Thurrock · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Fobbing, Thurrock
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Fobbing. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Worn or missing pointing
What we are asked to look at in Fobbing
Flaunching is the mortar bed that holds the pots and throws water off the top. Cracked flaunching lets water in, and each winter makes it worse. Loose pots can follow.
Most people get in touch after spotting something like this:
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Worn or missing pointing
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
Shop and office owners around Eastgate Shopping Centre may find that a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak.
Before you book anyone
- What they won’t be able to tell you
- Are they insured for the work?
- Will the report include photos?
- What experience they bring
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Fobbing
A damp patch on a chimney breast does not always come from the same place. Water may be getting in at the top through cracked flaunching or an uncapped pot, through the brickwork, or at the flashings. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. You then know where to start. Common reasons to book are mortar washing out of the joints and spalled or crumbling bricks, on chimney breasts, brick chimney stacks and flaunching.
In a village or hamlet like Fobbing, older cottages and farmhouses frequently sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are often old. We report on whatever is safely visible, and thatch is a specialist material. On older roofs, it’s usually the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
With the Standard Survey, you also get moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Location
- Fobbing (SS17)
- Wider area
- Thurrock
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Fobbing
Other services in Fobbing
Fobbing questions
Do you cover smaller places like Fobbing?
Yes. Fobbing is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We survey roofs across London and South East England. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when you book.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Basildon station?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. Just ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the details, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Do you inspect shared chimneys?
Yes. Many houses share stacks with a neighbour. We survey what we can see safely, and note anything that seems to involve next door.
Will you check the loft?
Typically, if there is one and it can be reached safely. From inside, the underside of the roof frequently shows damp, staining or daylight that can’t be seen from outside.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. Our sub-250g drone is flown by a CAA-registered operator with a Flyer ID and Operator ID, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
What’s the best way to book?
It’s easiest to call 07833 053749 or email us. Give us the address and some details about the roof. Surveys run on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. The roof of a block or converted house is often shared, so whoever owns or manages the building needs to agree access. We inspect only the parts we’re allowed to reach.
Practical tips
Here are a few things we’d tell any owner:
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
With a shared stack, the report can help when talking to next door. It shows what we found and where, as far as we could see.
Check fixings on the stack are sound, and moved if they’re working it loose. Removing unused fixings takes strain off the brickwork.
Fobbing homes and their roofs
Fobbing is within about 3 miles of the coast, so there is more wind and more salt in the air than further inland. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. An older home may be listed, or stand in a conservation area. To find out, check Historic England’s list and ask the council about conservation areas. In either case, a change of roofing material may need consent.
The streets around a church such as Church of St Michael are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs. If you let a flat or house near Basildon station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints.
Fobbing is about 2 miles north-east of Stanford-le-Hope, in Thurrock. We carry out chimney surveys in Fobbing for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings. Fobbing is one of the places in Thurrock we cover for chimney surveys. For surveys nearby, see our Chelmsford page.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: SS17. Whether your property is on High Road, Patricia Drive and Greenacres Mews or a nearby road, we can survey it. If you’re just outside Fobbing, we cover Corringham (1 mile south), Vange (2 miles north-east), Stanford-le-Hope (2 miles south-west), Balstonia (2 miles south-west) and Lee Chapel (2 miles north-west). Larger places within reach include Grays (7 miles south-west), South Ockendon (8 miles west), Chadwell St Mary (6 miles south-west), Aveley (10 miles west), Tilbury (7 miles south-west) and South Stifford (8 miles south-west).
Around Fobbing
Around Fobbing, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Gable Hall School, Vange Hill and White Lion Public House. Fobbing’s nearest station is Basildon station, roughly 2.1 miles north of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Basildon University Hospital (1.5 miles north-west) and Eastgate Shopping Centre (2.2 miles north). The countryside around Fobbing includes Fobbing Marsh.
What you can safely check yourself
What you cannot do safely is get up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way. That part is for a survey.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
How it works
Once we’ve finished looking, we write up our findings in a report with photos. As for time on site, most surveys take roughly 1–2 hours for a house, and longer for a large or complex roof. Somewhere as small as Fobbing, access is often the only tricky part. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Visits can be on weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays.
- 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.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there is access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Before we arrive
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it’s shared
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
- If you are buying, check with the agent that we can get in
Getting a price
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and tell us the address and what’s prompted the survey. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Advice
What affects the price in Fobbing
The price reflects the time and kit the roof needs. That comes down to:
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- The size of the roof
- Building height and the viewpoints available
- Basic, Standard or Premium
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, including VAT, and we can help you choose.
Helping us price your survey
There is no need for technical words. Just tell us:
- Pictures from the garden or a window, if you have them
- The kind of building and roof involved
- Any stains, drips or damp patches you’ve seen indoors
- What’s prompted the survey
To get a price for chimney surveys in Fobbing, call 07833 053749 or send us an email. The address, the type of property and what you want to find out help us price the survey accurately.
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 is the flaunching, flashings, brickwork or ventilation means the right fix can be planned. For older village homes like those around Fobbing, the right replacement materials are not always easy to find quickly. Spotting a problem early leaves room to find them.
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how safely it can be seen. Our price is from £150, including VAT.
Why book us in Fobbing
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- 5,000+ roofs surveyed
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
See what a roof survey costs or what we found on two real jobs.