Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Great Notley, Essex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching across Great Notley, using drones and thermal imaging where it applies. Get in touch for a price.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- A chimney out of line
What we look for on each type of roof
Rendered stacks
A rendered stack can mask problems in the bricks below. The survey checks for cracking, bulging and staining in the render.
Chimney pots and cowls
Damaged pots are a safety concern as well as a leak risk. We record their condition with photos.
Chimney survey in Great Notley: what you get
A damp patch on a chimney breast doesn’t always come from the same place. 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. We’re frequently asked to look into redundant stacks capped without ventilation and spalled or crumbling bricks, across brick chimney stacks, chimney pots and cowls and flaunching.
In a smaller place like Great Notley, homes range from older cottages to bungalows and newer houses. Coverings range from slate and clay tiles on older homes to concrete tiles on many later ones. Chimneys, valleys and gutters on older homes frequently need the most attention. The fixings under an older roof often fail before good slates or tiles do.
Nothing in the report is left vague: where something needs attention, it says so plainly, along with how urgent it is.
- Place
- Great Notley (CM77)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Great Notley
More services for Great Notley
Great Notley: your questions answered
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Great Notley?
Your council is the best source, with Historic England’s list for listed buildings. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, and councils can also use Article 4 directions.
Will you come out to Great Notley?
Yes, Great Notley is on our map. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one, with the route planned beforehand.
Is it a structural engineer’s report?
No. Our survey isn’t a structural engineer’s report. We will recommend an engineer if we see signs that call for one.
Do you need to get into the loft?
If there is a loft and safe access to it, yes. From inside, the underside of the roof often shows damp, staining or daylight that can’t be seen from outside.
Do you climb onto every roof?
Only where it’s safe to do so. We look at everything that can be seen safely: from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the loft space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where applicable. The report says if anything couldn’t be seen.
Are you insured?
We’re covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
Can you find out why my chimney breast is damp?
It can come from several places: water getting in at the top, through the brickwork or at the flashings, or moisture trapped in a stack with no ventilation. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause.
What a chimney survey doesn’t cover
Some things cannot be seen without opening up the roof, and that sets some limits:
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will give you a straight answer. The full list of what we check.
What we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
How we price chimney surveys
A few things affect what a survey costs:
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- House, block, shop or office
To find out what your survey will cost, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and let us know about the roof. We’ll confirm the figure before booking.
What we need to know
A few details help us point you to the right survey and price. When you get in touch, it helps to mention:
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- What made you get in touch
To arrange a survey, phone 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Landlords, agents and block managers in Great Notley
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. Recommendations are set out in order of urgency where relevant, which helps with budgets and planning.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, including offices, shops and units. Larger roofs take longer, and they’re priced for the size.
Local roofs in Great Notley
There are about 500,000 buildings on England’s list of listed buildings, and around 10,000 conservation areas. If your home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission, so check with the council. Weatherboarded walls and clay tile roofs are typical of older Essex buildings, with post-war and more recent estates making up much of the newer housing. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
For landlords with property near Braintree station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant. For site and facilities teams at buildings like White Court School, long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Great Notley is about 2 miles south-west of Braintree, in Essex. Roofs in Great Notley get the same thorough look as anywhere else in Essex. We cover towns and villages across Essex, from the larger towns to small villages. Our Chelmsford page covers surveys nearby.
All of CM77 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. If you need a chimney survey at a property on London Road, Harnham Drive and Colville Close or anywhere close by, we can survey it. We also cover Row Green (1 mile south-east), Young's End (1 mile south), Little Common (1 mile north-west), Rayne (1 mile north-west) and Black Notley (2 miles east). We also work in nearby towns like Chelmsford (9 miles south), Maldon (11 miles south-east), Witham (6 miles south-east), Camulodunum (15 miles east), Halstead (7 miles north-east) and Great Dunmow (7 miles west).
Local landmarks in Great Notley
Typical jobs here are in homes near Notley High School and Braintree Sixth Form, The Essex Cricketers pub and Cuckoo Wood and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Braintree station, roughly 1.6 miles north-east. Well-known places in the area include Tudor House Museum (Braintree) (2.2 miles north-east) and William Julien Courtauld Hospital (1.1 miles north-east). Not far away are Phyllis Currie Nature Reserve.
What we do, step by step
We work from the outside in: outside views come first, then the loft space if there’s safe access. In total, it takes roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Being in a smaller place like Great Notley doesn’t change how the visit works: outside, inside and from any safe vantage point, in that order. Point out any stains, cracks or loose pieces you’ve spotted.
- You tell us how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
Before we arrive
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it’s shared
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- If you’re buying, check with the agent that we can get in
Getting a price
Our phone lines are open seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays. To book or ask a question, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Advice
Do you need a chimney survey in Great Notley?
Removing a chimney breast inside can leave questions about how the stack is supported. We note what’s visible in the roof space and outside, and the report recommends a structural engineer if support is a concern.
It is worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- Staining on walls around the chimney
If your home is one of the older ones in the streets near The Church in Great Notley, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- Whether VAT is added on top
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- What follow-up you get after the report
- Whether the roof space is looked at, where there is one