Essex · London and the South East
Great Bentley Chimney Survey
Chimney surveys across Great Bentley, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. You get a clear report with photos.
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too. Bigger roofs take more time.
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. The report is emailed, so it can go straight to your client, photographs included.
How a chimney survey works in Great Bentley
Redundant chimneys are common, particularly where fires have been replaced by central heating. Even when it isn’t used, a stack has to stay weathertight. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. Our survey looks at how each unused stack has been capped and checks the breasts for damp. The report sets out what we found and what we recommend. Typical surveys look at signs that a stack is leaning and redundant stacks capped without ventilation, on chimney pots and cowls, flaunching and lead flashings.
Around Great Bentley, older cottages sit alongside bungalows and newer houses. Older roofs can have slate, clay tiles or other traditional coverings, while many later ones have concrete tiles. On older homes, chimney stacks, valleys and gutters are typically where the work is, and the fixings under the coverings matter too. Nails and battens under older coverings often give out before the slates or tiles themselves.
Nothing in the report is left vague: where something needs attention, it says so plainly.
- Place
- Great Bentley (CO7)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
DIY checks: what’s safe
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from the ground or a window. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Your own check is a good start, but it isn’t a survey. You will not see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from ground level, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Honest limits
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, and that sets some limits:
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will tell you. What a survey covers and does not.
Roofs we survey in Great Bentley
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
Roof by roof
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They crack with age, and we check them too.
Chimney pots and cowls
For unused flues, we check whether caps or cowls allow ventilation. Poor capping can lead to damp inside the stack.
Places near Great Bentley
Other services in Great Bentley
Questions from Great Bentley
Is Great Bentley within the area you cover?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We work right across London and the South East. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when booking.
Is my home in Great Bentley listed or in a conservation area?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Can you survey a chimney stack we share with next door?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We record the stack as far as we can see it and flag anything on the neighbour’s side.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
We have completed more than 5,000 surveys, across 20+ years of surveying roofs.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Where it’s applicable and safe, yes. We fly a sub-250g drone and we’re a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). It’s included in the Drone Roof Survey and, where it applies, the Premium Survey.
What do you check on a chimney?
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.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Our surveys are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance. Ask if you need details for a managing agent or building owner.
What we do, step by step
The visit typically starts outside and finishes in the loft: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the loft space where it can be reached. All told, expect about 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to Great Bentley is booked with the forecast in mind: the parts that need calm, dry weather are planned around it.
- You tell us whether any stacks are shared, unused or leaning.
- The flashings and the roof around each chimney are inspected.
- The top of each stack is checked for cracked flaunching and loose pots.
- We note the brickwork, pointing and any sign of leaning.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
How to prepare
- Let us know about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- For flats, check roof access has been agreed
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
Arrange a survey
To arrange a survey, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We’ll confirm the price before booking.
Advice
Chimney surveys in Great Bentley: local notes
The coast is about 4 miles or less from Great Bentley, and being near the sea means more wind and salt than a roof inland would face. Near the sea, metal fixings wear faster and loose pieces on a roof are more likely to lift, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. Thorpe Hall, about 4.4 miles east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Great Bentley. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
If you let a flat or house near Great Bentley station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints. For site and facilities teams at buildings like Great Bentley Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. The streets around a church such as Church of St Mary are often among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first.
Great Bentley is about 5 miles north-west of Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex. Anywhere in Great Bentley, we can come and survey your property. Great Bentley is one of the towns and villages in Essex where we work for chimney surveys. You can also see our page for Chelmsford.
We survey roofs across the CO7 postcode area for chimney surveys. Streets in the area include Station Road, Forge Lane and Moors Close, all of which we cover. Close by, we survey roofs in Aingers Green (1 mile south), Frating Green (2 miles north-west), South Heath (2 miles south), Thorrington (2 miles south-west) and Frating (2 miles west). Further out, we also cover Colchester (8 miles west), Clacton-on-Sea (5 miles south-east), Harwich (10 miles north-east), Camulodunum (9 miles west), Greenstead (6 miles north-west) and Tiptree (14 miles west).
What’s near Great Bentley
Around Great Bentley, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Plough Inn. There’s a railway station in Great Bentley itself: Great Bentley station. Not far away are Weeleyhall Wood.
How we price chimney surveys
All our prices include VAT. What changes the price is:
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- Which survey package you book
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- The roof’s overall size
Larger roofs, taller buildings and commercial roofs take longer, so they’re priced to match. You’ll know the figure before booking.
What to tell us when you contact us
If you can, have these to hand when you contact us:
- The kind of building and roof involved
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
Our phone lines are open seven days a week. To book or ask a question, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email.