Essex · London and the South East
Great Bromley Chimney Survey
Know where you stand with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. Chimney surveys in Great Bromley.
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
What affects the price in Great Bromley
Survey packages start from £150, including VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- Building height and the viewpoints available
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- The shape of the roof and its details
- How big the roof is
Simple, low roofs take less time to survey than tall or complicated ones, and the package you pick makes a difference too. The price is always agreed first.
What we need to know
A few details help us suggest the right survey and price. When you contact us, it helps to mention:
- Anything about access we should know
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- Pictures from the garden or a window, if you have them
- What made you get in touch
Every survey is priced before it’s booked, so you know the cost up front. Prices start from £150, including VAT. To book, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Chimney survey in Great Bromley
A damp patch on a chimney breast doesn’t always come from the same place. It might come in at the top, through worn pointing or porous bricks, or where the flashings meet the roof. Condensation inside an unventilated stack is another common cause. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. That points the work in the right direction. We survey chimney breasts, flaunching and chimney pots and cowls, and people most frequently book us about mortar washing out of the joints and lifted or split lead flashings.
Older buildings in small places like Great Bromley may be listed or in a conservation area. If yours is, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so the council is the place to check. Knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan ahead with that in mind. Older materials like clay tiles, slate and stone are often matched when work is done.
It is not only a list of defects. It explains what we found, why it matters and what we recommend, so you can plan your next steps.
- Location
- Great Bromley (CO7)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Great Bromley
Also in Great Bromley
Common questions in Great Bromley
Can a landlord with a rental near Alresford station book a roof survey?
Yes, rented property is part of what we cover. Just ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and tell us about the building.
Is the coastal weather around Great Bromley hard on roofs?
Often, yes. Great Bromley is within about 5 miles of the sea, and coastal roofs tend to see faster wear on metal parts and more wind lifting loose pieces.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
It depends on its condition and your plans. The survey shows its condition and how it’s been capped. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need consent.
Do you cover Great Bromley?
Yes. We carry out chimney surveys in Great Bromley, and the service is the same as everywhere else we 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. It can sit alongside a RICS survey if you want both.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We use safe viewpoints rather than climbing onto the stack. A drone inspection is part of the Premium Survey where it applies. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it is applicable and safe, yes. We fly a sub-250g drone and we’re a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). Drone inspection is part of the Drone Roof Survey and the Premium Survey, where applicable.
What we look for on each type of roof
Chimney pots and cowls
Pots sit in the flaunching on top of the stack, and cowls or caps sit on the pots. We check that they look secure and undamaged.
Lead flashings
Over time, lead can lift or come away from the brickwork. Any loose or split flashings are recorded.
When to book a survey in Great Bromley
Stacks that were used for open fires for many years can weaken from the inside. Flue gases and damp can break down the mortar, sometimes more on one side than the other, which can make a stack lean.
People usually book a survey when they’ve noticed one of these:
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
If you look after a building like St George's Church of England Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
What to check before booking
- Whether VAT is added on top
- What they will not be able to tell you
- When you’ll get the report
- What happens after the report arrives
For landlords and managing agents
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, from shops and offices to industrial units. Bigger roofs take more time.
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. Recommendations are set out in order of urgency where relevant.
Tips from our surveys
Small things make a difference, both for the survey and for the roof itself. Some pointers:
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Don’t use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
You get the report by email and can pass it to whoever does the work. Each defect is described in plain words and shown in a photo so anyone reading it can see what we saw.
Have worn pointing and cracked flaunching dealt with early. It is far simpler than rebuilding a stack later.
How it works
When we arrive, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you need to know. After that, we look at everything we can see safely, using the ground, windows, the loft and a drone where it applies. Most surveys take about one to two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Cottages and farmhouses around Great Bromley often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. Each part is looked at from wherever it can be seen safely.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Where there’s safe access, we check the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- You get a photo-illustrated written report and our recommendations.
Getting ready for the survey
- Keep pets in another room
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
Arrange a survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To arrange a day that suits you, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and the days you’d prefer.
Advice
Chimney surveys around Great Bromley
Great Bromley lies within about 5 miles of the sea, and places near the sea get more salt in the air and more wind than inland. Near the sea, metal fixings wear faster and loose pieces on a roof are more likely to lift, while driving rain finds any gap. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, while many towns grew with post-war and newer estates. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
If you own a rental within reach of Alresford station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints. With Castle House about 4 miles north, the area around Great Bromley has a long history. On a period home nearby, the survey separates sound original work from tired later repairs.
Great Bromley is about 6 miles east of Colchester, in Essex. Great Bromley is part of the area we cover as part of our work across London and the South East. Our area takes in places right across Essex, from the larger towns to small villages. Chelmsford is in our area too.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: CO7. Whether your property is on Badley Hall Road, Brook Street and Hall Road or anywhere close by, we can help. We also cover Cowey Green (1 mile south-east), Hare Green (1 mile south-east), Balls Green (1 mile south), Monkey Street (2 miles east) and Frating Green (2 miles south). Further out, we also cover Colchester (6 miles west), Clacton-on-Sea (8 miles south-east), Harwich (10 miles east), Camulodunum (7 miles west), Greenstead (4 miles west) and Tiptree (13 miles south-west).
Around Great Bromley
In Great Bromley, that means homes and buildings near Ardleigh Park, among other places. The closest station to Great Bromley is Alresford station, about 3.2 miles south-west. Well-known places in the area include Colchester Hospital (5.6 miles west) and Wivenhoe Chapel Museum (3.6 miles south-west). The countryside around Great Bromley includes Cockaynes Wood.