Hertfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching across Bishop's Stortford, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Get in touch for a price.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
How a chimney survey works in Bishop's Stortford
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. It might come in at the top, through worn pointing or porous bricks, or where the flashings meet the roof. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. That points the work in the right direction. We survey brick chimney stacks, chimney breasts and shared and party-wall stacks, and the problems we are asked to look at most are damp on a chimney breast inside and damaged chimney pots and cowls.
Semis and terraces in a town like Bishop's Stortford share roof details with the neighbours. A shared chimney stack or a gutter run across two houses means a defect may sit partly on someone else’s property. Shared parts are looked at as far as they can safely be seen from the property we’re surveying. It is useful to mention any shared stacks or gutters when booking.
What you get is a clear record of the chimney stack on the day we saw it. It’s useful right away, and a good reference for later, for example when you want to check whether anything has changed.
- Where
- Bishop's Stortford (CM23, CM22)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How it works
Where it is relevant and can be reached safely, the loft space is checked as well as the outside. Inside, we look for staining, damp, gaps and signs of movement, as far as the space allows. All in, the survey typically takes roughly 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Most visits in a town like Bishop's Stortford start at the front of the house and work round to the back. Rear gardens and side paths frequently give the best view of extensions and back slopes, so unlocked gates help. Then, if it can be reached safely, we look in the loft.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can be seen safely.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the roof space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photos and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before we arrive
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
- Tell us about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
Booking a survey
When you are ready to go ahead, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form. We will suggest a package, agree the price and find a date.
Read more
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
Water can get in through cracks and then struggle to dry out. Cracks are photographed and noted.
Lead flashings
Flashings can lift in wind or pull out of their mortar joints. We photograph any we find that look loose or damaged.
What affects the price in Bishop's Stortford
Our packages start from £150, with VAT included. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- Height and safe access
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
Larger roofs, taller buildings and commercial roofs take longer, so they’re priced to match. The price is confirmed before you book.
Helping us price your survey
Here’s what helps us most when you contact us:
- Whether there’s a loft hatch, a shared roof or tricky access
- What made you get in touch
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- When you need the report by
If you are buying, it helps to book soon after your offer is accepted, so there’s time to use the report before exchange. Otherwise, simply ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form whenever suits you.
Bishop's Stortford questions
Is my home in Bishop's Stortford listed or in a conservation area?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it is worth checking before planning any.
Do you carry out roof surveys in Bishop's Stortford?
Yes, Bishop's Stortford is within the area we cover. We survey roofs across London and South East England. You can ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address and some details, and we’ll talk through which survey suits.
What does a roof survey cost?
Our price is from £150, including VAT. The final figure depends on the roof and the package you choose.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
Don’t ignore it. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down. We record its condition with photographs, and a structural engineer can assess whether it needs work.
How fast do I get the report?
Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24–48 hours and Premium reports on the same day. Each one is emailed.
What’s in the survey report?
It works through the roof part by part, in writing and with photos, and ends with what we recommend. The most urgent items are made clear.
How do I arrange a chimney survey in Bishop's Stortford?
Simply call 07833 053749 or email us. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day.
Why it is worth a survey now in Bishop's Stortford
Loose pots and bricks on a stack are a safety concern. Finding them early means they can be dealt with before they come down by a suitable contractor. A defect spotted early can be planned and budgeted for, whereas a leak tends to force the timing on you, in Bishop's Stortford as anywhere.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Prices start from £150, including VAT.
Why us?
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Package prices that include VAT
- Drone and thermal imaging surveys available
- An independent view of the roof
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and two real surveys.
DIY checks: what’s safe
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. From the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
Also near Bishop's Stortford
Also in Bishop's Stortford
Honest limits
A survey is a proper look at the chimney stack, but it can’t do everything. The main limits are:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Hidden damage within the stack
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we cannot access
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll tell you. What our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
Bishop's Stortford homes and their roofs
Older houses in the South East often have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters. About 3.6 miles west lies Much Hadham Palace, a reminder of how long the area around Bishop's Stortford has been built on. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years.
Take an older house close to Church of St Michael: its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. If you look after a building such as St Michael's Church of England Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. For landlords with property near Bishops Stortford station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Bishop's Stortford is in Hertfordshire. Anywhere in Bishop's Stortford, we can carry out chimney surveys at your property, on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday. Our area takes in places right across Hertfordshire, large and small. There’s also a page for Chelmsford.
Here we cover the CM23 and CM22 postcode area for chimney surveys. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Market Street, High Street and Station Road or a nearby road, we can survey it. Main roads around Bishop's Stortford include the A120 and A1059, which makes travel easy. If you’re just outside Bishop's Stortford, we cover Thorley Street (1 mile south), Thorley (1 mile south-west), Birchanger (2 miles north-east), Great Hallingbury (2 miles south-east) and Bury Green (2 miles west). We also work in nearby towns such as Stevenage (15 miles west), Hoddesdon (11 miles south-west), Cheshunt (14 miles south-west), Hertford (11 miles south-west), Ware (9 miles south-west) and Broxbourne (11 miles south-west). Bishop's Stortford is among the bigger towns we cover in Hertfordshire.
What’s near Bishop's Stortford
Typical jobs here are in homes near The Port Jackson pub and St Mary's Catholic School. There’s a railway station in Bishop's Stortford itself: Bishops Stortford station. A little further out are Herts and Essex Hospital (0.8 miles east) and Moated mound (2.4 miles north-west). For a walk, there is Rushy Mead and Portingbury Hills.