Essex · London and the South East
Great Totham Chimney Survey
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching for Great Totham, from an experienced roof surveyor. Every survey comes with a written report and photos.
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
Why it’s worth a survey now in Great Totham
A small amount of repointing or new flaunching is typically a modest job. Leave it, and frost can work the stack loose, and the work grows. Arranging work in a smaller place like Great Totham is easier with notice than in an emergency. Knowing early gives you time to get the right people in.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how safely it can be seen. Prices start from £150, including VAT.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Great Totham
- 98% customer satisfaction
- An independent look at the roof
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Package prices that include VAT
Chimney survey in Great Totham: what you get
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. If you’ve noticed spalled or crumbling bricks and a stack that appears to lean, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on chimney breasts, lead flashings and shared and party-wall stacks alike.
Around Great Totham, 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 usually 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.
Most points in the report come with a picture, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Place
- Great Totham (CM9)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Should I look at the roof myself first?
A lot can be seen from the ground. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Please do not climb up for a closer look.
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Places near Great Totham
More services for Great Totham
Chimney surveys in Great Totham: local notes
Great Totham lies within about 4 miles of the sea, and being near the sea means more wind and salt than a roof inland would face. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces, while driving rain finds any gap. Older buildings in Essex often have clay tiles and weatherboarding, while many towns grew with post-war and newer estates. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
Landlords with a home close to Witham station may find that a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant.
Great Totham is about 3 miles south-east of Witham, in Essex. If you’re in Great Totham, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: get in touch, agree the price and pick a day. We cover towns and villages across Essex, large and small. You can also see our page for Chelmsford.
Every address in CM9 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Whether your property is on Heriot Way, Maldon Road and Staplers Close or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Other places close to Great Totham include Beacon Hill (1 mile north), Wickham Bishops (1 mile north-west), Broad Street Green (1 mile south), Great Braxted (2 miles north) and Langford (2 miles south-west). Larger places within reach include Colchester (12 miles north-east), Chelmsford (9 miles west), Braintree (9 miles north-west), Maldon (3 miles south), Billericay (15 miles south-west) and Rayleigh (13 miles south).
Near you in Great Totham
We work in homes and buildings around The Bull Public House, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Witham station, roughly 3.1 miles north-west of the centre. Nearby you will also find Maldon & District Agricultural & Domestic Museum (3.4 miles south-east). The countryside around Great Totham includes Shut Heath Wood.
What we’re asked to look at in Great Totham
Flashings seal the gap where a stack passes through the roof. They can lift in wind, crack with age or pull out of the mortar joints. When flashings fail, water frequently shows up in the loft or on the chimney breast. Lead flashings can also be stolen.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
For site and facilities teams at buildings like Great Totham Primary School, long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- Is VAT included in the price?
- How they’ll see the roof: from ground level, the loft, the roof or by drone
- Whether they hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Their report turnaround times
Common questions in Great Totham
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Great Totham, take more of a battering?
It can do. Within about 4 miles of the sea, as Great Totham is, metal fixings wear faster and gales find any loose ridge or slate.
I let a flat near Witham station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, that’s a common request. We just need to know who will give access, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Yes, where applicable and safe. We fly a sub-250g drone and we are 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.
Can you survey at the weekend?
We survey on any day from Monday to Sunday, during the day. Just say which days work for you.
What’s the best way to book?
Just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day, weekday or weekend.
Does someone need to be in?
That depends on the survey. For inside areas and the roof space, someone has to give us access; we’ll agree the details when booking.
Do you inspect shared chimneys?
Yes. We check the parts we can see safely and the parts you can give us access to. Where a problem appears to be on next door’s side, we note it, so you can discuss it with them.
What this survey cannot tell you
Our survey is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- Flue inspections or sweeping
- Conditions inside walls
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
If you are not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will give you a straight answer before booking. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in Great Totham
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
Different roofs, different checks
Chimney pots and cowls
On redundant flues, we check how the pots are capped. Poor capping can lead to damp inside the stack.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Stains on timbers or brickwork around the stack can point to a leak. What we find is photographed and described.
How the survey works
The aim of the visit is simple: to see as much of the chimney stack as can safely be seen and record it clearly. Notes and photographs go into the written report. The visit typically takes about 1–2 hours on an ordinary house, and more on a big or complicated roof. Being in a smaller place like Great Totham does not change how the visit works: outside, inside and from any safe vantage point, in that order. It helps to show us anything you’ve already noticed.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- 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
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
Arrange a survey
To arrange a survey, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and tell us the address and what’s prompted the survey. You will know the price before anything is booked.