Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Balscote, Oxfordshire
Not sure what state the chimney stack is in? You can book a chimney survey in Balscote and across Oxfordshire.
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Balscote: your questions answered
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Banbury station?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Will you come out to Balscote?
Yes, Balscote is covered. We work right across London and the South East, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned beforehand.
Why is my chimney breast damp?
There are a few common causes: cracked flaunching, worn pointing, failed flashings, uncapped pots, or damp trapped in an unventilated stack. We check each one and note the most likely cause.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Yes, where it’s applicable. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. We inspect everything that’s safely in view and what you give us access to. If a defect seems to be on your neighbour’s side, the report records it and you can raise it with them.
Are you structural engineers?
No. Our survey is not a structural engineer’s report, and it does not include calculations. We’ll recommend an engineer if we see signs that call for one.
What happens next?
You will get the report by email, with photographs and clear recommendations. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation, and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation.
Chimney survey in Balscote: what you get
Many homes have chimneys that are no longer used. A disused stack still needs looking after. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. Our survey looks at how each unused stack has been capped and checks the breasts for damp. The report sets out what we found and what we recommend. We survey flaunching, chimney pots and cowls and brick chimney stacks, and common reasons people get in touch are damp patches on chimney breasts and loose, cracked or missing pots.
Older buildings in small places like Balscote may be listed or in a conservation area. If yours is, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so the council is the place to check. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Older materials such as clay tiles, slate and stone are often matched when work is done.
The written findings come by email, ready to forward to whoever needs them. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24–48 hours for Standard and same day for Premium.
- Place
- Balscote (OX15)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What affects the cost of chimney surveys
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
- How big the roof is
- Building height and the viewpoints available
- Basic, Standard or Premium
To find out what your survey will cost, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and some details. The price is agreed before a date is set.
What we need to know
A little information up front helps. It is useful to include:
- Access details, like a loft hatch or a shared roof
- Dates you are working to, such as exchange
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the details.
What we do, step by step
Photographs are taken throughout the visit, so you can see in the report what we found and where. Close-ups come from the safest viewpoint available. A typical visit takes an hour or two for a house, and longer for a large or complex roof. Older roofs in small places like Balscote can have low, tight loft spaces, so it is useful to know whether there is a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. Only areas that can be reached safely are inspected.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We look at every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there is access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Before the survey
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
- Leave a clear route to the loft
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
Booking a survey
Getting a price is simple: just call 07833 053749 or email us and give us a few details about the property and we will explain which survey suits. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Towns and villages near Balscote
Other services in Balscote
Why it’s worth a survey now in Balscote
Before deciding what to do with a redundant stack, a survey shows how it is doing. Changes to stacks in conservation areas or on listed buildings may need consent and the council can advise. In a place like Balscote, a barn or garage roof left to fail puts whatever is inside at risk. It’s worth including them in a survey before a winter does the damage.
Price depends partly on the package: from £150 for Basic, £250 for Standard and £400 for Premium, inc. VAT. The roof’s size, height and access matter as well.
Why book with us
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- Every finding written up with photos
- Clear package prices, inc. VAT
Read our cost guide and what we found on two real jobs.
Signs you need a chimney survey in Balscote
Lots of homes have redundant stacks. If a stack is capped or blocked without ventilation, moisture can build up inside. Damp patches can appear on chimney breasts even when nothing is leaking.
People usually book a survey when they’ve noticed something like this:
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
If you live in an older home near Church of St Mary Magdalene, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
Questions to ask before you book
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
Before and after the survey
Over many surveys, some simple habits stand out:
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
Many people use the report to get quotes for the work. Because everyone is pricing the same findings, the quotes are easier to compare.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. Binoculars help you spot loose pots, missing mortar or lifted flashings.
What a chimney survey does not cover
This is not a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. Other limits to bear in mind:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- Parts of the stack that can’t be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will suggest the right survey. What a survey covers and does not.
What we look at
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
Local roofs in Balscote
Upton House, about 2.8 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Balscote. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead. West Oxfordshire’s older buildings frequently carry Cotswold stone slates, and a few villages in the county keep their thatch. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If you own a rental within reach of Banbury station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Balscote is about 4 miles west of Banbury, in Oxfordshire. We survey roofs in Balscote and the rest of Oxfordshire. We cover towns and villages across Oxfordshire. You can also see our page for Oxford.
Every address in OX15 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We also cover the places around Balscote: Shutford (1 mile south), Alkerton (1 mile north-west), Shenington (1 mile north-west), Epwell (2 miles west) and Tadmarton (2 miles south). Further out, we also cover Banbury (4 miles east), Chipping Norton (10 miles south-west), Neithrop (3 miles east), Grimsbury (5 miles east), Ruscote (3 miles east) and Bloxham (4 miles south-east).
Near you in Balscote
In Balscote, that means homes and buildings near The Butchers Arms Public House, among other places. The closest station to Balscote is Banbury station, roughly 4.5 miles east. Well-known places in the area include Horton General Hospital (4.2 miles east) and W. O. Bentley Memorial Foundation (1.1 miles north-east). Open spaces near Balscote include Woodford Bottom and Lamb's Pool and Edge Hill.