Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Horley, Oxfordshire
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. Chimney surveys in Horley, with photos and a clear written report.
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- A chimney out of line
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
What we look for on each type of 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
Spalled bricks, where the face has flaked off, are a sign of water and frost. We record any we can see.
About our chimney survey in Horley
Our survey covers the structure of the stack and its weathering details. It’s not a flue inspection, a chimney sweep or a gas safety inspection. If you use a fire or a gas appliance, the flue should be checked by a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer as appropriate. If something we see points to the flue, we will say so. If you’ve noticed worn or missing pointing and gaps in the mortar around the pots, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
In a small place like Horley, 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. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
The report records the chimney stack as we found it on the day. That makes it useful now and a handy reference later, for example when you want to check whether anything has changed.
- Place
- Horley (OX15)
- Region
- Oxfordshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Horley: your questions answered
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Horley?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it is in a conservation area. If a 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.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Banbury station?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. You can call 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and what you need, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. We do not sample or test for asbestos. Where a material might contain it, like old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it.
Can you give me structural calculations?
No. Our survey is not a structural engineer’s report. We will recommend an engineer if we see signs that call for one.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
There is no single answer. The survey shows its condition and how it’s been capped. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need consent.
What happens after the survey?
We email you the written report with photos and recommendations. It’s yours to share with a seller, insurer, roofer or managing agent, whichever applies.
How long will you be at the property?
Expect it to take about 1–2 hours on an ordinary house; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. You will then get the report by email.
What a chimney survey looks like in Horley
Upton House, about 3.2 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Horley. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Cotswold stone slates are found on older buildings in west Oxfordshire, and thatch survives in some of the county’s villages. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. Whatever the covering, it’s often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Shop and office owners around Castle Quay Shopping Centre may find that a dated report on the roof is useful for planning and for any lease discussions. For landlords with property near Banbury station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Horley is about 3 miles north-west of Banbury, in Oxfordshire. We provide chimney surveys for homeowners, landlords and businesses in Horley and nearby. Our Oxfordshire coverage includes Horley and the places around it. You can also see our page for Oxford.
We cover every part of the OX15 postcode area for chimney surveys. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Manor Orchard and Little Lane or anywhere close by, we can help. We also cover the places around Horley: Wroxton (1 mile south), Drayton (2 miles south-east), Neithrop (3 miles south-east) and Ruscote (3 miles south-east). We also work in nearby towns like Banbury (3 miles south-east), Chipping Norton (12 miles south-west), Grimsbury (4 miles south-east), Bloxham (5 miles south), Bodicote (5 miles south-east) and Upper Heyford (13 miles south-east).
Landmarks near Horley
Around Horley, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Red Lion pub, among other places. The nearest railway station is Banbury station, roughly 3.5 miles south-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Horton General Hospital (3.6 miles south-east) and Castle Quay Shopping Centre (3.2 miles south-east). Not far away are Crouch Hill.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Horley
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan.
If you own several properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To arrange surveys for several addresses, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the addresses.
When to book a survey in Horley
Some owners book because a chimney breast has been removed below and they want to know about the stack above. We note what’s visible in the loft space and outside, and recommend a structural engineer where support is in question.
We are frequently asked to look at:
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- A stack that appears to lean
The streets around a church such as Church of St Ethelreda are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
The survey, step by step
Every roof is different; as a rough guide, the survey takes between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. You are welcome to ask questions while we’re there. Around Horley, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so it is useful to know whether there is a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it’s safe.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Where there is safe access, we check the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- You get a written report with photos and our recommendations.
Before the survey
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Let us know about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
How to book
Getting a price is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or email us, let us know about the property and we will point you to the right survey. The price is agreed up front.
Advice
More services for Horley
Honest limits
We only report everything that’s safely in view on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
- Flue inspections or sweeping
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and does not.
What this survey covers
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
Why get it checked now?
Chimneys are easy to forget because you rarely see the top of them. Defects tend to go unseen until there is a stain. A survey gives you a clear picture before that happens. For older village homes like those around Horley, the right replacement materials aren’t always easy to find quickly. That’s one more reason to find defects before they become urgent.
Prices quoted always include VAT, and the report isn’t charged as an extra. Prices start from £150, including VAT. Size, height and access decide where your roof falls.
Why book us in Horley
- Package prices that include VAT
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- Customer satisfaction of 98%