Greater London · London and the South East
East Finchley Chimney Survey
We take a careful look at the chimney stack at your property in East Finchley, and put it all in a photo-illustrated written report.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Can I check my roof myself?
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Photograph them and note the date.
About our chimney survey in East Finchley
A damp patch on a chimney breast does not always come from the same place. Water may be getting in at the top through cracked flaunching or an uncapped pot, through the brickwork, or at the flashings. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. We look at each possibility and record what we find. That points the work in the right direction. We survey lead flashings, flaunching and shared and party-wall stacks, and people most frequently book us about mortar washing out of the joints and damp patches on chimney breasts.
Much of London’s housing is flats, in converted houses or purpose-built blocks, so roofs are often shared between several households. Landlords, managing agents and residents’ companies need to know what condition it’s in and what work is coming up, in East Finchley as anywhere. Leaks from a shared roof rarely affect just one home. With a written report and photographs, everyone can plan from the same facts.
Findings are set out part by part, from the coverings down to the gutters, each with a short note and a photo. You will see the good as well as the bad.
- Where
- East Finchley (N2, N3, NW11)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What we can’t see
Our survey isn’t a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. Other limits to bear in mind:
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- Flue inspections or sweeping
- A structural engineer’s assessment
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll recommend the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and does not.
What this survey covers
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Chimney breasts
Useful tips for East Finchley property owners
Nothing here needs a ladder. A few suggestions:
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Check unused flues are capped with ventilation
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
Questions about the findings are always welcome. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. Early signs are easier to trace.
Local roofs in East Finchley
In outer London, interwar semis with hipped, tiled roofs sit alongside older slate-roofed terraces. On a semi of that age, the small roofs over the bays, the hip tiles and any later dormer each need their own look. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters. The wider area around East Finchley has a long history of building, with Heath Hall about 1.1 miles south. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead.
If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for example near Grand Arcade, a written record of the roof’s condition helps you plan maintenance rather than react to leaks. Homes near green spaces like Lyttelton Playing Fields can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and an overflowing gutter soon means a wet wall.
East Finchley is about 5 miles north of Marylebone, in Greater London. Whether the building in East Finchley is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, the roof can be surveyed on a weekday or at the weekend. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, large and small. London is in our area too.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: N2, N3 and NW11. Whether your property is on Oak Lane, Maya Road and High Road or a nearby road, we can help. You’ll find East Finchley on the A1, which makes it straightforward to reach. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in Hampstead Garden Suburb (1 mile south-west), Fortis Green (1 mile east), Temple Fortune (1 mile south-west), Muswell Hill (1 mile east) and Golders Green (2 miles south-west). Larger places within reach include London (7 miles south-east), City of Westminster (5 miles south), Marylebone (5 miles south), Kensington (6 miles south), St Pancras (5 miles south-east) and Shoreditch (6 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in East Finchley
Around East Finchley, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Tollington School, Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum and Bishop Douglass School Finchley and the streets around them. Nearby too are Lyttelton Playing Fields (0.5 miles south) and The Bald Faced Stag pub (0.5 miles east). The nearest railway station is New Southgate station, about 2.2 miles north-east of the centre. A little further out are Grand Arcade (1.6 miles north) and Jewish Museum - Finchley (0.7 miles north-west). Not far away are Highgate Hill and Long Lane Pasture.
What happens on the day
A survey visit follows a simple order: we hear what you’ve seen, inspect the roof from every safe viewpoint, take photos as we go and make notes for the report. It usually takes an hour or two at a typical home, and more on a big or complicated roof. For a visit in East Finchley, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. We then look at what can safely be seen from ground level, windows, the loft and, where it is safe, the roof itself.
- You let us know how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- The findings are written up with photos and recommendations and emailed to you.
Preparing for the visit
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- If you’re buying, let the agent know when we’re coming
- Tell us where we can park nearby
Getting a price
Unsure which package suits your roof? The easiest way is to call 07833 053749 or email us and describe the roof and what’s worrying you. We’ll talk you through the options and what they cost.
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Places near East Finchley
More services for East Finchley
Do you need a chimney survey in East Finchley?
Lots of homes have redundant stacks. A stack sealed without ventilation can trap damp. That can lead to damp patches on chimney breasts, even with the roof in good order.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- Worn or missing pointing
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Signs that a stack is leaning
The streets around a church such as Church of the Holy Trinity are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Before booking anyone
- What experience they bring
- Whether they hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- Which viewpoints they use to see the roof
Surveys for landlords and agents in East Finchley
Landlords, agents and building managers in East Finchley and across Greater London can book any of our surveys. For a price for a let property or a block, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
Common questions in East Finchley
Can parking be tricky for a visit in East Finchley?
It rarely stops a survey, but it is worth planning. Let us know the parking rules on your street and we’ll work around them.
Can a landlord with a rental near New Southgate station book a roof survey?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. Just call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the details.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
It depends on what we need to see. For inside areas and the loft space, someone has to give us access; we’ll agree the details when you book.
Will you check the loft?
If there’s a loft and safe access to it, yes. The loft space can show things the outside cannot, like damp timbers, staining or daylight.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We do not sample or test for asbestos. The report may flag materials that could contain asbestos on buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Do you inspect shared chimneys?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We record the stack as far as we can see it and flag anything on the neighbour’s side.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
Over 5,000 surveys so far, over more than 20 years, with 98% customer satisfaction.