Hertfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Essendon, Hertfordshire
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. We carry out chimney surveys in Essendon, with photographs and a clear written report.
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
Why get it checked now?
A damp chimney breast seldom dries out until the cause is found. It can spoil decoration and plaster. Knowing whether it’s the flaunching, flashings, brickwork or ventilation means the right fix can be planned. Older and listed buildings around Essendon may need consent and matching materials for repairs, so a defect found early gives time to plan the work properly.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT.
What you get with us
- Over 20 years’ experience
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Package prices that include VAT
- An independent look at the roof
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
About our chimney survey in Essendon
On terraced and semi-detached houses, a chimney stack is often shared with next door. We look at everything that’s safely in view and what the owner gives us access to. If a defect appears to be on the neighbour’s side, we note it, so you can talk to them. Everything is written up with photos and what we recommend. We survey brick chimney stacks, shared and party-wall stacks and chimney breasts, and common reasons people get in touch are unused flues sealed without airflow and gaps where the stack meets the roof.
Some older homes in villages like Essendon 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. Knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan ahead with that in mind. Where a building is listed, matching the existing roof materials is often expected.
After the visit, you get a report with photos, sent by email. It explains the condition of the chimney stack, the defects we found and what we recommend.
- Place
- Essendon (AL9)
- Wider area
- Hertfordshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Should I look at the roof myself first?
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
You can learn a lot from the ground. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Never climb onto the roof to look.
Nearby places to Essendon
Also in Essendon
Tips from our surveys
A little preparation and a few simple habits help, both for the survey and for the roof itself. Some pointers:
- Photograph damp patches with the date
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Check unused flues are capped with ventilation
- Make sure fixings on the stack are secure
With a shared stack, the report can help when talking to next door. It shows what we found and where from the viewpoints we used.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. The sooner damp is spotted, the easier the cause is to find.
What we do, step by step
The visit has one job: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It usually takes about one to two hours at most homes, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. Older roofs in small places like Essendon can have low, tight loft spaces, so it helps to know whether there is a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it’s safe.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We look at every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the roof space.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with the building owner or managing agent
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
How to book
Our phone lines are open seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays. To book or ask a question, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Related advice
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Shared roofs need a little more planning: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it when booking and we’ll plan the survey around it.
Freeholders and residents’ companies use a roof report to plan and budget, with the most urgent items set out first.
What a chimney survey looks like in Essendon
Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Whatever the covering, it is frequently the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. The wider area around Essendon has a long history of building, with Hatfield House about 2.4 miles west. On older houses around here, roofs often 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.
For an older house near a landmark such as Church of St Mary the Virgin, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. If you let a flat or house near Bayford station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant. If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for example near Howard Centre, a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak.
Essendon is about 3 miles south-east of Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. Essendon gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a careful inspection, photos and a written report. Our area takes in places right across Hertfordshire, large and small. London is in our area too.
We work across AL9 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Rectory Close, Church Street and School Lane or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in West End (1 mile west), Little Berkhamsted (1 mile south-east), Letty Green (2 miles north-east), East End Green (2 miles north-east) and Bayford (2 miles east). Further out, we also cover Watford (13 miles south-west), Hemel Hempstead (13 miles west), Stevenage (10 miles north), St Albans (8 miles west), Bishop's Stortford (15 miles north-east) and Welwyn Garden City (3 miles north-west).
Around Essendon
Around Essendon, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Salisbury Crest Public House and the streets around them. Essendon’s nearest station is Bayford station, roughly 2.5 miles east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (2 miles north-west) and The Bunker at Hatfield Police Station (3.6 miles west). The countryside around Essendon includes Willowmead.
FAQs for Essendon
Is my home in Essendon listed or in a conservation area?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
Can a landlord with a rental near Bayford station book a roof survey?
Yes, letting agents and landlords book with us as well as owners. You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and a few details.
Will you check the chimney is safe to use with a fire?
No. It isn’t a flue, sweep or gas safety inspection. We look at the stack, pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings, and damp inside, and we’ll say if anything suggests the flue needs checking.
Is it a structural engineer’s report?
No. We note visible signs such as sagging or deflection, but we do not carry out calculations or give an engineer’s opinion. If we think you need an engineer, the report says so.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
If the survey includes the loft or the inside of the building, someone needs to let us in. Access is agreed with you when you book.
What should I do with a chimney I do not use?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. If it is capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside. We check how it is capped and its condition, so you can decide with a builder what to do.
Will you check the loft?
If it is needed and safe to reach, yes. Inside, we look for damp, staining, gaps and sagging.
Honest limits
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll tell you before you book. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching