Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Hornsey
Chimney surveys across Hornsey, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. Every survey ends with a written report and photos.
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Chimney survey in Hornsey: what you get
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. On older stacks, we often find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. We survey shared and party-wall stacks, brick chimney stacks and flaunching, and people most often book us about disused chimneys trapping moisture and signs that a stack is leaning.
Much of London’s housing is flats, in converted houses or purpose-built blocks, where the roof is typically a shared part of the building. Landlords, managing agents and residents’ companies need to know what condition it is in and what work is coming up. A defect on a shared roof can reach more than one flat. A report gives everyone the same picture to plan from, with photos.
What you get is a clear record of the chimney stack on the day we saw it. It is useful straight away, and a good reference for later.
- Location
- Hornsey (N8, N22)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What a survey costs
Prices vary from roof to roof, and it comes down to:
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- How big the roof is
- Which survey package you book
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package matters as well. The price is always agreed first.
What to tell us when you get in touch
We will typically ask about:
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Your timetable, like an exchange date
- Pictures from the garden or a window, if you have them
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
To arrange a survey, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email and let us know the address and what’s prompted the survey. We will confirm the price before you book.
Local roofs in Hornsey
Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. Many have butterfly roofs draining to a central valley gutter, with parapet walls and gutters hidden behind them. If your home in Hornsey is one of them, lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are part of the picture too. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. Bruce Castle, about 2 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Hornsey. If your home is one of the older ones, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
For an older house near a landmark such as Church of Holy Innocents, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. Shop and office owners around The Mall Wood Green may find that a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak. Anyone responsible for a site like St Mary's CofE Primary School will know that a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Hornsey is about 3 miles east of Finchley, in Greater London. Whether the building in Hornsey is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, we can survey the roof. Across Greater London, we cover Hornsey and the places around it. London is in our area too.
Surveys in N8 and N22 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether your property is on High Street, Brandon Place and Cross Lane or a nearby road, we can survey it. We also cover Turnpike Lane (1 mile east), Crouch End (1 mile south-west), Stroud Green (1 mile south-east), Wood Green (1 mile north-east) and Noel Park (1 mile north-east). Further out, we also cover London (6 miles south), City of Westminster (5 miles south), Marylebone (5 miles south), Kensington (7 miles south-west), St Pancras (4 miles south) and Shoreditch (5 miles south).
Around Hornsey
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Great Northern Railway pub, Priory Park and Greek Secondary School of London and the streets around them. Hornsey has its own railway station: Hornsey station. Well-known places in the area include Hornsey Central Hospital (0.7 miles west) and Broomfield House Museum (2 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Darland's Lake and Highgate Hill.
Tips that help
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They’re worth knowing whatever the roof:
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
- Have the flue swept and checked if you use the fire
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
Questions about the findings are always welcome. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Check fixings on the stack are sound, and moved if they’re working it loose. Removing unused fixings takes strain off the brickwork.
Roof by roof
Flaunching
We often find flaunching that has cracked or broken away. Caught early, it’s often a small job.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Where a breast has been taken out, we look at what supports the stack. A structural engineer should confirm whether it is adequate.
Can I check my roof myself?
You can learn a lot from the ground. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Please don’t climb up for a closer look.
Look up at the roof after a storm, from ground level: broken slates or tiles in the garden, gaps along the ridge or loose lead are signs to note. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
Also in Hornsey
How the survey works
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect everything that’s safely in view, and if part of the roof cannot be seen, the report says so. Most visits take about one to two hours at a typical home, or half a day or so for a commercial building. In a London conversion, the way into the roof space is often from a communal landing or the top flat. If that applies to your building, it helps to agree access with the neighbours or the managing agent first. Otherwise, the visit in Hornsey runs like any other.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Getting ready for the survey
- For flats, check roof access has been agreed
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
How to book
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so there’s time to use the report before exchange. For any other survey, just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form when you are ready.
Related advice
What a chimney survey does not cover
Every survey has limits, and it’s better to know them up front. Bear these in mind:
- Areas we cannot view from safe positions
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Whether the flue is safe to use
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll tell you. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in Hornsey
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
FAQs for Hornsey
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Hornsey?
We cannot confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Hornsey station?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Do you use drones?
Yes, where applicable and safe. We fly a sub-250g drone and we’re 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.
What causes damp on a chimney breast?
Damp on a chimney breast usually means water is getting into the stack, or moisture is trapped inside it. The survey looks at the stack, the flashings and the capping and records the likely cause.
Do you look in the loft space?
If the survey needs it and the loft space can be reached safely, yes. A clear path to the hatch helps.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
A redundant chimney needs looking after like any other. Capping without airflow can lead to damp. Our survey records its condition and how it is capped, so you can plan what to do with it.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
We have more than 20 years’ experience and have completed over 5,000 surveys.