Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Finchley, Greater London
A careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Finchley, and put it all in a photo-illustrated written report.
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Signs that a stack is leaning
About our chimney survey in Finchley
Chimney stacks take more weather than almost any other part of a house. In time, flaunching cracks, mortar washes out and flashings come loose. Water then gets into the stack and can show as damp on a chimney breast or a stain in the loft. We record what we find with photographs and recommendations. If you’re worried about redundant stacks capped without ventilation and a stack that appears to lean, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
London has Victorian and Edwardian terraces in almost every borough, often with slate roofs, chimney stacks shared with neighbours and gutters hidden behind parapets. Slates can last a century or more, but the nails holding them corrode, and slates slip. In Finchley, as across London, that’s why a roof needs a close look rather than a glance from the street. Shared chimney stacks and the lead around them are just as important to check.
Most points in the report come with a picture, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Place
- Finchley (N3, N2, N12, NW11)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Different roofs, different checks
Chimney breasts and the loft
Inside, chimney breasts can show damp when water gets into the stack. We check the breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach.
Rendered stacks
Water can get in through cracks and then struggle to dry out. We record any cracking and where it is.
Local roofs in Finchley
Heath Hall, about 1.8 miles south, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Finchley. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. 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.
Homes near green spaces such as Victoria Park can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls. If you look after a building like Manorside Primary School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. If you run a business near Grand Arcade, a written record of the roof’s condition helps you plan maintenance rather than react to leaks.
Finchley is about 6 miles north of City of Westminster, in Greater London. Whether the building in Finchley is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, the roof can be surveyed on a weekday or at the weekend. Our Greater London coverage includes Finchley. You can also see our page for London.
Chimney surveys in N3, N2, N12 and NW11 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. That includes homes and businesses on Station Road, Chaplin Square and Market Place. Finchley sits on or near the B1462, so getting to you is simple. Close by, we survey roofs in Church End (1 mile west), Woodside Park (1 mile north), North Finchley (1 mile north), Friern Barnet (2 miles north-east) and Oakleigh Park (2 miles north). Larger places within reach include London (8 miles south-east), City of Westminster (6 miles south), Marylebone (6 miles south), Kensington (7 miles south), St Pancras (6 miles south-east) and Shoreditch (7 miles south-east).
Around Finchley
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Elephant Inn, Bishop Douglass School and Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum and the streets around them. Also close by are Victoria Park (under half a mile north) and Woodhouse College (1 mile north-east). The nearest railway station is New Southgate station, roughly 1.9 miles north-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Finchley Memorial Hospital (less than half a mile north-east) and Grand Arcade (1 mile north). Green spaces nearby include Highgate Hill and Lakeside Nature Reserve.
Common questions in Finchley
Is parking a problem for a survey in Finchley?
London parking needs a little planning, so let us know about permits, bays or a driveway when you book. That way the visit can be planned around it.
How do I find out if my home in Finchley is listed?
Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the local council can tell you about conservation areas. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Can you survey a chimney stack we share with next door?
Yes. We inspect what can safely be seen and what you give us access to. If a defect seems to be on your neighbour’s side, the report records it, so you can discuss it with them.
How do I book a survey in Finchley?
Just ring 07833 053749 or email us. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day, weekday or weekend.
Do you need to go on the roof to check the chimney?
We use safe viewpoints rather than climbing onto the stack. Where it applies, our Premium Survey adds a drone inspection for a closer view. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
Will I get photos?
Yes. We photograph the roof as we go, and the report uses them to show each finding.
What do I do with the report?
You receive the written report by email, with photos and recommendations. You can use it to talk to a seller, an insurer, a roofer or a managing agent, whichever applies.
What this survey cannot tell you
To be straight with you, a roof survey has limits:
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will suggest the right survey. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
What happens on the day
Every roof is different; as a rough guide, the survey takes between one and two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. You are welcome to ask questions while we’re there. In converted houses and mansion blocks, the loft hatch is often on a shared landing. Where that’s the case, access needs agreeing with whoever controls that landing. Otherwise, the visit in Finchley runs like any other.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We look at every stack from wherever it can be seen safely.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- 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.
How to prepare
- Find any records of previous roof work
- Let us know where we can park nearby
- If it is not your property yet, arrange access through the agent
Getting a price
Unsure which package suits your roof? The easiest way is to call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We will explain the options and the price.
Related advice
Practical tips
Getting the most from a chimney survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Tips:
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
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.
Get small mortar repairs done while they’re small. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
Why get it checked now?
A small amount of repointing or new flaunching is typically a modest job. Leave it, and frost can work the stack loose and the job gets bigger. Blocked gutters and hoppers on London houses overflow and soak brickwork. A small blockage left for a few winters becomes a damp problem.
Prices start from £150, including VAT, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both including VAT. You’ll know the price for your survey before booking.
Why us?
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- An independent look at the roof
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- 5,000+ surveys completed
See what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Finchley
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too, from shops and offices to industrial units. Larger roofs take longer.
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan.