Hampshire · London and the South East
Gilbert Street Chimney Survey
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in Gilbert Street from an independent roof surveyor. We visit on weekdays and at weekends.
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Staining on walls around the chimney
Landlord and commercial surveys in Gilbert Street
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. The report sets out what needs attention now and what can wait, which helps with budgets and planning.
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on, photos included.
How a chimney survey works in Gilbert Street
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. 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. We look at each possibility and record what we find. That points the work in the right direction. Typical surveys look at eroded joints in the brickwork and gaps in the mortar around the pots, on chimney pots and cowls, lead flashings and brick chimney stacks.
In a village or hamlet like Gilbert Street, 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. Chimneys and lead flashings on old roofs often need the most attention.
The report works through the roof section by section, from the coverings down to the gutters, each with a short note and a photograph. You’ll see the good as well as the bad.
- Location
- Gilbert Street (SO24)
- Region
- Hampshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Checking the roof from the ground
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.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date, which helps when we look at the roof.
Gilbert Street questions
Is my home in Gilbert Street listed or in a conservation area?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it is worth checking before planning any.
Will you come out to Gilbert Street?
Yes, we do. We work right across London and the South East, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned ahead of time.
Are you structural engineers?
No. We are experienced roof surveyors, and visible signs like sagging are noted, but calculations and an engineer’s opinion are outside what we do. The report will say if you need an engineer.
What if it rains on the day?
Light rain is usually fine; heavy rain and wind are different. In high wind or heavy rain, a drone cannot fly and access may not be safe, and we’d agree another day.
What does a chimney survey cover?
We check the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings. Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access. Everything is written up with photos.
Do you inspect the flue?
No. It is not a flue, sweep or gas safety inspection. We look at the stack, pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings, and damp inside, and we will say if anything suggests the flue needs checking.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We survey what we can see safely, and note anything that seems to involve next door.
Places near Gilbert Street
What else we do in Gilbert Street
Different roofs, different checks
Lead flashings
Where the chimney meets the roof slopes, lead flashings keep water out. The survey looks at whether the lead is tight, sound and well fixed.
Brick stacks
Most chimney stacks are built of brick, with mortar joints that wear over time. We check the bricks for spalling and the joints for erosion.
What a chimney survey looks like in Gilbert Street
Thatch survives on some older buildings in Hampshire’s villages. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters. Bentworth Hall, about 4.2 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Gilbert Street. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters.
The streets around a church such as Church of St Peter are often among the oldest in a place, and if your house is among the older ones nearby, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Gilbert Street is about 6 miles south-west of Alton, in Hampshire. Gilbert Street is part of the area we cover as part of our work across London and South East England. We cover towns and villages across Hampshire. Our Southampton page covers surveys nearby.
We survey roofs across the SO24 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Streets in the area include Andrew's Lane, Gilbert Street and Swelling Hill, all of which we cover. We also cover Ropley (1 mile south-west), Kitwood (1 mile north-east), North Street (1 mile north-west), Charlwood (1 mile south-east) and Ropley Dean (1 mile west). Larger places within reach include Basingstoke (12 miles north), Winchester (11 miles west), Eastleigh (15 miles south-west), Horndean (13 miles south), Alton (6 miles north-east) and Waterlooville (14 miles south).
What’s near Gilbert Street
A little further out are Barton Castle (4.1 miles north-west) and Alton Community Hospital (4.8 miles north-east). The countryside around Gilbert Street includes Shutts Copse and Red Hill.
The survey, step by step
Every roof is different, but as a rough guide the survey takes about one to two hours at most homes; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. If you have questions on the day, just ask. Rural addresses near Gilbert Street can be hard to find from a postcode alone, so a few directions are welcome. After that, the survey runs as it would anywhere.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- The flashings and the roof around each chimney are inspected.
- We look at the flaunching and pots on every stack.
- We note the brickwork, pointing and any sign of leaning.
- You receive a written report setting out what needs attention first.
Getting ready for the survey
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
Arrange a survey
You can call us seven days a week. To book or ask a question, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Related advice
When to book a survey in Gilbert Street
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. With age they can lift, split or come away from the joints. Failed flashings are one of the most common causes of damp around chimneys. Lead is also a target for theft.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
For site and facilities teams at buildings like Ropley Church of England Primary School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- What the survey won’t cover
- Whether VAT is in the quoted price
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- What the report includes, and whether it has photographs
Honest limits
This is not a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- A structural engineer’s assessment
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll tell you before booking. What our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Flaunching
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings