West Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Kingston by Sea, West Sussex
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. Chimney surveys in Kingston by Sea.
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
Chimney survey in Kingston by Sea
If you are buying a home with chimneys, it is worth knowing their condition before you exchange. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. We survey flaunching, brick chimney stacks and chimney breasts, and people most frequently book us about lifted or split lead flashings and loose, cracked or missing pots.
Around Kingston by Sea, older cottages sit alongside bungalows and newer houses. Coverings range from slate and clay tiles on older homes to concrete tiles on many later ones. On older homes, chimney stacks, valleys and gutters are usually where the work is, and the fixings under the coverings matter too. Nails and battens under older coverings often give out before the slates or tiles themselves.
The report is yours to share with whoever needs it: a seller or estate agent, an insurer, a roofer, a builder or a managing agent.
- Where
- Kingston by Sea (BN42, BN43)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Before and after the survey
You do not need to be a roofer to help. Here’s what helps most:
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
Questions about the findings are always welcome. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. Early signs are easier to trace.
What we do, step by step
Safety comes first on every visit. Everything that can be seen safely is inspected, and anything we cannot see is noted in the report. Most visits take roughly 1–2 hours at a typical home; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. A visit to a smaller place like Kingston by Sea is no different on the day: outside, inside and from any safe vantage point, in that order. It helps to show us anything you’ve already noticed.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can safely be seen.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
Before we arrive
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Leave side gates unlocked
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with whoever owns or manages the building
Booking a survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To arrange a day that suits you, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and the days you’d prefer.
Related advice
What we look for on each type of roof
Lead flashings
Over time, lead can lift or come away from the brickwork. Any loose or split flashings are recorded.
Flaunching
We often find flaunching that has cracked or broken away. Caught early, it is frequently a small job.
Nearby places to Kingston by Sea
More services for Kingston by Sea
Questions from Kingston by Sea
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Kingston by Sea?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Southwick station?
Yes, letting agents and landlords book with us as well as owners. You can ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and some details, including who will give access on the day.
What does the report include?
It sets out what we found, why it matters and what we recommend, backed by photos. It also says if any part of the roof couldn’t be seen safely.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not always. If we only need the outside, we can agree that ahead of time, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
How can you see the top of the stack?
We inspect from wherever is safe: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the roof space. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where it applies. We note anything we couldn’t see.
Do you look in the roof space?
If it’s needed and safe to reach, yes. Inside, we look for damp, staining, gaps and sagging.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. We’re experienced roof surveyors, and our survey covers the roof rather than the whole building. If you need a full building survey, you’ll need a RICS survey as well.
Why it’s worth a survey now in Kingston by Sea
Loose pots and bricks on a stack are a safety concern. A survey picks them out so they can be made safe by a suitable contractor. Arranging work in a smaller place like Kingston by Sea is easier with notice than in an emergency. Knowing early gives you time to get the right people in.
Prices start from £150, including VAT, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both with VAT included. You’ll know the price for your survey before booking.
Why book with us
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Over 5,000 surveys carried out
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
Read what a roof survey costs or our case studies.
Chimney surveys in Kingston by Sea: local notes
Kingston by Sea lies within about 2 miles of the sea, so there’s more wind and more salt in the air than further inland. Salt is hard on nails, clips and metal flashings, and strong wind lifts anything already loose on a roof, while driving rain finds any gap. Handmade clay tiles and tile-hung upper walls are typical of older Sussex houses. Some old buildings in Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Take a building like Glebe Primary School: a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. Historic houses such as Portslade Manor, about 1 mile east, show how far back building around Kingston by Sea goes. Older roofs nearby frequently mix original materials with later repairs, and the survey shows where each one is.
Kingston by Sea is about 1 mile east of Shoreham-by-Sea, in West Sussex. From houses to flats and shops in Kingston by Sea, the roof can be surveyed. We cover towns and villages across West Sussex, large and small.
Every address in BN42 and BN43 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Cross Road, Roman Road and Kings Road or a nearby road, we can help. Kingston by Sea sits on or near the A270. Close by, we survey roofs in Southwick (1 mile south-east), Portslade (1 mile east), Shoreham-by-Sea (1 mile west), Hangleton (2 miles east) and Old Shoreham (2 miles west). Further out, we also cover Worthing (7 miles west), Haywards Heath (13 miles north-east), Burgess Hill (9 miles north-east), Littlehampton (13 miles west), Lancing (4 miles west) and Rustington (12 miles west).
Landmarks near Kingston by Sea
In Kingston by Sea, that means homes and buildings near Benfield Hill, Shoreham College and The Ship Inn, among other places. The nearest railway station is Southwick station, about 0.6 miles south of the centre. Nearby you will also find British Engineerium (2.8 miles east) and Southlands Hospital (0.7 miles west). The countryside around Kingston by Sea includes Shoreham Beach and Thundersbarrow Hill.
Common roof problems in Kingston by Sea
Removing a chimney breast inside can leave questions about how the stack is supported. We note what’s visible in the loft space and outside, and recommend a structural engineer where support is in question.
Common reasons to book include:
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
Landlords with a home close to Southwick station may find that a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- Whether they hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Will the report include photos?
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
What we can’t see
We only report everything that’s safely in view on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll point you to the right survey. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Kingston by Sea
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks