Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Ditton, Kent
A careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Ditton, and put it all in a report with photographs.
- A chimney out of line
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Mortar washing out of the joints
What a survey costs
Our packages start from £150, with VAT included. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- The use of thermal imaging or a drone
- Roof area
- The height of the building and how the roof can be seen safely
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
The Premium Survey includes thermal imaging and drone inspection where applicable, from £400 with VAT included. We can help you choose the package that fits what you’d like to know.
What to tell us when you contact us
You don’t need to know any roofing terms. It’s enough to let us know:
- The address and postcode of the property
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- What made you get in touch
- The style of property, from a terrace to a block
We confirm the price for your survey before you book, so you know where you stand. Prices start from £150, including VAT. For a price for your roof, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
About our chimney survey in Ditton
A chimney survey is about the outside of the stack and the roof around it. It isn’t a flue inspection, a sweep or a gas safety check. For the flue itself, you will need a sweep or, for gas appliances, a Gas Safe registered engineer. We’ll tell you if we see anything that suggests they should take a look. We survey brick chimney stacks, chimney pots and cowls and lead flashings, and common reasons people get in touch are gaps where the stack meets the roof and disused chimneys trapping moisture.
In a smaller place like Ditton, homes range from older cottages to bungalows and newer houses. Older roofs can have slate, clay tiles or other traditional coverings, while many later ones have concrete tiles. On older homes, chimney stacks, valleys and gutters are normally where the work is. The fixings under an older roof often fail before good slates or tiles do.
The report is written in plain words, so you don’t need to be a roofer to follow it. Photos show what each point refers to, with the urgent items made clear.
- Place
- Ditton (ME20)
- Region
- Kent
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from Ditton
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Ditton?
Your council is the best source, with Historic England’s list for listed buildings. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, and councils can also use Article 4 directions.
Do you cover smaller places like Ditton?
Yes, Ditton is on our map. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house, with the route planned beforehand.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. Our survey looks at the roof, not the whole building. If you need a full building survey, you’ll need a RICS survey as well.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and testing aren’t part of what we do. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before any work.
Why is my chimney breast damp?
Normally it’s water getting in from outside, or condensation in a sealed stack. The survey looks at the stack, the flashings and the capping, and record what we find.
What do you check on a chimney?
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.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
There’s no single answer. We record how the stack is doing and whether it’s capped with ventilation. If you’re thinking of removing it, check with the council first in a conservation area or on a listed building.
Also in Ditton
What we can’t see
Every survey has limits, and it is better to know them up front. Bear these in mind:
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
If you’re not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll give you a straight answer. The full list of what we check.
What we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Letting agents can arrange access with tenants. Surveys run seven days a week, which helps when tenants work during the week.
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
How the survey works
You do not need to do much on the day. Point out anything you’ve noticed, such as stains, drips or loose pieces, and we will get on with the inspection. The survey itself takes roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. In a smaller place like Ditton, as anywhere, the forecast plays a part: drone flights and thermal imaging need the right conditions, while a look from ground level and the loft can go ahead in most weather.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- We check every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Before we arrive
- If you are buying, check with the agent that we can get in
- Check we can get to the back of the property
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
How to book
Booking is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and give us some details about the property and we will point you to the right survey. The price is agreed up front.
Read more
Checking the roof from ground level
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. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
A lot can be seen from ground level. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Never climb onto the roof to look.
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Ditton
With Starkey Castle about 4.8 miles north, Ditton sits in an area with a long building history. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, 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. You will also find oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses among the county’s older buildings. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If your home is one of the older ones in the streets near St Peter's Church, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. For site and facilities teams at buildings such as Ditton Infant School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. Landlords with a home close to Aylesford station may find that knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints.
Ditton is about 4 miles north-west of Maidstone, in Kent. We provide chimney surveys for householders, landlords and businesses in Ditton and nearby. We cover towns and villages across Kent, from the larger towns to small villages.
We work across ME20 for chimney surveys. If you need a chimney survey at a property on London Road, Station Road and Scott Close or a nearby road, we can help. We also cover Aylesford (1 mile east), East Malling (1 mile west), Well Street (1 mile south-west), Allington (2 miles east) and West Malling (2 miles west). Larger places within reach include Maidstone (4 miles south-east), Sittingbourne (13 miles east), Dartford (14 miles north-west), Sevenoaks (12 miles west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (14 miles south-west) and Gravesend (10 miles north).
Near you in Ditton
We work in homes and buildings around Aylesford School, The Malling School and Kentish Quarryman pub. The closest station to Ditton is Aylesford station, roughly 0.6 miles north-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Leybourne Castle (1.6 miles north-west) and Fremlin Walk (3.1 miles south-east). Not far away are Burham Down and Blue Bell Hill.
Before and after the survey
There’s plenty you can do without going near the roof. Here’s what helps most:
- Do not use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
After the visit, we write up the report with photos of each stack. It explains the condition of each part of the stack and any damp inside. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24 to 48 hours and Premium reports the same day.
Unused stacks should be capped in a way that still lets air through. That helps stop damp building up inside.