Kent · London and the South East
Broad Ford Chimney Survey
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching in Broad Ford. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Worn or missing pointing
The survey, step by step
We work from the outside in: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the roof space where it can be reached. In total, it takes between one and two hours for most houses, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. In a hamlet or village like Broad Ford, a postcode does not always lead to the right gate, so a few directions are welcome. The visit itself is the same as anywhere else.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can be seen safely.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
How to prepare
- Keep pets in another room
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it’s shared
Booking a survey
Unsure which package suits your roof? It’s easiest to ring 07833 053749 or email us and describe the roof and what’s worrying you. We’ll talk you through the options and what they cost.
Advice
About our chimney survey in Broad Ford
A chimney survey looks at the stack and everything around it: the pots and cowls, the flaunching on top, the pointing, the brickwork and the flashings where it meets the roof. Inside, we check chimney breasts and the stack in the loft where it’s safe to reach. The findings come in a written report with photos and recommendations. We survey single stacks on houses and groups of stacks on bigger buildings. We survey chimney breasts, lead flashings and shared and party-wall stacks, and people most often book us about damp on a chimney breast inside and bricks with flaking faces.
Somewhere as small as Broad Ford, homes are often older cottages and farmhouses, with outbuildings and some newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are frequently old. We report on what can be seen safely, and thatch is a specialist material. Chimneys and lead flashings on old roofs frequently need the most attention.
Most points in the report come with a picture, because a photo of a cracked flashing says more than a paragraph. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Place
- Broad Ford (TN12)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Tips from our surveys
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
You can send the report to roofers or builders for quotes. Because everyone is pricing the same findings, the quotes are easier to compare.
Check redundant flues are capped with ventilation. That helps stop damp building up inside.
Local roofs in Broad Ford
About 3.1 miles south-west lies Scotney Castle, a reminder of how long the area around Broad Ford has been built on. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Many older homes in Kent have handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles held by pegs through two holes, and tile-hanging on their upper walls. Oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of the county’s older buildings too. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
For site and facilities teams at buildings such as Horsmonden Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. If you live in an older home near Church of St Margaret, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Broad Ford is about 8 miles east of Royal Tunbridge Wells, in Kent. We survey roofs in Broad Ford as part of our work across London and the South East. Broad Ford is one of the towns and villages in Kent we cover for chimney surveys. There’s also a page for Maidstone.
Every address in TN12 is covered for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include Capel Cross (1 mile north), Brandfold (1 mile east), Smallbridge (1 mile south-west), Horsmonden (1 mile north-west) and Hazel Street (1 mile west). Within a short drive, we also cover Maidstone (10 miles north), Sevenoaks (15 miles north-west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (8 miles west), Tonbridge (9 miles north-west), Kings Hill (10 miles north) and Foley Park (11 miles north).
Around Broad Ford
Around Broad Ford, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Gun And Spitroast Public House And Rear Courtyard and The Gill. For rail, the closest station is Marden station, roughly 3.6 miles north-east. A little further out are Old Scotney Castle (3.1 miles south-west) and Finchcocks Musical Museum (2.1 miles south-west). Open spaces near Broad Ford include Bewl Water.
Broad Ford: your questions answered
Do you cover smaller places like Broad Ford?
Yes, we do. We work right across London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned beforehand.
How do I find out if my home in Broad Ford is listed?
We cannot confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. A change of roofing material may need consent in either case.
What do I do with the report?
The report comes by email, and what you do next is up to you: raise it with a seller, send it to an insurer, brief a roofer or share it with a managing agent.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes, once whoever controls the roof agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we are allowed to reach.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We record the stack as far as we can see it and flag anything on the neighbour’s side.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
Every part of the stack we can see from safe positions: from the pots and flaunching down to the flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. It is a specialist roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 building survey. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
Towns and villages near Broad Ford
Other services in Broad Ford
Signs you need a chimney survey in Broad Ford
TV aerials, satellite dishes and their brackets are often fixed to chimneys. Their weight and the wind on them can loosen bricks and pointing. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
Here are some of the things we see frequently:
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
If you let a flat or house near Marden station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
What to check before booking
- Their report turnaround times
- What follow-up you get after the report
- Whether the price includes VAT
- What the survey will not cover
DIY checks: what’s safe
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way. That part is for a survey, using safe viewpoints and a drone where applicable.
Different roofs, different checks
Lead flashings
Flashings can lift in wind or pull out of their mortar joints. Any loose or split flashings are recorded.
Flaunching
Sitting at the very top, flaunching is fully exposed. The survey checks for cracking and gaps around each pot.
What a chimney survey doesn’t cover
Every survey has limits, and we’d rather be clear about that before you book. Bear these in mind:
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll tell you. The full list of what we check.
Roof types and parts we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks