Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Ingatestone, Essex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching across Ingatestone, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Get in touch for a price.
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Ingatestone
Chimney stacks take more weather than almost any other part of a house. In time, flaunching cracks, mortar washes out and flashings come loose. Water then gets into the stack and can show as damp on a chimney breast or a stain in the loft. We record what we find with photos and recommendations. Common reasons to book are bricks with flaking faces and damp on a chimney breast inside, across flaunching, chimney breasts and shared and party-wall stacks.
In a smaller place like Ingatestone, homes range from older cottages to 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. Nails and battens under older coverings often give out before the slates or tiles themselves.
Report times depend on the survey you book: Basic within 48 hours, Standard in 24–48 hours and Premium the same day.
- Where
- Ingatestone (CM4)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
How it works
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect what can be seen safely, and if part of the roof can’t be seen, the report says so. Most visits take roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Homes around Ingatestone frequently have gardens on more than one side, which gives us room to step back and see the roof. Let us know if any side is fenced off or hard to reach. The loft, where there’s safe access, completes the picture.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there is access.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Before we arrive
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
Arrange a survey
Most bookings start with a short call: phone 07833 053749 or email us. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Read more
Tips from our surveys
Getting the most from a chimney survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Tips:
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
The report is emailed to you, ready to share with a roofer or builder. Each defect is described in plain words and shown in a photo, so it is easy to follow.
Unused stacks should be capped in a way that still lets air through. Ventilation helps keep the stack dry.
What a survey costs
A few things affect what a survey costs:
- House, block, shop or office
- How big the roof is
- Height and safe access
- The use of thermal imaging or a drone
The Premium Survey includes thermal imaging and drone inspection where applicable, from £400 with VAT included. We can help you choose the package that fits what you need to know.
What we need to know
When you call or email, these details help:
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- When you need the report by
Booking is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and give us some details about the property and we will suggest the right survey. The price is agreed up front.
Places near Ingatestone
Also in Ingatestone
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Ingatestone
Older buildings in Essex frequently have clay tiles and weatherboarding, and lots of post-war and modern estates besides. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. The wider area around Ingatestone has a long history of building, with Ingatestone Hall about 0.7 miles south-east. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
If you own a rental within reach of Ingatestone station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at. If your house is among the older ones in the streets near Church of St Edmund and St Mary, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. Anyone responsible for a site like Ingatestone Infant School will know that its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Ingatestone is about 3 miles north-west of Billericay, in Essex. We survey roofs in Ingatestone and the rest of Essex. Across Essex, we cover Ingatestone and the places around it. We also survey roofs in Chelmsford.
Chimney surveys in CM4 are booked the same way as anywhere else. Whether your property is on Market Place, High Street and The Furlongs or anywhere close by, we can help. Ingatestone is on the B1002, so it’s easy for us to get to. If you are just outside Ingatestone, we cover Fryerning (1 mile north), Mill Green (1 mile north), Green Street (1 mile west), Buttsbury (1 mile south) and Beggar Hill (1 mile north-west). We also work in nearby towns such as Chelmsford (7 miles north-east), Basildon (8 miles south-east), Harlow (13 miles north-west), Brentwood (4 miles south-west), Maldon (14 miles east) and Canvey Island (13 miles south-east).
Around Ingatestone
We work in homes and buildings around Anglo European School and The Bell Inn and the streets around them. There is a railway station in Ingatestone itself: Ingatestone station. Nearby you’ll also find Mayflower Community Hospital (3.5 miles south). For a walk, there’s Norsey Wood.
Roof by roof
Lead flashings
Mortar fillets are sometimes used where lead would normally be. They tend to crack, so we look at them closely.
Chimney pots and cowls
On redundant flues, we check how the pots are capped. Poor capping can lead to damp inside the stack.
Ingatestone questions
I let a flat near Ingatestone station. Can you check the roof?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
Do you cover smaller places like Ingatestone?
Yes. Ingatestone is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. Our area covers London and the South East. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when booking.
Will you walk on the roof?
Only where it’s safe to do so. We check everything that can safely be seen: from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the loft space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where it applies. The report says if anything couldn’t be seen.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. Asbestos surveys and testing are not part of what we do. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them, and recommend a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before they’re disturbed.
When does the report arrive?
Each package has its own report time. Basic: within 48 hours. Standard: 24 to 48 hours. Premium: the same day. Mention any deadline when you book.
Can you survey a chimney stack we share with next door?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We record the stack as far as we can see it and flag anything on the neighbour’s side.
Does the report include photos?
Yes, plenty. Each finding is shown in a picture where possible, so you can see what we mean.
Honest limits
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Flue inspections or sweeping
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll recommend the right survey before booking. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
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. Do not go up yourself.