Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Chinbrook
An experienced roof surveyor for chimney surveys in Chinbrook. Over 5,000 surveys and 20+ years behind us.
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Staining on walls around the chimney
Signs you need a chimney survey in Chinbrook
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. They can lift in wind, crack with age or pull out of the mortar joints. Failed flashings are one of the most common causes of damp around chimneys. Lead flashings can also be stolen.
Most people get in touch after spotting something like this:
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Worn or missing pointing
- Bricks with flaking faces
If you look after a building such as Marvels Lane Primary School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Questions to ask before you book
- What the report includes, and whether it has photos
- How long the report takes to arrive
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
About our chimney survey in Chinbrook
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. On older stacks, we frequently find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. We survey chimney breasts, flaunching and brick chimney stacks, and people most frequently book us about cracked or missing flaunching and pots or cowls that look unsafe.
Many London terraces have a butterfly roof, with two slopes meeting in a central valley gutter that drains to the rear. From the street you see only a parapet wall, so blocked outlets and split linings go unnoticed until water comes through a ceiling. For a house in Chinbrook with this kind of roof, the hidden gutter is one of the first things to check.
The report does not just list problems. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend, so you can decide what to do next.
- Place
- Chinbrook (SE9, SE12, BR1)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What affects the cost of chimney surveys
Not every roof costs the same to survey, for these reasons:
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- Whether it’s a home or a commercial building
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- How big the roof is
Every price we give includes VAT. Our price is from £150, including VAT. You will know the price for your roof before you book.
What we need to know
You do not need to know any roofing terms. Just tell us:
- What made you get in touch
- When you need the report by
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- The property’s address and postcode
To book a survey, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We’ll confirm the price before booking.
How the survey works
You don’t need to do much on the day. Point out anything you’ve noticed, like stains, drips or loose pieces, and we’ll take it from there. A typical survey takes about one to two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Many London properties are flats or terraces with no side access, so rear slopes are viewed from windows, the loft or, where a flight is allowed, by drone. If the building has a managing agent or access rules, tell us when booking.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can safely be seen.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access.
- The findings are written up with photos and recommendations and emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Arrange a survey
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, and you can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form to find out.
Advice
What we look for on each type of roof
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 this survey cannot tell you
Our findings are based on what we can see safely on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- Hidden damage within the stack
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Flue inspections or sweeping
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
Leave it or get it looked at?
Before deciding what to do with a redundant stack, a survey shows how it’s doing. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need permission from the council, so check with them first. In a London terrace or conversion, a roof defect rarely stays your problem alone: a blocked parapet gutter or slipped slate can let water into the flat below or the house next door. Dealing with it early is far less disruptive.
Prices start from £150, including VAT, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400. We confirm the price for the job before booking.
Why book us in Chinbrook
- Satisfaction rate of 98%
- Plain-English reports with photos
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
Take a look at what a roof survey costs or our case studies.
Also near Chinbrook
Other services in Chinbrook
Chinbrook homes and their roofs
Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, frequently with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. Bay roofs, hip ridges and dormers from later loft conversions are the details that set these houses apart. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. With Eltham Palace about 1.3 miles north-east, Chinbrook sits in an area with a long building history. On older houses around here, roofs often 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.
Living close to Chinbrook Meadows is pleasant, but mature trees mean leaves in gutters and valleys each autumn, so outlets and downpipes are worth watching. If you live in an older home near Jubilee International Church, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Chinbrook is about 1 mile south-west of Eltham, in Greater London. We survey roofs in Chinbrook and the rest of Greater London. Chinbrook is one of the places in Greater London we cover for chimney surveys. You can also see our page for London.
Surveys in SE9, SE12 and BR1 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. You will find streets such as Luffman Road, Riddons Road and Cobland Road. Main roads around Chinbrook include the A2212, which makes travel easy. If you’re just outside Chinbrook, we cover Mottingham (1 mile north-east), Grove Park (1 mile west), Coldharbour (1 mile east), Middle Park (1 mile north) and Sundridge (1 mile south). Within a short drive, we also cover London (7 miles north-west), City of Westminster (10 miles north-west), Marylebone (10 miles north-west), Kensington (11 miles north-west), St Pancras (9 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (8 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Chinbrook
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Colfe's School, Chinbrook Meadows and Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy, among other places. There is a railway station in Chinbrook itself: Grove Park station. Nearby you will also find Prefab Museum (1.5 miles west) and Greenwich Castle (3.5 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Summer Hill and The Tarn.
Questions from Chinbrook
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Chinbrook?
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 parking be an issue for a roof survey in Chinbrook?
In much of London, parking needs planning: a visitor permit or a bay close to the door helps a lot, so mention what’s available when you book.
Will you walk on the roof?
Not always. Some roofs are too steep or fragile to walk on safely. We use safe viewpoints, the loft space and a drone where applicable, and the report records anything we couldn’t see.
Do you use drones?
Yes, where it applies and safe. We are a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID), flying a sub-250g drone. Drone inspection is part of the Drone Roof Survey and the Premium Survey, where applicable.
Do you carry out surveys on Saturdays and Sundays?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Tell us which days suit you when booking.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
There is no single answer. The survey shows its condition and how it’s been capped. If you are thinking of removing it, check with the council first in a conservation area or on a listed building.
Does the report include photographs?
Yes. We photograph the roof as we go, and the report uses them to show each finding.