Essex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Black Notley
An experienced roof surveyor for chimney surveys in Black Notley. More than 20 years and over 5,000 surveys.
- A stack that appears to lean
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Black Notley
A damp patch on a chimney breast doesn’t always come from the same place. 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. We look at each possibility and record what we find. You then know where to start. We survey flaunching, chimney breasts and lead flashings, and common reasons people get in touch are flashings pulling away from the stack and a chimney out of line.
Older buildings in small places like Black Notley 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. Knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan ahead with that in mind. Older materials like clay tiles, slate and stone are frequently matched when work is done.
With the Standard Survey, you also get moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey goes further, with thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Place
- Black Notley (CM77)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens if roof problems are left?
A damp chimney breast seldom dries out until the cause is found. It can stain walls and damage plaster. Finding the cause means the right work can be planned. In a small place like Black Notley, homes can be exposed to wind and rain, which finds any gap, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the size and height of the roof, how it can be seen safely and which survey you book.
Why book with us
- Plain-English reports with photos
- Surveys seven days a week
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- An independent view of the roof
See what a roof survey costs or what we found on two real jobs.
FAQs for Black Notley
Is my home in Black Notley listed or in a conservation area?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Can a landlord with a rental near Cressing station book a roof survey?
Yes, rented property is part of what we cover. Just ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and tell us about the building, including who will give access on the day.
What if it rains on the day?
A survey can normally go ahead in light rain. Strong wind or heavy rain can stop drone flights and make roof access unsafe, so we will agree a new date if the weather is not suitable.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and every flight depends on the airspace and the weather.
What happens next?
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.
Are you insured?
Our cover is professional indemnity plus public liability, and we can provide details if a managing agent needs them.
Do you need to go on the roof to check the chimney?
We inspect from wherever is safe: from the ground, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. Our Premium Survey includes a drone inspection where it applies. We note anything we couldn’t see.
The survey, step by step
Once we’ve finished looking, we write up our findings as a photo-illustrated written report. On timing, it typically takes about one to two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Older rural homes like those around Black Notley can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints, and anything we cannot see is noted.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can be seen safely.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Let us know about parking before the day
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
How to book
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from ground level or a window. To send them or to book, phone 07833 053749 or email us.
Related advice
Places near Black Notley
What else we do in Black Notley
What a chimney survey does not cover
We only report whatever is safely visible on the day, so there are some things a survey can’t cover:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll give you a straight answer. What our survey covers.
Roofs we survey in Black Notley
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
If you own several properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To arrange surveys for several addresses, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the addresses.
Freeholders and residents’ companies use a roof report to plan and budget, with the most urgent items set out first.
Local roofs in Black Notley
What can be done to an older roof may depend on listing or a conservation area. The council is the place to check, along with Historic England’s list, before anyone quotes for re-roofing. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, while many towns grew with post-war and newer estates. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
For an older house near a landmark such as Church of St Peter and St Paul, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. If you live near a park such as Hoppit Mead, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys, and an overflowing gutter soon means a wet wall.
Black Notley is about 2 miles south of Braintree, in Essex. We provide chimney surveys for householders, landlords and businesses in Black Notley. Across Essex, we cover Black Notley and the places around it. For surveys nearby, see our Chelmsford page.
Chimney surveys in CM77 are booked the same way as anywhere else. Whether your property is on Church Road, Hospital Field and Mary Ruck Way or anywhere close by, we can survey it. We also cover the places around Black Notley: The Green (1 mile south-east), Tye Green (1 mile east), Row Green (1 mile west), Long Green (1 mile north-east) and Hawbush Green (1 mile east). We also work in nearby towns like Colchester (14 miles east), Chelmsford (9 miles south-west), Maldon (10 miles south-east), Witham (5 miles south-east), Camulodunum (13 miles east) and Halstead (7 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in Black Notley
Typical jobs here are in homes near Hoppit Mead, The Vine Inn and Cressing Primary School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Cressing station, about 0.6 miles east. A little further out are Cressing Temple (2.2 miles south-east) and William Julien Courtauld Hospital (1.8 miles north-west). For a walk, there is Sandylay and Moat Woods.
Common roof problems in Black Notley
Years of fires can affect the mortar inside a stack. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which can make a stack lean.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- A stack that appears to lean
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
If you let a flat or house near Cressing station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant.
Before you book anyone
- Whether the roof space is looked at, where there is one
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Whether VAT is in the quoted price
Useful tips for Black Notley property owners
Getting the most from a chimney survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Some tips:
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
- Photograph damp patches with the date
If anything in the report is not clear, just ask us. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. With binoculars, you can frequently see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.