West Sussex · London and the South East
Five Oaks Chimney Survey
Know where you stand with the chimney stack before you spend money on it. We carry out chimney surveys in Five Oaks.
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
Chimney surveys around Five Oaks
England has around 10,000 conservation areas and about 500,000 listed buildings. If your home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission, so the council is the place to ask. Handmade clay tiles and tile-hung upper walls are typical of older Sussex houses. Horsham stone slab roofs survive on some old Sussex buildings. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If you let a flat or house near Billingshurst station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Five Oaks is about 5 miles west of Horsham, in West Sussex. We provide chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Five Oaks. Across West Sussex, we cover Five Oaks and the places around it. Crawley is in our area too.
We work across RH14 for chimney surveys. That includes homes and businesses on Horsham Road, Hayes Wood Road and Stane Street and the roads around them. If you’re just outside Five Oaks, we cover The Haven (1 mile north-west), Billingshurst (2 miles south-west), Slinfold (2 miles north-east), Newpound Common (3 miles west) and Coneyhurst (3 miles south). We also work in nearby towns such as Crawley (12 miles north-east), Horsham (5 miles east), Worthing (15 miles south), Haywards Heath (15 miles east), Burgess Hill (15 miles south-east) and Broadfield (10 miles east).
Near you in Five Oaks
For rail, the closest station is Billingshurst station, roughly 2.2 miles south of the centre. A little further out are Christs Hospital School Museum (3.1 miles east) and Horsham Hospital (5 miles east).
Chimney survey in Five Oaks
A leaning chimney stack is worth having looked at. A stack may lean because the mortar on one side has weakened, which can happen over many years of use. We record the lean and the condition of the brickwork and pointing. Where it may be a structural concern, we’ll recommend a structural engineer. If you’ve noticed staining on walls around the chimney and loose, cracked or missing pots, we can find out what’s behind it.
In a small place like Five Oaks, many roofs stand in the open, so ridges, chimney stacks, flashings and gutters work hard. Damp in old walls is slow to dry, so a small leak can do a lot of harm. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
The report is yours to share with whoever needs it: a seller or estate agent, an insurer, a roofer, a builder or a managing agent, whichever applies.
- Where
- Five Oaks (RH14)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How the survey works
Photos are taken throughout the visit, so you can see in the report what we found and where. Close-ups come from the safest viewpoint available. A typical visit takes between one and two hours on an ordinary house, or half a day or so for a commercial building. For a village or hamlet like Five Oaks, the journey is planned beforehand: tell us about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. The roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from the loft where there is safe access and from the roof where it is safe.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
How to prepare
- For flats, make sure roof access has been agreed
- Tell us about parking before the day
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
Booking a survey
Once you know what you need, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. We will suggest a package, agree the price and find a date, weekday or weekend.
Read more
Prices for chimney surveys in Five Oaks
Not every roof costs the same to survey, and it comes down to:
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
All our prices include VAT. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. You’ll know the exact price before booking.
Helping us price your survey
A little information up front helps. It’s useful to include:
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- The property’s address and postcode
Every survey is priced before it’s booked, so you know where you stand. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. For a price for your roof, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
What this survey cannot tell you
To be straight with you, a roof survey has limits:
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will tell you. What our survey covers.
Roof types and parts we check
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
What we look for on each type of roof
Lead flashings
Mortar fillets are sometimes used where lead would normally be. They crack with age, and we check them too.
Chimney pots and cowls
On redundant flues, we check how the pots are capped. Poor capping can lead to damp inside the stack.
What we’re asked to look at in Five Oaks
Chimney stacks stand above the roof, exposed to wind, rain and frost on every side. Frost works into cracks in the flaunching and pointing, and rain soaks into worn brickwork. Most people book after spotting damp or a loose pot, or before buying.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- A chimney out of line
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
Anyone responsible for a site like The Weald School will know that its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- Whether the loft space is looked at, where there is one
- What the report includes, and whether it has photographs
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
Leave it or get it looked at?
For a buyer, the best time to learn about a chimney is before exchange. Once you’ve exchanged, the work is down to you. Our report gives you facts to raise with the seller or agent. For an older or listed building in a place like Five Oaks, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so leaving a defect until it’s urgent leaves less time to plan.
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. Prices start from £150, including VAT.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Five Oaks
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Every finding written up with photos
- Surveys seven days a week
- Packages from £150, including VAT
Towns and villages near Five Oaks
Also in Five Oaks
Common questions in Five Oaks
Can a landlord with a rental near Billingshurst station book a roof survey?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. You can ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you need.
Is Five Oaks within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. We survey roofs across London and the South East, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Can you give me structural calculations?
No. We’re roof surveyors, not structural engineers, and it does not include calculations. If we see signs that need an engineer’s opinion, we’ll recommend one.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. It’s a specialist roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 building survey. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
Are you insured?
Our surveys are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance. Ask if you need details for a managing agent or building owner.
How experienced are you?
We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys, over more than 20 years, with 98% customer satisfaction.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, if the building owner or managing agent agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we are allowed to reach.