Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Lilyvale, Kent
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching around Lilyvale, with a written report you can act on. Book a weekday or weekend visit.
- A stack that appears to lean
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
What you can safely check yourself
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
After strong wind, take a look from the pavement or garden: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Don’t go up yourself.
About our chimney survey in Lilyvale
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. It might come in at the top, through worn pointing or porous bricks, or where the flashings meet the roof. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. We look at each possibility and record what we find. You then know where to start. We survey shared and party-wall stacks, brick chimney stacks and flaunching, and common reasons people get in touch are damp patches on chimney breasts and worn or missing pointing.
In a village or hamlet like Lilyvale, older cottages and farmhouses frequently 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. We report on everything that’s safely in view, and thatch is a specialist material. Chimneys and lead flashings on old roofs often need the most attention.
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.
- Place
- Lilyvale (TN25)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on the day
There isn’t much for you to do on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we’ll take it from there. The survey itself takes about one to two hours at most homes, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. Somewhere like Lilyvale needs a little journey planning: let us know about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. The roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from the loft where there’s safe access and from the roof where it is safe.
- 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.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
How to prepare
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Let us know about parking before the day
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
Book a survey
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. For any other survey, just ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email when you’re ready.
Advice
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
We survey roofs for letting agents and landlords as well as homeowners. The report gives you a dated record of the chimney stack, with photographs.
Shared roofs need a little more planning: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you get in touch and we will plan the survey around it.
Do you need a chimney survey in Lilyvale?
Flaunching is the mortar bed that holds the pots and throws water off the top. Cracked flaunching lets water in, and each winter makes it worse. Loose pots can follow.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Bricks with flaking faces
If you own a rental within reach of Westenhanger station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Questions to ask before you book
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- What insurance they carry
- What follow-up you get after the report
- How long the report takes to arrive
Lilyvale questions
I let a flat near Westenhanger station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you need, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Is Lilyvale within the area you cover?
Yes. Lilyvale is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We work right across London and South East England. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there as you book.
How long is the visit?
Expect it to take between one and two hours on an ordinary house, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. The written report follows by email.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
Each stack is viewed from the safest viewpoints: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the loft space. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where it applies. If part of a stack can’t be seen, the report says so.
What will the report tell me?
It explains what we saw, what it means and what we’d suggest, with photographs throughout. Anything we couldn’t see safely is noted too, so you know exactly what was covered.
How much does a chimney survey cost in Lilyvale?
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. The final figure depends on the roof and the package you choose.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. We check the parts we can see safely and the parts you can give us access to. Where a problem appears to be on next door’s side, we note it and you can raise it with them.
Leave it or get it looked at?
If you are thinking of removing or reducing a stack, it helps to know its condition first. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need permission from the council, so check with them first. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Lilyvale, driving rain gets into any weakness, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
A Basic Survey starts from £150, with VAT included. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400. We confirm the price for your survey before booking.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Lilyvale
- Visits on any day of the week
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- 20+ years’ experience
- Over 5,000 surveys carried out
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
What a chimney survey looks like in Lilyvale
Across Kent, older roofs are often handmade clay or peg tiles, and tile-hanging on upper walls is a familiar sight. You’ll also find oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses among the county’s older buildings. Whatever the covering, it is frequently the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. The wider area around Lilyvale has a long history of building, with Westenhanger Castle about 2.7 miles south-east. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead.
If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near Church of St Mary, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. Anyone responsible for a site like Smeeth Community Primary School will know that large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Lilyvale is about 5 miles east of Ashford, in Kent. We carry out chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Lilyvale. We cover towns and villages across Kent, from the larger towns to small villages. There’s also a page for Canterbury.
All of TN25 is covered for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Other places close to Lilyvale include Brabourne Lees (1 mile north-west), Stone Hill (1 mile south-east), Smeeth (1 mile north-west), Ridgeway (1 mile west) and Bircholt Forstal (1 mile north). We also work in nearby towns such as Ashford (5 miles west), Canterbury (12 miles north), Dover (14 miles east), Folkestone (8 miles east), Faversham (14 miles north) and Hythe (5 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in Lilyvale
Lilyvale’s nearest station is Westenhanger station, roughly 2.9 miles south-east of the centre. A little further out are Lympne Castle (3.6 miles south-east) and William Harvey Hospital (3.4 miles north-west). Not far away are Tolsford Hill and Hatch Park.
When you need someone else
To be straight with you, there are limits to any roof survey:
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we cannot access
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- Flue inspections or sweeping
If you’re not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or email us and we will give you a straight answer before booking. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls