property and roof it is
- The property’s address and postcode
- Dates you are working to, like exchange
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
Once you know what you need, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day.
Towns and villages near Aldwych
Also in Aldwych
The survey, step by step
We work from the outside in: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the loft space where it can be reached. In total, it takes about 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. In a London area like Aldwych, the main things to sort out are parking and access: tell us about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. We then look at everything that’s safely in view from ground level, windows, the loft and, where it’s safe, the roof itself.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- The top of each stack is checked for cracked flaunching and loose pots.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Before the survey
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- If you are buying, check with the agent that we can get in
Arrange a survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To find a date that works for you, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and the days you’d prefer.