East Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Etchingwood
A careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Etchingwood, with photos and a written report.
- A stack that appears to lean
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Flaunching that has broken away
How we price chimney surveys
Not every roof costs the same to survey, and it comes down to:
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- Whether you choose the Basic, Standard or Premium Survey
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
Larger roofs, taller buildings and commercial roofs take longer, so they’re priced to match. You will know the figure before booking.
Helping us price your survey
Before you get in touch, it helps to have:
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- Pictures from the garden or a window, if you have them
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
Unsure which package suits your roof? The easiest way is to ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and describe the roof and what’s worrying you. We will talk you through the options and what they cost.
How a chimney survey works in Etchingwood
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. 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 shared and party-wall stacks, chimney pots and cowls and flaunching, and the problems we are asked to look at most are flashings pulling away from the stack and unused flues sealed without airflow.
Somewhere as small as Etchingwood, homes are often older cottages and farmhouses, with outbuildings and some newer houses. Older roofs may be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, frequently with chimneys that have stood a long time. Each needs checking in its own way, and thatch is a specialist material we report on as far as it can be seen. On older roofs, it’s normally the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, because a photo of a cracked flashing says more than a paragraph. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Location
- Etchingwood (TN22)
- Wider area
- East Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Signs you need a chimney survey in Etchingwood
Flaunching is the mortar bed that holds the pots and throws water off the top. Once it cracks, water gets in and frost makes the cracks bigger. In time, the pots can become loose.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- A stack that appears to lean
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Worn or missing pointing
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
If you live in an older home near Church of St Mary the Virgin, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Before you book anyone
- Their report turnaround times
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
Why get it checked now?
Cracked flaunching and worn pointing are frequently modest repairs when they’re caught early. Left for a few winters, frost and water can loosen pots and bricks, and the work grows. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Etchingwood, driving rain gets into any weakness, and older walls, once damp, take a long time to dry.
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package matters as well. We will give you the figure before anything is booked.
Why book us in Etchingwood
- Packages from £150, inc. VAT
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- 98% of clients satisfied
- Every finding written up with photos
Places near Etchingwood
Also in Etchingwood
What happens on the day
Photographs are taken throughout the visit, so you can see in the report what we found and where. We take close-ups from wherever is safe. A typical visit takes about one to two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Somewhere like Etchingwood needs a little journey planning: tell us about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. The roof is looked at from the ground, from windows, from the loft where there is safe access and from the roof where it is safe.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- We look at every stack from wherever it can be seen safely.
- 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.
Preparing for the visit
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- For flats, make sure roof access has been agreed
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
Booking a survey
Booking is simple: just call 07833 053749 or email us and give us some details about the property and we will point you to the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Related advice
For landlords and managing agents
An agent can book and manage the survey for a landlord. We agree a time with the tenant beforehand.
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
What a chimney survey looks like in Etchingwood
An older home may be listed, or stand in a conservation area. Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the council can say whether a street is in a conservation area. In either case, a change of roofing material may need consent. In Sussex, older roofs are frequently handmade clay tile, frequently with tile-hanging on the walls below. A few old Sussex buildings still carry heavy Horsham stone slabs, and the county’s older buildings include oast houses and Wealden hall houses. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If you let a flat or house near Buxted station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant. Anyone responsible for a site like Uckfield College will know that long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Etchingwood is about 2 miles north-east of Uckfield, in East Sussex. Roofs in Etchingwood get the same thorough look as anywhere else in East Sussex. Etchingwood is one of the towns and villages in East Sussex we cover. Our Brighton page covers surveys nearby.
Here we cover the TN22 postcode area for chimney surveys. Other places close to Etchingwood include Potter's Green (1 mile north-west), Buxted (1 mile north-west), Framfield (1 mile south-west), Blackboys (1 mile south-east) and Hadlow Down (2 miles north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Eastbourne (15 miles south-east), Seaford (14 miles south), Lewes (10 miles south-west), Hailsham (9 miles south-east), Crowborough (5 miles north) and Newhaven (14 miles south).
Local landmarks in Etchingwood
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Buxted Inn, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Buxted station, about 0.9 miles north-west. A little further out are Uckfield Community Hospital (2.2 miles south-west) and Tickerage Castle (0.9 miles south). For a walk, there is Selwyns Wood.
Tips that help
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They’re worth knowing whatever the roof:
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Remove aerials or dishes from the stack if they’re no longer needed
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
If anything in the report is not clear, just ask us. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. With binoculars, you can frequently see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Questions from Etchingwood
Is Etchingwood within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. Our area covers London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
I let a flat near Buxted station. Can you check the roof?
Of course. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
That depends on the survey. For inside areas and the loft space, someone has to give us access.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
A redundant chimney needs looking after like any other. If it’s capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside. Our survey records its condition and how it is capped, so you can plan what to do with it.
What if it rains on the day?
A survey can typically go ahead in light rain. Strong wind or heavy rain can stop drone flights and make roof access unsafe, so we will agree a new date if the weather is not suitable.
Do you use drones?
Where it is applicable and safe, yes. We fly a sub-250g drone and we are a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). It is included in the Drone Roof Survey and, where it applies, the Premium Survey.
What happens next?
The report comes by email, and you decide the next step: use it with a seller, an insurer, a roofer or a managing agent.