Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Bentley, Essex
Not sure what state the chimney stack is in? We carry out chimney surveys in Bentley and across Essex.
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- A chimney out of line
What we look for on each type of roof
Brick stacks
Frost can damage bricks that have soaked up water, making the faces flake away. Any spalling is noted with photos.
Rendered stacks
We cannot see the bricks behind render without it being opened up, so the report says what can and can’t be judged.
Chimney survey in Bentley
Redundant chimneys are common, particularly where fires have been replaced by central heating. Even when it isn’t used, a stack has to stay weathertight. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. We check how redundant stacks have been capped and look for damp in the chimney breasts. You get photos of each stack and our recommendations. We survey lead flashings, brick chimney stacks and chimney pots and cowls, and common reasons people get in touch are damaged chimney pots and cowls and signs that a stack is leaning.
In a village or hamlet like Bentley, older cottages and farmhouses frequently sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Older roofs may be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, frequently with chimneys that have stood a long time. We report on what can be seen safely, and thatch is a specialist material. On older roofs, it is normally the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
The report records the chimney stack as we found it on the day. It is useful right away, and a good reference for later, such as when you want to compare after future work.
- Where
- Bentley (CM14, CM15)
- Region
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Bentley
What else we do in Bentley
What affects the cost of chimney surveys
To price your survey, we look at:
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
To find out what your survey will cost, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and a few details. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Booking your survey
We’ll usually ask about:
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- What kind of property and roof it is
- What’s prompted the survey
- Any photos you have, taken from ground level or a window
To book a survey, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and let us know the address and what’s prompted the survey. You’ll know the price before anything is booked.
Local roofs in Bentley
The wider area around Bentley has a long history of building, with Hare Hall about 4.8 miles south-west. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Weatherboarded walls and clay tile roofs are typical of older Essex buildings, with post-war and more recent estates making up much of the newer housing. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If you let a flat or house near Brentwood station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at. If you live near a park like Weald Country Park, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys. For site and facilities teams at buildings like Becket Keys Church of England School, long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Bentley is about 2 miles north-west of Brentwood, in Essex. We provide chimney surveys for householders, landlords and businesses in Bentley and the surrounding area. Bentley is one of the places in Essex we cover for chimney surveys. We also survey roofs in Chelmsford.
Here we cover the CM14 and CM15 postcode area for chimney surveys. Whether your property is on Mores Lane and Ashwells Road or a nearby road, we can survey it. If you’re just outside Bentley, we cover Navestock Side (1 mile north-west), Coxtie Green (1 mile south), Doddinghurst Common (1 mile north-east), Horseman Side (1 mile west) and Crow Green (1 mile east). We also work in nearby towns such as Chelmsford (11 miles north-east), Basildon (10 miles south-east), Harlow (11 miles north-west), Billericay (7 miles east), Rayleigh (15 miles east) and Loughton (8 miles west).
Landmarks near Bentley
Around Bentley, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The White Horse pub and Weald Country Park. The nearest railway station is Brentwood station, roughly 2.8 miles south-east. Well-known places in the area include Brentwood Community Hospital (2.8 miles south-east). For a walk, there’s Warley Place.
What happens on the day
Where it’s relevant and can be reached safely, the loft space is checked as well as the outside. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging, as far as the space allows. All in, the survey normally takes an hour or two at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. For a village or hamlet like Bentley, the journey is planned beforehand: tell us about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. On the day, we inspect whatever is safely visible, inside and out.
- You let us know whether any stacks are shared, unused or leaning.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- We look at the flaunching and pots on every stack.
- We note the brickwork, pointing and any sign of leaning.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Before we arrive
- Leave a clear route to the loft
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
How to book
Our price is from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, so call 07833 053749 or email us with the details.
Advice
FAQs for Bentley
I let a flat near Brentwood station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, that is a common request. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Is Bentley within the area you cover?
Yes, Bentley is covered. We cover the whole of London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned ahead of time.
What do I do with the report?
The report arrives by email, with photographs and clear recommendations. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation, and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
We’ve been surveying roofs for over 20 years and have completed over 5,000 surveys across London and South East England.
What insurance do you have?
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
Can you survey in bad weather?
It depends on the weather and the survey. Strong wind or heavy rain can make access unsafe and ground a drone, so we’d move the date with you.
Why act early in Bentley
A small amount of repointing or new flaunching is normally a modest job. Leave it, and frost can work the stack loose, and the work grows. Around Bentley, older homes often have old roof timbers, where water from a failed roof can cause rot if it’s left.
Our price is from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, inc. VAT.
Why us?
- 5,000+ roofs surveyed
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- 98% of clients satisfied
See our cost guide and two real surveys.
What we can’t see
We only report everything that’s safely in view on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- Flue inspections or sweeping
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll suggest the right survey before you book. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
Before and after the survey
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- Remove aerials or dishes from the stack if they’re no longer needed
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
With a shared stack, the report can help when talking to next door. The photos show the problem and which side it’s on, as far as we could see.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. Binoculars help you spot loose pots, missing mortar or lifted flashings.