Essex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Cattawade
Chimney surveys in Cattawade, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. You get a clear report with photographs.
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
About our chimney survey in Cattawade
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. 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. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. You then know where to start. We survey chimney breasts, flaunching and lead flashings, and the problems we’re asked to look at most are redundant stacks capped without ventilation and damp patches on chimney breasts.
Some older homes in villages like Cattawade are listed or in a conservation area. That can affect what materials can be used when work is done, so check with the council before planning anything. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Older materials like clay tiles, slate and stone are often matched when work is done.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Location
- Cattawade (CO11)
- Region
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Cattawade homes and their roofs
Cattawade lies within about 1 mile of the sea, so there’s more wind and more salt in the air than further inland. Salt is hard on nails, clips and metal flashings, and strong wind lifts anything already loose on a roof, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. About 2.9 miles west lies Castle House, a reminder of how long the area around Cattawade has been built on. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
Landlords with a home close to Manningtree station may find that the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at. Take an older house close to Church of St Michael and All Angels: old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs. If you look after a building such as Brooklands Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Cattawade is in Essex. We carry out chimney surveys for homeowners, landlords and businesses in Cattawade and the surrounding area. Cattawade is one of the towns and villages in Essex we cover. There is also a page for Chelmsford.
We cover every part of CO11 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. You will find streets such as Temple Pattle, Grimwade Close and Hardy Close, and we cover them all. Other places close to Cattawade include Brantham (1 mile north), East End (1 mile north), Manningtree (1 mile south), Lawford (1 mile south) and Mistley (2 miles south-east). Further out, we also cover Colchester (8 miles south-west), Clacton-on-Sea (12 miles south), Harwich (9 miles east), Camulodunum (10 miles south-west), Greenstead (7 miles south-west) and Wivenhoe (8 miles south-west).
Landmarks near Cattawade
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Ark pub and Manningtree High School and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Manningtree station, about 1 mile south-west. A little further out are Little Wenham Castle (3.8 miles north) and The Munnings Museum (2.9 miles west). Not far away are Cattawade Marshes and Alton Water.
How it works
On the day, we begin with a quick chat about the roof and anything that is worrying you. We then inspect everything that can safely be seen. The survey normally takes roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Somewhere as small as Cattawade, access is frequently the only tricky part. Mention any outbuildings, barns or garages you want included, and anything about the roof you already know. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- The flashings and the roof around each chimney are inspected.
- We look at the flaunching and pots on every stack.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Before the survey
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- If you are buying, let the agent know when we’re coming
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
How to book
Prices start from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so call 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the details.
Related advice
What we look for on each type of roof
Chimney pots and cowls
Damaged pots are a safety concern as well as a leak risk. We record their condition with photographs.
Lead flashings
Over time, lead can lift or come away from the brickwork. Any loose or split flashings are recorded.
Cattawade: your questions answered
Will you come out to Cattawade?
Yes, Cattawade is covered. We work right across London and the South East, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned ahead of time.
I let a flat near Manningtree station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, that’s a common request. We just need to know who will give access, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Do you use drones?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. Our sub-250g drone is flown by a CAA-registered operator with a Flyer ID and Operator ID, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
Will you walk on the roof?
Not always. Some roofs are too steep or fragile to walk on safely. We use safe viewpoints, the roof space and a drone where applicable.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. It’s a specialist roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 building survey. It focuses on the roof and can sit alongside a RICS survey.
How long does the survey take?
Expect it to take between one and two hours at most homes, and longer for a large or complex roof. The written report follows by email, on the timescale of your package.
Places near Cattawade
What else we do in Cattawade
Landlords, agents and block managers in Cattawade
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too, from shops and offices to industrial units. Larger roofs take longer, so they’re priced to suit.
Where a roof is shared: we need access agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you get in touch and we’ll plan the survey around it.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
You can learn a lot from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Never climb onto the roof to look.
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can point to a blockage or a sagging run.
What affects the price in Cattawade
Our packages start from £150, inc. VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
- The use of thermal imaging or a drone
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- The shape of the roof and its details
Price depends partly on the package: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 or Premium from £400, all inc. VAT. Size, height and access can affect the price too.
What we need to know
You don’t need to know any roofing terms. It’s enough to tell us:
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
- The property’s address and postcode
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- Access details, like a loft hatch or a shared roof
To arrange a survey, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
What this survey cannot tell you
Our survey is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- Conditions inside walls
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will suggest the right survey. What a survey covers and does not.
Roof types and parts we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks