Hertfordshire · London and the South East
Bulbourne Chimney Survey
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you spend money on it. Chimney surveys in Bulbourne, with photos and a clear written report.
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Cracked or missing flaunching
For landlords and managing agents
A roof problem in a let property affects your tenants as well as the building. A survey shows what needs attention, so you can plan the work with less disruption.
For blocks of flats, a roof survey helps managing agents and residents’ management companies plan ahead. Recommendations are set out by urgency where it matters.
Chimney survey in Bulbourne
If a chimney looks out of line, it’s worth getting it checked. A stack may lean because the mortar on one side has weakened, which can happen over many years of use. We record the lean and the condition of the brickwork and pointing. Where it may be a structural concern, we’ll recommend a structural engineer. We survey flaunching, chimney pots and cowls and shared and party-wall stacks, and the problems we are asked to look at most are pots or cowls that look unsafe and bricks with flaking faces.
Village roofs often face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, so ridges, chimney stacks, flashings and gutters work hard. Older walls take a long time to dry once water gets in. A roof report shows what needs attention first. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
After the visit, you get a report with photos, emailed to you. It explains the condition of the chimney stack, the defects we found and what we recommend.
- Location
- Bulbourne (HP23)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Bulbourne
More services for Bulbourne
Your questions about chimney surveys in Bulbourne
How do I find out if my home in Bulbourne is listed?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Will you come out to Bulbourne?
Yes. Bulbourne is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We cover the whole of London and South East England. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when you book.
How quickly is the report sent?
Each package has its own report time. Basic: within 48 hours. Standard: 24 to 48 hours. Premium: the same day. If you have a deadline, such as an exchange date, tell us as you book.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes, as long as access is agreed. Roofs over flats are often shared, so we need permission from whoever owns or manages the building. We inspect only the parts we are allowed to reach.
Are you insured?
Professional indemnity and public liability insurance cover our surveys. If you need details for a managing agent or a building owner, just ask.
How many surveys have you done?
We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys, across 20+ years of surveying roofs, and 98% of clients are satisfied.
Does the report include photographs?
Yes. Photos are taken throughout the survey, and they go into the written report.
What we do, step by step
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect everything that’s safely in view, and if part of the roof can’t be seen, the report says so. Most visits take about one to two hours for a house, with bigger or more complicated roofs taking longer. Cottages and farmhouses around Bulbourne frequently have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is checked: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Preparing for the visit
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
- Let us know about parking near the property
- If it is not your property yet, arrange access through the agent
Arrange a survey
You can call us seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays. For a price or to book, call 07833 053749 or email us.
Read more
What a survey costs
When we price a survey, we consider:
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Which survey package you book
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- How big the roof is
Prices start from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, inc. VAT, and we can help you choose.
Booking your survey
The more you let us know, the easier it is to price the survey. When you contact us, tell us:
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Access details, such as a loft hatch or a shared roof
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
- What kind of property and roof it is
Unsure which package suits your roof? It’s easiest to phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We’ll talk you through the options and what they cost.
Honest limits
No survey can tell you everything, and it is better to know them up front. Bear these in mind:
- Areas we can’t view from safe positions
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will tell you before booking. What our survey covers.
Roof types and parts we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
What a chimney survey looks like in Bulbourne
Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. The wider area around Bulbourne has a long history of building, with Cholesbury Manor House about 4.1 miles south. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
For an older house near a landmark like St Mary's Church, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine. If you look after a building like Grove Road Primary School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Bulbourne is about 5 miles north-west of Berkhamsted, in Hertfordshire. We survey roofs in Bulbourne as part of our work across London and the South East. Bulbourne is one of the places in Hertfordshire we cover. Milton Keynes is in our area too.
Every address in HP23 is covered for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Whether your property is on Bulbourne Yard and Bulbourne Road or a nearby road, we can help. We also cover Marsworth (1 mile north-west), Startop's End (1 mile west), Tringford (1 mile west) and Wilstone (2 miles west). Further out, we also cover Watford (15 miles south-east), Hemel Hempstead (9 miles south-east), St Albans (14 miles east), Harpenden (13 miles east), Berkhamsted (5 miles south-east) and Rickmansworth (14 miles south-east).
What’s near Bulbourne
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The White Lion pub and Tring School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Tring station, roughly 1.5 miles south-east. Other landmarks nearby include Pitstone Green Museum (1.2 miles north). Open spaces near Bulbourne include College Lake nature reserve and Ivinghoe Beacon.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
After strong wind, take a look from the pavement or garden: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Don’t go up yourself.
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Do you need a chimney survey in Bulbourne?
Aerials and dishes are frequently fixed to stacks. The extra load in wind can work bricks and joints loose. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
Landlords with a home close to Tring station may find that a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- When you will get the report
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Whether they hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance