Kent · London and the South East
Broadstairs Chimney Survey
Get a clear view of the chimney stack at a property in Broadstairs. We visit on weekdays and at weekends.
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
When to book a survey in Broadstairs
Years of fires can affect the mortar inside a stack. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which is one reason stacks start to lean.
Things that often lead to a survey include:
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
For site and facilities teams at buildings such as St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
What to check before booking
- What they will not be able to tell you
- Whether VAT is added on top
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
Chimney survey in Broadstairs: what you get
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it’s 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. If you’ve noticed flashings pulling away from the stack and a chimney out of line, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
Semis and terraces in a town like Broadstairs 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. Tell us as you book if you know of anything shared with next door.
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.
- Where
- Broadstairs (CT10, CT9, CT12)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Broadstairs
Other services in Broadstairs
Broadstairs: your questions answered
I let a flat near Broadstairs station. Can you check the roof?
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.
Does being near the coast affect roofs in Broadstairs?
It can do. Broadstairs is within about 1 mile of the sea, and coastal roofs tend to see faster wear on metal parts and more wind lifting loose pieces.
Are you structural engineers?
No. Our survey is not a structural engineer’s report, and it doesn’t include calculations. If we see signs that need an engineer’s opinion, we’ll recommend one.
Will you check the chimney is safe to use with a fire?
No. We survey the stack and its weathering, not the flue. For the flue, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer.
How experienced are you?
More than 5,000 surveys over 20+ years, across London and South East England.
Does the report include photos?
Yes, plenty. Each finding is shown in a picture where possible, so you can see what we mean.
What causes damp on a chimney breast?
There are a few common causes: cracked flaunching, worn pointing, failed flashings, uncapped pots, or damp trapped in an unventilated stack. We look at each one and note the most likely cause.
Landlords, agents and block managers in Broadstairs
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work.
Shared roofs need a little more planning: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you contact us and we’ll plan the survey around it.
What happens on the day
The aim of the visit is simple: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It usually takes an hour or two at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. For a home in Broadstairs, the main things we need are a way into the loft, a route to the back garden and somewhere to park. Someone needs to let us in, so tell us who that will be.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is checked: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Where there is safe access, we check the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
How to prepare
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with whoever owns or manages the building
- Let us know where we can park nearby
- If you’re buying, let the agent know when we are coming
Arrange a survey
Every survey is priced before it is booked, so you know where you stand. Our price is from £150, including VAT. For a price for your roof, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Advice
Chimney surveys in Broadstairs: local notes
Broadstairs lies within about 1 mile of the sea, and places near the sea get more salt in the air and more wind than inland. Metal fixings and flashings corrode faster in salt air, while gales work at loose ridges, slates and tiles, while driving rain finds any gap. Quex Park, about 4.7 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Broadstairs. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near Parish Church of St Peter the Apostle, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. If you run a business near Westwood Cross, a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak.
Broadstairs is about 16 miles east of Canterbury, in Kent. Surveys in Broadstairs work the same way as everywhere we cover: a close look at whatever is safely visible, photos and a clear written report. Broadstairs is one of the places in Kent where we work for chimney surveys. For surveys nearby, see our Canterbury page.
We cover every part of CT10, CT9 and CT12 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. That includes homes and businesses on High Street, Union Square and Church Road. Broadstairs sits on or near the A254 and A255, so getting to you is simple. Close by, we survey roofs in Upton (1 mile south-west), St Peter's (1 mile north-west), Northwood (1 mile south-west), Kingsgate (2 miles north) and Northdown (2 miles north). We also work in nearby towns such as Deal (10 miles south), Herne Bay (13 miles west), Walmer (11 miles south), Whitfield (15 miles south-west), Sandwich (7 miles south-west) and Aylesham (14 miles south-west).
Landmarks near Broadstairs
We work in homes and buildings around The Charles Dickens School, The Charles Dickens School and The Little Albion Inn. Broadstairs has its own railway station: Broadstairs station. A little further out are Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital (2 miles north-west) and Westwood Cross (1.5 miles west). For a walk, there is Sandwich and Pegwell Bay.
What we can’t see
Before booking, it’s worth knowing what a survey will not do:
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- Areas we can’t view from safe positions
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will suggest the right survey before you book. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
Leave it or get it looked at?
Cracked flaunching and worn pointing are often modest repairs when they’re caught early. Left for a few winters, frost and water can loosen pots and bricks, and the work grows. A defect spotted early can be planned and budgeted for, while one found after water comes through typically has to be dealt with in a hurry, in Broadstairs as anywhere.
There are three survey packages: the Basic Survey from £150, the Standard Survey from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, with VAT included. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Why book with us
- Prices that include VAT
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Plain-English reports with photos
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and our case studies.
Can I check my roof myself?
After strong wind, take a look from the pavement or garden: broken slates or tiles in the garden, gaps along the ridge or loose lead are signs to note. Don’t go up yourself.
A DIY look is useful, but it is not a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are frequently out of sight.