Thurrock · London and the South East
East Tilbury Chimney Survey
Chimney surveys in East Tilbury, with over 20 years’ experience behind it. You get a clear report with photos.
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
About our chimney survey in East Tilbury
Our survey covers the structure of the stack and its weathering details. It’s not a flue inspection, a chimney sweep or a gas safety inspection. If you use a fire or a gas appliance, the flue should be checked by a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer as appropriate. If something we see points to the flue, we’ll say so. We survey lead flashings, chimney breasts and flaunching, and common reasons people get in touch are staining on walls around the chimney and flaunching that has broken away.
Around East Tilbury, older cottages sit alongside bungalows and newer houses. Older roofs can have slate, clay tiles or other traditional coverings, while many later ones have concrete tiles. Chimneys, valleys and gutters on older homes often need the most attention. The fixings under an older roof often fail before good slates or tiles do.
The report doesn’t just list problems. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend, so you can plan your next steps.
- Location
- East Tilbury (RM18)
- Region
- Thurrock
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
East Tilbury homes and their roofs
East Tilbury 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, while driving rain finds any gap. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, with post-war and more recent estates making up much of the newer housing. Whatever the covering, it is frequently the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Trees in and around Grove House Wood shed leaves that can end up in nearby gutters. Take a building like East Tilbury Primary School: its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
East Tilbury is about 3 miles south of Stanford-le-Hope, in Thurrock. Anywhere in East Tilbury, we can carry out chimney surveys at your property. We cover towns and villages across Thurrock, from the larger towns to small villages. There is also a page for Maidstone.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: RM18. That includes homes and businesses on Station Road, Queen Mary Avenue and Coronation Avenue. Close by, we survey roofs in Linford (1 mile north-west), Low Street (1 mile south-west), Church Street (4 miles south-east), Chalk (4 miles south) and Cliffe (4 miles south-east). Further out, we also cover Stanford-le-Hope (3 miles north), Grays (4 miles west), South Ockendon (6 miles west), Balstonia (3 miles north), Corringham (3 miles north-east) and Aveley (7 miles west).
What’s near East Tilbury
Typical jobs here are in homes near Grove House Wood and St Clere's School, among other places. There’s a railway station in East Tilbury itself: East Tilbury station. Other landmarks nearby include Orsett Hospital (3 miles north-west) and Walton Hall Museum (0.9 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Thurrock Thameside Nature Park and Sawyers Lake.
What happens if roof problems are left?
If you are thinking of removing or reducing a stack, it helps to know its condition first. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need permission from the council, so check with them first. In a smaller place like East Tilbury, wherever a roof is exposed, a loose ridge or flashing does not stay loose for long. Wind gets under it and lifts more, and water follows.
There are three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, all including VAT. The price for your roof depends on its size, access and what you’d like to know.
What you get with us
- Plain-English reports with photos
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- 5,000+ surveys completed
East Tilbury: your questions answered
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near East Tilbury station?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
Do you cover smaller places like East Tilbury?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We work right across London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route as you book.
Do I need to be at home?
If the survey includes the loft or the inside of the building, someone needs to let us in. We will talk about access when booking.
What do you check on a chimney?
The whole stack, as far as it can safely be seen: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
Will you go up on the roof?
Only if it is safe. We inspect whatever is safely visible: from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the loft space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where applicable. The report says if anything couldn’t be seen.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and sampling aren’t something we do. Where a material might contain it, such as old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it’s disturbed.
My chimney looks like it’s leaning. What should I do?
A leaning stack should be looked at. Our survey notes how it looks and the condition of the bricks and joints, and if it may be a structural issue, we recommend a structural engineer.
Common roof problems in East Tilbury
A stack takes the weather from every direction. Frost works into cracks in the flaunching and pointing, and rain soaks into worn brickwork. People normally call us when they notice damp or a problem with the stack, or before a purchase.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Worn or missing pointing
Take an older house close to St Francis: its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look.
Questions to ask before you book
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- What experience they bring
Prices for chimney surveys in East Tilbury
Not every roof costs the same to survey, for these reasons:
- House, block, shop or office
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
Every price we give includes VAT, and the report is not charged as an extra. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. Size, height and access decide where your roof falls.
What to tell us when you get in touch
What helps most when you contact us:
- The address and postcode of the property
- Access details, such as a loft hatch or a shared roof
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
You can call us seven days a week. For a price or to book, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Practical tips
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
- Photograph damp patches with the date
You get the report by email and can pass it to whoever does the work. We use plain English and a photo for each defect so anyone reading it can see what we saw.
Look at your chimneys from ground level now and then, particularly after strong winds. With binoculars, you can frequently see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Also near East Tilbury
Also in East Tilbury
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Any of our surveys can be booked by landlords, agents and building managers in East Tilbury. To discuss a property or a block, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Landlords and agents in East Tilbury book surveys as well as homeowners. A written report with photographs gives you a clear record of the chimney stack, which helps you plan work between tenancies.
What happens on the day
Expect us to ask a few questions before we start, such as when any problem began and what work has been done before. Then the inspection itself takes between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to East Tilbury is booked with the forecast in mind: the parts that need calm, dry weather are planned around it.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Keep pets in another room
- Leave side gates unlocked
Getting a price
A quick phone call is usually the easiest start: call 07833 053749 or send us an email, and we’ll ask about the building and what you need. The price is agreed before a date is set.