Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Hawkinge, Kent
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching in Hawkinge, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Call or email for a price.
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Signs that a stack is leaning
Roof by roof
Chimney breasts and the loft
If a chimney breast has been removed below, we note what we can see of the support above. A structural engineer should confirm whether it is adequate.
Brick stacks
Frost can damage bricks that have soaked up water, making the faces flake away. Any spalling is noted with photos.
Chimney survey in Hawkinge: what you get
A damp patch on a chimney breast does not 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. We look at each possibility and record what we find. You then know where to start. We are often asked to look into a stack that appears to lean and spalled or crumbling bricks, on chimney breasts, flaunching and chimney pots and cowls.
Houses in smaller places like Hawkinge can face open ground, where wind and driving rain hit the roof harder. That weather tells first on ridges, verges, chimneys and flashings. A close look shows whether anything has started to loosen. A loose ridge tile or slate gives the wind something to catch, and others soon follow.
We keep jargon out of it: where something needs attention, it says so plainly, along with how urgent it is.
- Place
- Hawkinge (CT18)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Hawkinge
What else we do in Hawkinge
Landlords, agents and block managers in Hawkinge
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, from shops and offices to industrial units. Larger roofs take longer, and they’re priced for the size.
Letting agents can arrange access with tenants, at a time agreed in advance. We survey on weekdays and at weekends, which can make access easier.
Do you need a chimney survey in Hawkinge?
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. With age they can lift, split or come away from the joints. When flashings fail, water often shows up in the loft or on the chimney breast. Lead is also a target for theft.
Typical things we are asked to look at include:
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Flaunching that has broken away
Take an older house close to St Luke's: corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- Whether VAT is added on top
- What insurance they carry
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- What follow-up you get after the report
Before and after the survey
Over many surveys, some simple habits stand out as worth the effort:
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Photograph damp patches with the date
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
After the visit, we write up the report with photos of each stack. It explains the condition of each part of the stack and any damp inside. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24 to 48 hours and Premium reports the same day.
Have aerial and dish brackets on the stack checked and taken off if they’re no longer needed. Removing unused fixings takes strain off the brickwork.
What happens on the day
Before we start, tell us why you’ve booked: buying, a leak, storm damage, new work or just wanting to know where things stand. It helps us focus on what matters most to you. Most visits take roughly 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 Hawkinge is booked with the forecast in mind: drone flights and thermal imaging need the right conditions, while a look from ground level and the loft can go ahead in most weather.
- You let us know 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.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- You receive a written report setting out what needs attention first.
Getting ready for the survey
- Leave a clear route to the loft
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
- Leave side gates unlocked
Book a survey
Prices start from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, and you can call 07833 053749 or drop us an email to find out.
Advice
Chimney surveys in Hawkinge: local notes
Hawkinge lies within about 3 miles of the sea, and being near the sea means more wind and salt than a roof inland would face. Salt is hard on nails, clips and metal flashings, and strong wind lifts anything already loose on a roof, while driving rain finds any gap. With Acrise Place about 2 miles north-west, Hawkinge sits in an area with a long building history. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
Take a building like The Churchill School: large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. Landlords with a home close to Folkestone West station may find that a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Hawkinge is about 2 miles north of Folkestone, in Kent. If you’re in Hawkinge, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: a call or an email, a price, then a date. We cover towns and villages across Kent, from the larger towns to small villages. There is also a page for Canterbury.
We survey roofs across the CT18 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Local streets include The Street, Spitfire Way and Waddington Drive, all of which we cover. Close by, we survey roofs in Densole (1 mile north), Old Hawkinge (1 mile east), Arpinge (1 mile south-west), Swingfield Minnis (2 miles north) and Selsted (3 miles north). Larger places within reach include Ashford (13 miles west), Canterbury (12 miles north), Dover (6 miles east), Deal (12 miles north-east), Hythe (4 miles south-west) and Tower Hamlets (6 miles east).
Near you in Hawkinge
In Hawkinge, that means homes and buildings near The Mayfly pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Hawkinge is Folkestone West station, roughly 2 miles south. A little further out are Royal Victoria Hospital (2 miles south) and Elham Valley Countryside Centre And Railway Museum (2.1 miles south-west). For a walk, there’s Cheriton Hill.
FAQs for Hawkinge
I let a flat near Folkestone West station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you need, and we’ll talk through which survey suits.
Is the coastal weather around Hawkinge hard on roofs?
Generally, yes: wind and salt air take more of a toll near the sea. Ridges, verges, flashings and fixings are where it typically shows, and Hawkinge is within about 3 miles of the coast.
Do you climb onto every roof?
Only if it is safe. We look at everything that can safely be seen: from ground level, from windows, from inside the roof space, from the roof where it is safe and by drone where applicable. Anything we can’t see is noted in the report.
How do I book a survey in Hawkinge?
To book, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address, the type of property and what’s prompted the survey. We will confirm the price and find a day that suits.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
The survey covers the pots and cowls, the flaunching, the pointing, the bricks and the flashings. Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access. You get a written report with photos.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
We have completed more than 5,000 surveys, across 20+ years of surveying roofs.
What insurance do you have?
We are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
When you need someone else
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, and that sets some limits:
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we cannot access
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Hidden damage within the stack
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will suggest the right survey before you book. What our survey covers.
What we look at
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks