Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Idbury Chimney Survey
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching for Idbury, from an experienced roof surveyor. You get a clear written report with photographs.
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
Why act early in Idbury
If you are thinking of removing or reducing a stack, it is useful to know its condition first. Changes to stacks in conservation areas or on listed buildings may need consent, so check with them first. For an older or listed building in a place like Idbury, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so leaving a defect until it is urgent leaves less time to plan.
Prices start from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, with VAT included.
What you get with us
- 5,000+ surveys completed
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Drone and thermal imaging surveys available
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
Chimney survey in Idbury: what you get
On terraced and semi-detached houses, a chimney stack is often shared with next door. We look at what can be seen safely and what the owner gives us access to. Where a problem seems to involve a neighbour’s side, the report records it and you can then discuss it with them. Everything is written up with photos and our recommendations. We survey flaunching, lead flashings and brick chimney stacks, and people most often book us about a stack that appears to lean and pots or cowls that look unsafe.
Some older homes in villages like Idbury are listed or in a conservation area. That can affect what materials can be used when work is done, so check with the council before planning anything. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Where a building is listed, matching the existing roof materials is often expected.
Nothing in the report is left vague: if work is needed, the report says so clearly, along with how urgent it is.
- Location
- Idbury (OX7)
- Region
- Oxfordshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
For landlords and managing agents
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in, at a time agreed in advance. Surveys run on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays, which can make access easier.
We survey roofs for letting agents and landlords as well as homeowners. A photo-illustrated written report gives you a clear record of the chimney stack.
What a survey costs
To price your survey, we look at:
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- Height and safe access
- Which survey package you book
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so the price reflects that. The price is confirmed before booking.
What we need to know
When you call or email, these details help:
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Dates you are working to, like exchange
- What’s prompted the survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To find a date that works for you, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
More services for Idbury
The survey, step by step
The visit has one job: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. The visit typically takes roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Older roofs in small places like Idbury can have low, tight loft spaces, so it is useful to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it is safe.
- You let us know how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can safely be seen.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Where there is safe access, we check the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
Before the survey
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
- Let us know about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
Book a survey
Every survey is priced before it’s booked, so you know where you stand. Prices start from £150, including VAT. To book, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Advice
DIY checks: what’s safe
A lot can be seen 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.
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
Tips that help
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out as worth the effort:
- Remove aerials or dishes from the stack if they’re no longer needed
- Don’t use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
If the stack is shared, you can pass the report to your neighbour. The photos show the problem and which side it is on, as far as we could see.
Get small mortar repairs done while they’re small. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
Idbury questions
Will you come out to Idbury?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We survey roofs across London and the South East. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when booking.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Kingham station?
Of course. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
What if it rains on the day?
Light rain doesn’t typically stop a survey, and it can even help show where water is getting in. Heavy rain or strong wind can ground a drone and make the roof unsafe, so we will agree a new date if the weather is not suitable.
What do you check on a chimney?
The whole stack, as far as it can be seen safely: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. We also note leaning, redundant stacks and damp inside.
How long is the visit?
It usually takes an hour or two for a house, with bigger or more complicated roofs taking longer. The written report follows by email, on the timescale of your package.
Do you use drones?
Yes, where it is applicable. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
What a chimney survey looks like in Idbury
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. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first. Listing and conservation areas can both shape what roof work is allowed on an older home. Your council and Historic England’s list will tell you where you stand, ideally before any re-roofing is planned.
Take an older house close to Church of St Nicholas: the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine. If you own a rental within reach of Kingham station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Idbury is about 8 miles north of Carterton, in Oxfordshire. Bookings from Idbury are handled just like any other: a call or an email, a price, then a date. Idbury is one of the places in Oxfordshire where we work for chimney surveys. For surveys nearby, see our Oxford page.
Chimney surveys in OX7 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If you’re just outside Idbury, we cover Fifield (1 mile south), Foscot (2 miles north-east), Milton-under-Wychwood (2 miles south-east), Fulbrook (5 miles south) and Little Barrington (5 miles south). Further out, we also cover Witney (10 miles south-east), Carterton (8 miles south), Chipping Norton (6 miles north-east), Woodstock (14 miles east), Cogges (10 miles south-east) and Eynsham (14 miles south-east).
Near you in Idbury
We work in homes and buildings around Merrymouth Inn. For rail, the closest station is Kingham station, roughly 2.1 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Moore Cottage Hospital (4.2 miles west).