Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Kew, Greater London
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in Kew from an independent roof surveyor. We visit on weekdays and at weekends.
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Mortar washing out of the joints
How a chimney survey works in Kew
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. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. If you’ve noticed spalled or crumbling bricks and worn or missing pointing, we can find out what’s behind it, whatever the roof.
A London butterfly roof slopes down to a central valley gutter that drains to the back of the house. From the street you see only a parapet wall, so blocked outlets and split linings go unnoticed until water comes through a ceiling. If your home in Kew has one, it needs checking from somewhere that can actually see it.
The Standard Survey adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Where
- Kew (W4, TW9, TW8)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What a chimney survey does not cover
To be straight with you, there are limits to any roof survey:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Conditions inside walls
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will tell you. What our survey covers.
Roofs we survey in Kew
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
DIY checks: what’s safe
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
How the survey changes by roof type
Chimney pots and cowls
For unused flues, we check whether caps or cowls allow ventilation. Capping without ventilation can trap moisture.
Rendered stacks
A rendered stack can mask problems in the bricks below. The survey checks for cracking, bulging and staining in the render.
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Kew
Outer London has plenty of Victorian and Edwardian terraces with slate roofs, but also a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles. If your home in Kew is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first. With Kew Palace about 0.7 miles west, Kew sits in an area with a long building history. 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.
If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near St Paul's Church, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. Homes near green spaces such as Kew Green can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls. Anyone responsible for a site like Grove Park Primary School will know that a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Kew is about 2 miles south of Acton, in Greater London. We survey roofs in Kew and the rest of Greater London, as part of our work across London and the South East. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, from the larger towns to small villages. We also survey roofs in London.
We cover every part of the W4, TW9 and TW8 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Whether your property is on Kew Road, Maze Road and Kent Road or a nearby road, we can survey it. Being close to the A3000, Kew is easy for us to reach for chimney surveys. Other places close to Kew include Strand-on-the-Green (1 mile north), Grove Park (1 mile east), North Sheen (1 mile south), Gunnersbury (1 mile north) and Turnham Green (1 mile east). Larger places within reach include London (8 miles east), City of Westminster (6 miles east), Marylebone (6 miles north-east), Kensington (3 miles east), St Pancras (7 miles north-east) and Shoreditch (9 miles east).
What’s near Kew
Typical jobs here are in homes near Library for Iranian Studies, Kew Green and Chiswick School, among other places. Other local landmarks include Kew College Prep (within half a mile south-west) and Bull's Head pub (under half a mile north). The closest station to Kew is Chiswick station, roughly 0.5 miles south-east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Livat Hammersmith (2.2 miles east) and Barnes Hospital (1.5 miles south-east). Open spaces near Kew include Kew Gardens Lake and Duke's Hollow.
What happens on the day
Once we have finished looking, we write up our findings as a written report with photos, sent to you by email. As for time on site, most surveys take about 1–2 hours at most homes, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. From the street, a London terrace normally shows only its front slope or parapet, so in Kew we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. If other people live in the building, tell us who can let us into the shared parts.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- The flashings and the roof around each chimney are inspected.
- We check the flaunching and pots on every stack.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- You receive a written report setting out what needs attention first.
Preparing for the visit
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
- Let us know about parking near the property
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
Book a survey
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Take them safely from ground level or a window, and please don’t climb up for a closer look. To get started, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Advice
Prices for chimney surveys in Kew
Not every roof costs the same to survey, and it comes down to:
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- The shape of the roof and its details
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- The size of the roof
We offer three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, with VAT included. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Helping us price your survey
What helps most when you contact us:
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
- When you need the report by
To arrange a survey, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We will confirm the price before booking.
For landlords and managing agents
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. The report is emailed, so it can go straight to your client, photos included.
If you own several properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Kew: your questions answered
How do I find out if my home in Kew is listed?
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.
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Kew?
Normally it’s manageable with a little notice. Tell us what parking is available nearby, and the visit is planned around it.
Do you need to go on the roof to check the chimney?
We inspect from wherever is safe: from ground level, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there’s access. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where it applies. If part of a stack cannot be seen, the report says so.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
We survey seven days a week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Just tell us the days that suit you.
Will you check the chimney is safe to use with a fire?
No. We survey the stack and its weathering, not the flue. For the flue, you will need a sweep or, for gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer.
How long will you be at the property?
Time on site depends on the roof; most visits take roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. The written report follows by email.
Do you need to get into the loft?
If there’s a loft and safe access to it, yes. The loft space can show things the outside can’t, such as damp timbers, staining or daylight.