Greater London · London and the South East
Forestdale Chimney Survey
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching for Forestdale, from an experienced roof surveyor. You get a clear written report with photographs.
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
How a chimney survey works in Forestdale
Each stack is looked at from the safest viewpoints available: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the roof space where it is safe. With our Premium Survey, a drone inspection is included where it applies. Where part of a stack cannot be seen, the report says so. Every defect we find is photographed and described in plain words. Typical surveys look at frost-damaged brickwork on the stack and pots or cowls that look unsafe, across shared and party-wall stacks, brick chimney stacks and chimney breasts.
A London butterfly roof slopes down to a central valley gutter that drains to the back of the house. From the street you see only a parapet wall, so blocked outlets and split linings go unnoticed until water comes through a ceiling. If your home in Forestdale has one, it needs checking from somewhere that can actually see it.
The report records the chimney stack as we found it on the day. It is useful straight away, and a good reference for later.
- Location
- Forestdale (CR0, CR2)
- Region
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Forestdale questions
Can a landlord with a rental near Sanderstead station book a roof survey?
Yes, rented property is part of what we cover. Just call 07833 053749 or email us and tell us about the building, including who will give access on the day.
How do I find out if my home in Forestdale is listed?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. We don’t carry out asbestos surveys or testing. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before any work.
What happens after the survey?
We email you the written report with photos and recommendations. It’s yours to share with a seller, insurer, roofer or managing agent, whichever applies.
What does a chimney survey cover?
Every part of the stack we can see from safe positions: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. We also note leaning, redundant stacks and damp inside.
What insurance do you have?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, and we can provide details if a managing agent needs them.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. We inspect everything that’s safely in view and what you give us access to. Where a problem appears to be on next door’s side, we note it, so you can discuss it with them.
Useful tips for Forestdale property owners
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
- Make sure unused flues are capped with ventilation
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
The report is emailed to you, ready to share with a roofer or builder. Each defect is described in plain words and shown in a photo, so it is easy to follow.
Have aerial and dish brackets on the stack checked, and moved if they’re working it loose. Removing unused fixings takes strain off the brickwork.
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Forestdale
With Addington Palace about 0.9 miles north, Forestdale sits in an area with a long building history. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. If your home in Forestdale is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
For an older house near a landmark like St Francis, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs. Landlords with a home close to Sanderstead station may find that a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak. If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for instance near St George's Walk, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies.
Forestdale is about 3 miles south-east of Croydon, in Greater London. In Forestdale, as across Greater London, every roof gets the same careful survey. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, from the larger towns to small villages. For surveys nearby, see our London page.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: CR0 and CR2. Streets in the area include Courtwood Lane, Goldfinch Road and Bardolph Avenue, all of which we cover. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include Selsdon (1 mile west), New Addington (1 mile east), Addington (1 mile north), Farleigh (1 mile south) and Fickleshole (2 miles south-east). Further out, we also cover London (11 miles north), City of Westminster (13 miles north-west), Marylebone (13 miles north), Kensington (13 miles north-west), St Pancras (13 miles north) and Shoreditch (13 miles north).
Local landmarks in Forestdale
We work in homes and buildings around John Ruskin College and Addington Park. The nearest railway station is Sanderstead station, roughly 2.4 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Warlingham Park Hospital (1.9 miles south) and Croydon Airport Visitor Centre (3.5 miles west). The countryside around Forestdale includes Nore Hill and Hutchinson's Bank.
What a chimney survey does not cover
It is a careful look at the chimney stack, not the whole story. Its limits include:
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- A structural engineer’s assessment
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will point you to the right survey before you book. What our survey covers.
Roofs we survey in Forestdale
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
Also near Forestdale
Also in Forestdale
What a survey costs
A few things affect what a survey costs:
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
Prices quoted always include VAT, and the written report is part of the package. Our price is from £150, including VAT. Size, height and access decide where your roof falls.
Booking your survey
There’s no need for technical words. Just let us know:
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- Anything about access we should know
- What made you get in touch
To arrange a survey, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Checking the roof from ground level
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way, and a fall can be serious. That is where a survey comes in.
A DIY look is useful, but it is not a survey. You will not see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from ground level.
What happens on the day
Photographs are taken throughout the visit, so the report shows exactly what we saw. We take close-ups from wherever is safe. A typical visit takes about one to two hours on an ordinary house, or half a day or so for a commercial building. In Forestdale, visits are available on weekdays and at weekends. It helps if you can point us to a visitor permit or a nearby bay. A back bedroom window can be the best vantage point for a rear addition, so we may ask to use one.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- 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.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with the freeholder or managing agent
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Getting a price
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so there is time to use the report before exchange. Otherwise, simply call 07833 053749 or drop us an email whenever suits you.
Advice
What happens if roof problems are left?
A small amount of repointing or new flaunching is usually a modest job. Left for a few winters, frost and water can loosen pots and bricks and the job gets bigger. London’s older roofs often have bitumen felt underlay or none at all, so once the slates or flashings let water past, little stops it reaching ceilings. Left alone, that means wet timbers and plaster, which is a far bigger job than the roof fault itself.
Larger roofs, taller buildings and commercial roofs take longer, so they’re priced to match. The price is confirmed before booking.
What you get with us
- Surveys on weekdays and at weekends
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
- 98% of customers satisfied
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and our case studies.