Surrey · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Langley Vale
Know where you stand with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. We carry out chimney surveys in Langley Vale.
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
How the survey works
We work from the outside in: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the loft space where it can be reached. All told, expect about 1–2 hours for most houses, or half a day or so for a commercial building. Cottages and farmhouses around Langley Vale often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. Each part is looked at from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
Getting a price
Prices start from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, and you can phone 07833 053749 or email us to find out.
Advice
Chimney survey in Langley Vale: what you get
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it’s worth knowing their condition before you exchange. On older stacks, we often find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. Typical surveys look at pots or cowls that look unsafe and a stack that appears to lean, on shared and party-wall stacks, lead flashings and brick chimney stacks.
In a village or hamlet like Langley Vale, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Older roofs may be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, frequently with chimneys that have stood a long time. Each needs checking in its own way, and thatch is a specialist material we report on as far as it can be seen. Chimneys and lead flashings on old roofs often need the most attention.
Nothing in the report is left vague: if work is needed, the report says so clearly, and where it can wait, that’s said too.
- Place
- Langley Vale (KT18)
- Region
- Surrey
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Langley Vale
More services for Langley Vale
Your questions about chimney surveys in Langley Vale
How do I find out if my home in Langley Vale is listed?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Can a landlord with a rental near Tattenham Corner station book a roof survey?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
How can you see the top of the stack?
Each stack is viewed from the safest viewpoints: from the ground, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where applicable. We note anything we couldn’t see.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. If it is capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside. We check how it’s capped and its condition, so you can decide with a builder what to do.
Does the report include photos?
Yes, plenty. Each finding is shown in a picture where possible, so you can see what we mean.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
Have it checked rather than leaving it. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down. We record its condition with photographs, and a structural engineer can assess whether it needs work.
Before and after the survey
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Remove aerials or dishes from the stack if they’re no longer needed
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
The report is emailed to you, ready to share with a roofer or builder. We use plain English and a photo for each defect, so it’s easy to follow.
Make sure redundant flues are capped with ventilation. That helps stop damp building up inside.
Leave it or get it looked at?
A loose pot or brick can fall from height. A survey picks them out so they can be made safe by a roofer. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Langley Vale, driving rain gets into any weakness, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
We offer three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on its size, access and what you’d like to know.
Why book with us
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- An independent look at the roof
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Packages from £150, with VAT included
For landlords and managing agents
Where a roof is shared: we need access agreed with the freeholder or managing agent. Let us know about it when you book and we will plan the survey around it.
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in, at a time agreed in advance. We survey on weekdays and at weekends, which can make access easier.
How we price chimney surveys
What a survey costs depends on the time and equipment it needs. The main factors are:
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
- The shape of the roof and its details
- House, block, shop or office
- Roof area
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how it can be reached and seen safely. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT.
What to let us know when you contact us
We’ll typically ask about:
- The kind of building and roof involved
- Access details, such as a loft hatch or a shared roof
- The address and postcode of the property
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
When you are ready to go ahead, call 07833 053749 or email us. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day, weekday or weekend.
What a chimney survey looks like in Langley Vale
Handmade clay tiles and tile-hung walls are typical of Surrey’s older houses. A few of Surrey’s oldest buildings have heavy Horsham stone slab roofs. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. With Fitznells Manor about 3.2 miles north, Langley Vale sits in an area with a long building history. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
The streets around a church like St Stephen On The Downs are often among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. If you look after a building such as The Vale Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Langley Vale is about 2 miles east of Ashtead, in Surrey. We survey roofs in Langley Vale as part of our work across London and South East England. Across Surrey, we cover Langley Vale and the places around it. Crawley is in our area too.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: KT18. Streets in the area include Grosvenor Road, Harding Road and Rosebery Road. We also cover Tattenham Corner (1 mile east), Great Burgh (1 mile east), Epsom Downs (1 mile north-east), Burgh Heath (2 miles east) and Epsom (2 miles north). Within a short drive, we also cover Guildford (14 miles west), Woking (13 miles west), Horley (10 miles south-east), Redhill (6 miles south-east), Ewell (3 miles north) and Egham (15 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Langley Vale
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Ashtead Park, Derby Arms and Rosebery School. Langley Vale’s nearest station is Tattenham Corner station, roughly 1 mile east of the centre. A little further out are Headley Court (1.1 miles south-west) and Walton on the Hill (1.8 miles south). The countryside around Langley Vale includes Cuddington Meadows and Colley Hill.
When to book a survey in Langley Vale
Stacks that were used for open fires for many years can weaken from the inside. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which is one reason stacks start to lean.
Most people get in touch when they’ve noticed something like this:
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Shop and office owners around The Ashley Centre may find that a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- How long the report takes to arrive
- What the survey won’t cover