West Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Keymer, West Sussex
We take a careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Keymer, and put it all in a report with photographs.
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- A chimney out of line
- Bricks with flaking faces
Different roofs, different checks
Flaunching
Flaunching takes the worst of the weather. The survey checks for cracking and gaps around each pot.
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They crack with age, and we check them too.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Keymer
A chimney survey looks at the stack and everything around it: the pots and cowls, the flaunching on top, the pointing, the brickwork and the flashings where it meets the roof. We also look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access. You get a written report with photographs and our recommendations. It suits a single stack on a house as well as several on a larger building. We survey chimney pots and cowls, chimney breasts and shared and party-wall stacks, and people most frequently book us about flaunching that has broken away and eroded joints in the brickwork.
Trees around homes in smaller places like Keymer drop leaves, twigs and moss onto roofs and into gutters. Once gutters and outlets block, water spills over and soaks the walls. It’s the kind of slow problem a roof report picks up early. Plants growing from a gutter or moss on the tiles are signs worth noting from the ground.
What you get is a clear record of the chimney stack on the day we saw it. That makes it useful now and a handy reference later, such as when you want to compare after future work.
- Place
- Keymer (BN6)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
DIY checks: what’s safe
Look up at the roof after a storm, from ground level: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, which helps when we check the roof.
Your questions about chimney surveys in Keymer
Do you cover smaller places like Keymer?
Yes. Keymer is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We survey roofs across London and South East England. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when booking.
Can a landlord with a rental near Hassocks station book a roof survey?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. You can ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you need, and we will talk through which survey suits.
How long will you be at the property?
Most surveys take between one and two hours at most homes, and about three to four hours for a commercial roof. The report follows by email.
Is it a structural engineer’s report?
No. We are experienced roof surveyors, and visible signs such as sagging are noted, but calculations and an engineer’s opinion are outside what we do. If one is needed, the report says so.
Do you inspect shared chimneys?
Yes. We inspect what can safely be seen and what you give us access to. If a defect seems to be on your neighbour’s side, the report records it, so you can discuss it with them.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
A leaning stack should be looked at. Our survey notes how it looks and the condition of the bricks and joints, and if it may be a structural issue, we recommend a structural engineer.
Does the weather affect the survey?
Light rain is usually fine; heavy rain and wind are different. In high wind or heavy rain, a drone cannot fly and access may not be safe, so we’d move the date with you.
What we do, step by step
We don’t take risks to get a closer look. We inspect everything that’s safely in view, and if part of the roof cannot be seen, the report says so. The survey usually takes roughly 1–2 hours on an ordinary house, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. Being in a smaller place like Keymer does not change how the visit works: we look from the ground, from windows, from the loft and from the roof where it’s safe. It helps to show us anything you’ve already noticed.
- You tell us how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the roof space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Leave a clear route to the loft
- Jot down any questions you want answered
Getting a price
To get a price for chimney surveys in Keymer, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. Some details about the property and the roof help us give you an accurate price.
Advice
What happens if roof problems are left?
Most people never get a careful look at their chimney stacks. Defects tend to go unseen until there’s a stain. A survey gives you a clear picture before that happens. Blocked gutters on homes around Keymer overflow and soak walls. Dealing with the cause is simple; drying out a wall is not.
To find out what your survey will cost, ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address and a few details. We’ll confirm the figure before booking.
Why book with us
- A written report with photographs
- An independent look at the roof
- 98% of clients satisfied
- 20+ years’ experience
See our cost guide and our case studies.
Keymer homes and their roofs
England has around 10,000 conservation areas and about 500,000 listed buildings. If your 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, so check with the council. Older houses across Sussex frequently have handmade clay tiles, and many have tile-hanging on their upper walls. Some old buildings in Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
The streets around a church like St Cosmas and St Damian Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if your house is among the older ones nearby, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. For landlords with property near Hassocks station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Keymer is about 2 miles south of Burgess Hill, in West Sussex. We carry out chimney surveys in Keymer for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings. Keymer is one of the places in West Sussex we cover. We also survey roofs in Brighton.
Surveys in BN6 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Local streets include Flowers Close, The Quadrant and Kymer Gardens, and we cover them all. If you’re just outside Keymer, we cover Hassocks (1 mile west), Ditchling (1 mile east), Clayton (1 mile south-west), Hurst Wickham (1 mile north-west) and Westmeston (2 miles south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Crawley (13 miles north), Horsham (13 miles north-west), Worthing (14 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (5 miles north), East Grinstead (15 miles north) and Shoreham-by-Sea (8 miles south-west).
Around Keymer
We work in homes and buildings around The Greyhound Public House and Downlands Community School and the streets around them. The closest station to Keymer is Hassocks station, about 0.5 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include The Dene Hospital (3.2 miles north-west) and Clayton Castle (1.2 miles south-west). Not far away are Ditchling Beacon and Bedelands Farm Nature Reserve.
Other services in Keymer
Signs you need a chimney survey in Keymer
Lots of homes have redundant stacks. If a stack is capped or blocked without ventilation, moisture can build up inside. Damp patches can appear on chimney breasts even when nothing is leaking.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- A chimney out of line
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
Anyone responsible for a site like The Windmills Junior School will know that large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Questions to ask before you book
- What follow-up you get after the report
- What insurance they carry
- Their track record with similar roofs
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
Useful tips for Keymer property owners
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
- Photograph damp patches with the date
Where another specialist is needed, like a structural engineer or sweep, we explain why. It gives them a clear starting point.
Keep an eye on chimney breasts for new damp patches. Early signs are easier to trace.