Milton Keynes · London and the South East
Great Horwood Chimney Survey
Know where you stand with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. We carry out chimney surveys in Great Horwood, with photographs and a clear written report.
- A chimney out of line
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
Chimney survey in Great Horwood: what you get
If a chimney looks out of line, it’s worth getting it checked. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down, frequently after years of flue gases and damp. We record the lean and the condition of the brickwork and pointing. If the stack looks like a structural issue, the report recommends a structural engineer. If you are worried about frost-damaged brickwork on the stack and a stack that appears to lean, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on chimney pots and cowls, brick chimney stacks and shared and party-wall stacks alike.
In a small place like Great Horwood, many roofs stand in the open, which is hard on ridges, chimneys, flashings and gutters. Older walls take a long time to dry once water gets in. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. Lead flashings and old chimney stacks are frequently where weather gets in first.
Where we cannot see part of the chimney stack, the report says so. You’ll know exactly what was inspected and what wasn’t, and what we’d suggest next.
- Location
- Great Horwood (MK17)
- Wider area
- Milton Keynes
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Different roofs, different checks
Rendered stacks
We cannot see the bricks behind render without it being opened up, so the report says what can and cannot be judged.
Lead flashings
Flashings can lift in wind or pull out of their mortar joints. We photograph any we find that look loose or damaged.
What happens if roof problems are left?
A leaning stack should be looked at sooner rather than later. We record its condition and recommend a structural engineer where needed, so you know where you stand. For older village homes like those around Great Horwood, the right replacement materials aren’t always easy to find quickly. Spotting a problem early leaves room to find them.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how it can be reached and seen safely. Our price is from £150, including VAT.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Great Horwood
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- 98% customer satisfaction
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- An independent look at the roof
See our cost guide and our case studies.
How it works
The aim of the visit is simple: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Notes and photos go into the written report. It normally takes an hour or two at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Rural addresses near Great Horwood can be hard to find from a postcode alone, so a few directions, or a note of a nearby landmark, help us arrive on time. After that, the survey runs as it would anywhere.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there is access.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
How to prepare
- Keep pets in another room
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
Arrange a survey
To arrange a survey, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and let us know the address and what’s prompted the survey. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Related advice
What a chimney survey looks like in Great Horwood
About 4.9 miles south-west lies Claydon House, a reminder of how long the area around Great Horwood has been built on. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles, with flat-roofed extensions, dormers and garages common everywhere. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
The streets around a church such as Church of St James are often among the oldest in a place, and if your home is one of the older ones nearby, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first.
Great Horwood is about 5 miles east of Buckingham, in Milton Keynes. We provide chimney surveys for householders, landlords and businesses in Great Horwood and the surrounding area. Our Milton Keynes coverage includes Great Horwood and the places around it. For surveys nearby, see our Milton Keynes page.
Every address in MK17 is within our area for chimney surveys. We cover properties on High Street, The Green and Willow Road. Other places close to Great Horwood include Little Horwood (1 mile east), Nash (2 miles north), Winslow (2 miles south), Whaddon (3 miles north-east) and Swanbourne (3 miles south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Milton Keynes (6 miles north-east), Bletchley (6 miles east), Newport Pagnell (10 miles north-east), Bletchley and Fenny Stratford (7 miles east), Furzton (5 miles north-east) and Whitehouse (5 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in Great Horwood
We work in homes and buildings around Sir Thomas Fremantle School and The Crown pub and the streets around them. A little further out are Buckingham Community Hospital (5 miles north-west) and Drayton Parslow Mound (4.2 miles south-east). The countryside around Great Horwood includes Buckingham Sand Pit.
Common questions in Great Horwood
Do you carry out roof surveys in Great Horwood?
Yes, Great Horwood is within the area we cover. We cover the whole of London and South East England. You can ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and some details.
Will you come out to Great Horwood?
Yes, we do. We work right across London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. The journey is planned ahead, so it is useful to know about access.
Can you survey in bad weather?
Light rain is normally fine; heavy rain and wind are different. Strong wind or heavy rain can make access unsafe and ground a drone, so we’d move the date with you.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. Roofs over flats are frequently shared, so we need permission from the building owner or managing agent. We inspect only the parts we’re allowed to reach.
How long will you be at the property?
That depends on the size and shape of the roof, but most surveys take about one to two hours at most homes, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. The report is sent afterwards by email.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
The whole stack, as far as it can safely be seen: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
What does the report include?
It explains what we saw, what it means and what we’d suggest, backed by photographs. Anything we couldn’t see safely is noted too.
What we are asked to look at in Great Horwood
Aerials and dishes are often fixed to stacks. Their weight and the wind on them can loosen bricks and pointing. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- A stack that appears to lean
If you look after a building such as Great Horwood Church of England School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Questions to ask before you book
- Is VAT included in the price?
- What exactly goes into their report
- What they won’t be able to tell you
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
Towns and villages near Great Horwood
What else we do in Great Horwood
Can I check my roof myself?
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery. That is where a survey comes in.
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
When you need someone else
A survey is a careful look at the chimney stack, but it can’t do everything. Its limits include:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer before booking. The full list of what we check.
What we check
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks