Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Appledore, Kent
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in Appledore from an independent roof surveyor. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Lifted or split lead flashings
What a survey costs
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- Basic, Standard or Premium
- House, block, shop or office
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- The size of the roof
The Premium Survey includes thermal imaging and drone inspection where it applies, from £400 with VAT included. We can help you choose the package that fits what you’d like to know.
What to let us know when you get in touch
If you can, have these to hand when you get in touch:
- When you need the report by
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
- Anything about access we should know
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
For a price for chimney surveys in Appledore, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. The address, the type of property and what you need to know help us price the survey accurately.
About our chimney survey in Appledore
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. We survey chimney pots and cowls, brick chimney stacks and lead flashings, and the problems we’re asked to look at most are damp on a chimney breast inside and frost-damaged brickwork on the stack.
Village roofs often face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, which is hard on ridges, chimneys, flashings and gutters. Older walls take a long time to dry once water gets in. A roof report shows what needs attention first. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Place
- Appledore (TN26)
- Region
- Kent
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Nearby places to Appledore
More services for Appledore
How the survey works
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect whatever is safely visible, and if part of the roof cannot be seen, the report says so. Most visits take about one to two hours on an ordinary house, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. Somewhere as small as Appledore, access is frequently the only tricky part. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- We check every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Before we arrive
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Getting a price
Booking is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and give us some details about the property and we’ll explain which survey suits. The price is agreed up front.
Related advice
Checking the roof from the ground
What you can’t do safely is get up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way, and falls from height are serious. That part is for a survey.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Why act early in Appledore
Chimneys are easy to forget because you rarely see the top of them. Problems frequently go unnoticed until damp appears inside. Surveying the stack now can catch problems first. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Appledore, driving rain gets into any weakness, and older walls, once damp, take a long time to dry.
Our price is from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, with VAT included, and we can help you choose.
Why book with us
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- A photo-illustrated written report
- Packages from £150, with VAT included
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
Take a look at our cost guide and two real surveys.
Appledore questions
How do I find out if my home in Appledore is listed?
Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the local council can tell you about conservation areas. If a home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission.
Do you cover smaller places like Appledore?
Yes, we do. We survey roofs across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. The journey is planned ahead, so it helps to know about access.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. We look at the roof, not the whole building, and it isn’t a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. It can sit alongside a RICS survey if you want both.
What does a chimney survey cover?
The whole stack, as far as it can safely be seen: from the pots and flaunching down to the flashings. We also note leaning, redundant stacks and damp inside.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
It depends on its condition and your plans. We record how the stack is doing and whether it’s capped with ventilation. If you are thinking of removing it, check with the council first in a conservation area or on a listed building.
How can you see the top of the stack?
Each stack is viewed from the safest viewpoints: from ground level, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. Our Premium Survey includes a drone inspection where applicable. If part of a stack can’t be seen, the report says so.
Can you survey at the weekend?
We survey on any day from Monday to Sunday, during the day, which suits people who work during the week. Let us know your preferred days as you book.
Useful tips for Appledore property owners
There is plenty you can do without going near the roof. Here’s what helps most:
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
You get the report by email and can pass it to whoever does the work. Each defect is described in plain words and shown in a photo, so it is easy to follow.
Unused stacks should be capped in a way that still lets air through. That helps stop damp building up inside.
What a chimney survey looks like in Appledore
Handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles hung on pegs through two holes, are typical of older Kent buildings. You will also find oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses among the county’s older buildings. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. About 3.9 miles west lies Smallhythe Place, a reminder of how long the area around Appledore has been built on. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
The streets around a church like Church of St Peter and St Paul are often among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine. If you let a flat or house near Appledore (Kent) station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints.
Appledore is about 8 miles south-west of Ashford, in Kent. We cover Appledore and the rest of Kent, as part of our work across London and the South East. Appledore is one of the towns and villages in Kent where we work for chimney surveys. You can also see our page for Maidstone.
Every address in TN26 is covered for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Whether your property is on The Street, Old Way and Court Lodge Road or anywhere close by, we can survey it. We also cover the places around Appledore: Appledore Heath (1 mile north), Stone in Oxney (1 mile south-west), Reading Street (2 miles west), Stone Corner (3 miles west) and Brattle (3 miles north). Larger places within reach include Ashford (8 miles north-east), Hythe (13 miles east), Tenterden (5 miles north-west), Kennington (10 miles north-east), New Romney (7 miles south-east) and Staplehurst (14 miles north-west).
Near you in Appledore
For rail, the closest station is Appledore (Kent) station, about 1.3 miles east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Brenzett Aeronautical Museum (3.6 miles south-east). Green spaces nearby include Orlestone Forest.
What a chimney survey doesn’t cover
No survey can tell you everything, and we’d rather be clear about that before you book. Keep these in mind:
- Areas we can’t view from safe positions
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Conditions inside walls
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will point you to the right survey before booking. What our survey covers.
Roof types and parts we check
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks