Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Brentwood, Essex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching around Brentwood, with a written report you can act on. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Signs that a stack is leaning
About our chimney survey in Brentwood
If you are buying a home with chimneys, it is worth knowing their condition before you exchange. On older stacks, we often find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. We survey brick chimney stacks, shared and party-wall stacks and flaunching, and the problems we are asked to look at most are damaged chimney pots and cowls and bricks with flaking faces.
In a town like Brentwood, older houses with slate or clay tile roofs normally sit alongside later estates with concrete tiles. Chimneys on older houses may be redundant, capped or leaning, and their lead flashings still need to be sound. Later houses have their own typical faults, from loose ridge tiles to blocked gutters.
It is not only a list of defects. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend.
- Location
- Brentwood (CM13, CM14, CM15, CM4)
- Region
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Brentwood: your questions answered
Do you cover Brentwood?
Yes, Brentwood is within the area we cover. We cover the whole of London and South East England. You can call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and a few details.
Can a landlord with a rental near Brentwood station book a roof survey?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and what you need, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Will you photograph what you find?
Yes, plenty. Each finding is shown in a picture where possible, so you can see what we mean.
How long will you be at the property?
Time on site depends on the roof; most visits take roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. The report is sent afterwards by email.
What happens next?
You will get the report by email. With Standard there is a follow-up consultation; with Premium, an in-person consultation.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys.
Do you need to get into the loft?
If there’s a loft and safe access to it, yes. The roof space can show things the outside cannot, like damp timbers, staining or daylight.
What we do, step by step
We work from the outside in: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the loft space where it can be reached. In total, it takes between one and two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. A visit in Brentwood runs most smoothly with the loft hatch clear, side gates open and a parking spot in mind. Someone needs to let us in, so let us know who that will be.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the roof space.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, is emailed to you.
How to prepare
- Tell us about parking before the day
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Find any records of previous roof work
Book a survey
To arrange a survey, phone 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Why get it checked now?
Cracked flaunching and worn pointing are frequently modest repairs when they’re caught early. Left for a few winters, frost and water can loosen pots and bricks, and the work grows. Roof faults found early can be planned for, while one found after water comes through usually has to be dealt with in a hurry.
The Premium Survey includes thermal imaging and drone inspection where it applies, from £400 with VAT included. We can help you choose the package that fits what you want to find out.
Why book with us
- 5,000+ surveys completed
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Photographs and a written report every time
- Drones and thermal imaging where applicable
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and our case studies.
Signs you need a chimney survey in Brentwood
Removing a chimney breast inside can leave questions about how the stack is supported. We record what we can see in the loft and outside, and the report recommends a structural engineer if support is a concern.
Signs worth acting on include:
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Bricks with flaking faces
- A chimney out of line
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
If you look after a building such as Becket Keys Church of England School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- What experience they bring
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Will the report include photos?
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
Nearby places to Brentwood
Also in Brentwood
Tips from our surveys
Here are a few things we’d tell any owner:
- Have the flue swept and checked if you use the fire
- Remove aerials or dishes from the stack if they’re no longer needed
- Don’t use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Check unused flues are capped with ventilation
After the visit, we write up the report with photos of each stack. It covers the pots, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings, and any damp we found inside. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24 to 48 hours and Premium reports the same day.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
What this survey cannot tell you
Every survey has limits, and we’d rather be clear about that before you book. Keep these in mind:
- Hidden damage within the stack
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll recommend the right survey. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
Landlord and commercial surveys in Brentwood
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with the freeholder or managing agent. Mention it when you contact us and we’ll plan the visit with that in mind.
If you own several properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Chimney surveys in Brentwood: local notes
Historic houses such as Ingatestone Hall, about 4.4 miles north-east, show how far back building in the area around Brentwood goes. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, with post-war and more recent estates making up much of the newer housing. Whatever the covering, it’s often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Landlords with a home close to Brentwood station may find that a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak. If you live near a park like Weald Country Park, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys, and an overflowing gutter soon means a wet wall.
Brentwood is about 19 miles north-east of London, in Essex. We visit Brentwood as part of our work across Essex. Across Essex, we cover Brentwood and the places around it. For surveys nearby, see our Chelmsford page.
Here we cover the CM13, CM14, CM15 and CM4 postcode area for chimney surveys. We offer chimney surveys to properties on High Street, London Road and Old Church Road and the roads around them. With the A12 and A128 close by, Brentwood is easy for us to reach for chimney surveys. If you’re just outside Brentwood, we cover Shenfield (1 mile north-east), Hutton Mount (1 mile east), Ingrave (2 miles south-east), Hutton (2 miles east) and Doddinghurst (3 miles north). Larger places within reach include Chelmsford (11 miles north-east), Basildon (8 miles south-east), Harlow (13 miles north-west), Canvey Island (14 miles south-east), Billericay (5 miles east) and Rayleigh (13 miles east). As one of the bigger places in Essex, Brentwood has every kind of building, from houses and flats to offices.
Near you in Brentwood
Typical jobs here are in homes near Sawyers Hall College, Weald Country Park and St Helen's Catholic Junior School. The nearest railway station is Brentwood station, about 0.9 miles south. Other landmarks nearby include Brentwood Community Hospital (0.5 miles east). For a walk, there’s Thorndon Park.