Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Barnet, Greater London
Chimney surveys around Barnet, with findings in writing and pictures to back them up. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Cracked or missing flaunching
Different roofs, different checks
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They tend to crack, so we look at them closely.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Inside, chimney breasts can show damp when water gets into the stack. We check them and at the stack in the loft where there is safe access.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Barnet
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. Water may be getting in at the top through cracked flaunching or an uncapped pot, through the brickwork, or at the flashings. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. We look at each possibility and record what we find. That points the work in the right direction. We survey chimney pots and cowls, flaunching and brick chimney stacks, and common reasons people get in touch are damp patches on chimney breasts and a chimney out of line.
Much of London’s housing is flats, in converted houses or purpose-built blocks, so roofs are often shared between several households. Whoever looks after the building needs a clear picture of the roof, chimneys and gutters. A defect on a shared roof can reach more than one flat. With a written report and photographs, everyone can plan from the same facts.
Nothing in the report is left vague: where something needs attention, it says so plainly, along with how urgent it is.
- Where
- Barnet (EN5, EN4, N20, N11)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Common questions in Barnet
Is parking a problem for a survey in Barnet?
Sometimes, yes. If Barnet has controlled parking where you are, a visitor permit is the easiest answer.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Barnet?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it’s worth checking before planning any.
What do you check on a chimney?
The survey covers the pots and cowls, the flaunching, the pointing, the bricks and the flashings. Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access. You get a written report with photos.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. We look at the roof, not the whole building, and it is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. Many buyers have both.
How can you see the top of the stack?
We inspect from wherever is safe: from the ground, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where it applies. We note anything we couldn’t see.
What happens next?
You will receive the report by email, and what you do next is up to you: use it with a seller, an insurer, a roofer or a managing agent.
Will you photograph what you find?
Yes. We photograph the roof as we go, and they go into the written report.
What this survey can’t tell you
This is not a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- Hidden damage within the stack
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- 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 use the contact form and we’ll recommend the right survey. The full list of what we check.
Roof types and parts we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
Towns and villages near Barnet
Other services in Barnet
What a survey costs
What a survey costs depends on the time and equipment it needs. The main factors are:
- Height and safe access
- House, block, shop or office
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Roof area
Price depends partly on the package: from £150 for Basic, £250 for Standard and £400 for Premium, including VAT. Size, height and access can affect the price too.
What to let us know when you get in touch
To price your survey accurately, we will ask about:
- When you need the report by
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
- The style of property, from a terrace to a block
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Pictures from ground level or a window are fine; never climb up to get a better view. To get started, call 07833 053749 or email us.
For landlords and managing agents
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, including offices, shops and units. Larger roofs take longer.
A roof problem in a let property affects your tenants as well as the building. A survey shows what needs attention, so you can plan the work with less disruption.
Local roofs in Barnet
About 3.5 miles north lies Wyllyotts Manor, a reminder of how long the area around Barnet has been built on. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. Hips, bay roofs and later loft conversions are typical of those semis, if your home is one of them. Whatever the covering, it is frequently the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
If you run a business near Spires Shopping Centre, a dated report on the roof is useful for planning and for any lease discussions. If you look after a building such as Grasvenor Avenue Infant School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. Take an older house close to St John's United Reformed Church: the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Barnet is about 9 miles east of Watford, in Greater London. Bookings from Barnet are handled just like any other: a call or an email, a price, then a date. Our Greater London coverage includes Barnet. You can also see our page for London.
Every address in EN5, EN4, N20 and N11 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Whether your property is on Station Road, High Street and Sambroke Square or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Being close to the B193 and A1081, Barnet is simple for us to get to. Other places close to Barnet include Underhill (1 mile west), New Barnet (1 mile east), Monken Hadley (1 mile north-west), Hadley Wood (1 mile north-east) and Cockfosters (1 mile east). Within a short drive, we also cover London (11 miles south), City of Westminster (9 miles south), Marylebone (9 miles south), Kensington (10 miles south), St Pancras (9 miles south) and Shoreditch (10 miles south-east).
Near you in Barnet
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School, The Railway Tavern and Highlands Gardens and the streets around them. The closest station to Barnet is New Barnet station, roughly 0.6 miles east of the centre. Nearby you will also find Barnet General Hospital (1.2 miles west) and Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum (2.1 miles south). Open spaces near Barnet include Darland's Lake and Greenhill Gardens.
Tips that help
Most of what helps is simple and safe from ground level. Our suggestions:
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Do not use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
You get the report by email and can pass it to whoever does the work. We use plain English and a photo for each defect so anyone reading it can see what we saw.
Keep an eye on chimney breasts for new damp patches. Early signs are easier to trace.
The survey, step by step
The aim of the visit is simple: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It normally takes between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Surveys in Barnet can be booked for any day of the week. It helps if you can point us to a visitor permit or a nearby bay. A back bedroom window can be the best vantage point for a rear addition, so we may ask to use one.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- 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.
How to prepare
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
How to book
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. For any other survey, just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email when you’re ready.