East Sussex · London and the South East
Forest Row Chimney Survey
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching around Forest Row, with findings in writing and pictures to back them up. Book a weekday or weekend visit.
- Worn or missing pointing
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
About our chimney survey in Forest Row
Many terraced and semi-detached homes share their chimney stacks with a neighbour. We check whatever is safely visible and what the owner gives us access to. Where a problem seems to involve a neighbour’s side, the report records it and you can then discuss it with them. You get a written report with photos and what we recommend. Typical surveys look at loose, cracked or missing pots and worn or missing pointing, on chimney breasts, shared and party-wall stacks and chimney pots and cowls.
Houses in smaller places like Forest Row can face open ground, where wind and driving rain hit the roof harder. That weather tells first on ridges, verges, chimneys and flashings. Checking those edges shows whether anything has begun to work loose. A loose ridge tile or slate gives the wind something to catch, and others soon follow.
The Standard Survey adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey goes further, with thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Location
- Forest Row (RH18)
- Region
- East Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
The survey, step by step
The visit has one job: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Notes and photographs go into the written report. The visit usually takes between one and two hours at most homes, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. Parking around Forest Row is usually easier than in a town centre, but mention lanes, gates or long drives. On bungalows and lower roofs, much can be seen from the ground, with the loft showing the underside.
- You tell us how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is checked: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before the survey
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Tell us about parking before the day
Booking a survey
A quick phone call is normally the easiest start: ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll ask a few questions about the roof. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
Read more
What affects the price in Forest Row
We confirm the price for the job before you book. This is what makes a difference:
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- Whether it’s a home or a commercial building
A Basic Survey starts from £150, including VAT. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400. You will know the price for the job before booking.
Helping us price your survey
Here’s what helps us most when you get in touch:
- Dates you are working to, such as exchange
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- The kind of building and roof involved
If you’re buying, it’s useful to book soon after your offer is accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. Otherwise, simply call 07833 053749 or email us whenever suits you.
What you can safely check yourself
After strong wind, take a look from the pavement or garden: broken slates or tiles in the garden, gaps along the ridge or loose lead are signs to note. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
What you cannot do safely is get up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way. That’s where a survey comes in, using safe viewpoints and a drone where applicable.
Nearby places to Forest Row
More services for Forest Row
Tips from our surveys
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
After the visit, we write up the report with photographs of each stack. It explains the condition of each part of the stack and any damp inside. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24 to 48 hours and Premium reports the same day.
Have worn pointing and cracked flaunching dealt with early. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
FAQs for Forest Row
I let a flat near East Grinstead station. Can you check the roof?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you need, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Is Forest Row within the area you cover?
We do. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and every flight depends on the airspace and the weather.
My chimney looks like it is leaning. What should I do?
Have it checked rather than leaving it. Leaning often comes from mortar breaking down unevenly. We record its condition with photographs, and a structural engineer can assess whether it needs work.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. This is a survey of the roof only, so it’s not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. Many buyers have both.
Do you climb onto every roof?
Only where it is safe to do so. We inspect whatever is safely visible: from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the roof space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where it applies. Anything we cannot see is noted in the report.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime. Just say which days work for you.
Local roofs in Forest Row
Standen, about 2.3 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Forest Row. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead. Many older homes in Sussex have handmade clay tiles and tile-hung walls. Some old buildings in Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs, and oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of East Sussex’s older buildings. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
For an older house near a landmark such as The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. If you look after a building such as Forest Row Church of England Primary School, long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle. If you let a flat or house near East Grinstead station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant.
Forest Row is about 3 miles south-east of East Grinstead, in East Sussex. We cover Forest Row and the rest of East Sussex. We cover towns and villages across East Sussex, from the larger towns to small villages. We also survey roofs in Crawley.
Here we cover the RH18 postcode area for chimney surveys. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Evelyn Clark Square, Station Road and London Road or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in Coleman's Hatch (1 mile east), Wych Cross (2 miles south), Upper Hartfield (2 miles east), Chelwood Gate (3 miles south) and Birchgrove (3 miles south-west). We also work in nearby towns like Lewes (15 miles south), Crowborough (6 miles south-east), Uckfield (9 miles south), South Malling (15 miles south), Heathfield (13 miles south-east) and Southover (15 miles south).
Near you in Forest Row
We work in homes and buildings around Foresters Arms and Greenfields School. For rail, the closest station is East Grinstead station, about 3.2 miles north-west. Other landmarks nearby include East Grinstead Museum (2.8 miles north-west) and Bolebroke Castle (3.6 miles north-east).
What we can’t see
We only report whatever is safely visible on the day, so there are some things a survey can’t cover:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Areas we cannot view from safe positions
- Whether the flue is safe to use
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Forest Row
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
Why act early in Forest Row
A leaning stack should be looked at sooner rather than later. Our survey records it and says when a structural engineer should look at it, so you know where you stand. Homes in smaller places like Forest Row can face more weather, so a loose ridge or verge soon lets rain in. Each storm lifts it a little further.
Simple, low roofs take less time to survey than tall or complicated ones, and the package you pick makes a difference too. We will give you the figure before anything is booked.
Why book with us
- 5,000+ surveys completed
- A report with photographs
- An independent look at the roof
- Surveys seven days a week
Read what a roof survey costs and our case studies.