Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Little Dunmow, Essex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching for Little Dunmow and the rest of Essex. Surveys run seven days a week.
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Bricks with flaking faces
Prices for chimney surveys in Little Dunmow
We confirm the price for the job before you book. This is what makes a difference:
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- The shape of the roof and its details
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
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
Getting the details right at the start saves time. Please include:
- What’s prompted the survey
- Anything about access we should know
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Where the property is, with the postcode
Every survey is priced before it is booked, so you know where you stand. Prices start from £150, including VAT. To book, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Chimney survey in Little Dunmow
If a chimney looks out of line, it is worth getting it checked. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down, frequently after years of flue gases and damp. We record the lean and the condition of the brickwork and pointing. Where it may be a structural concern, we’ll recommend a structural engineer. We survey chimney pots and cowls, lead flashings and flaunching, and people most frequently book us about loose, cracked or missing pots and unused flues sealed without airflow.
In a smaller place like Little Dunmow, homes range from older cottages to bungalows and newer houses. Coverings range from slate and clay tiles on older homes to concrete tiles on many later ones. Chimneys, valleys and gutters on older homes often need the most attention. The fixings under an older roof frequently fail before good slates or tiles do.
You can share the report with anyone who needs it: a seller or estate agent, an insurer, a roofer, a builder or a managing agent, whichever applies.
- Where
- Little Dunmow (CM6)
- Region
- Essex
- Cost
- 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 a chimney survey does not cover
Our survey is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we cannot access
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Little Dunmow
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
Common questions in Little Dunmow
Do you cover Little Dunmow?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photos, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
Is my home in Little Dunmow listed or in a conservation area?
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. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and every flight depends on the airspace and the weather.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys, across 20+ years of surveying roofs, with 98% customer satisfaction.
Do you inspect shared chimneys?
Yes. Many houses share stacks with a neighbour. We survey what we can see safely, and note anything that seems to involve next door.
What’s in the survey report?
Written findings with photographs, explaining the condition of the chimney stack, any defects and our recommendations. The Standard Survey adds moisture detection and a structural check, and the Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies and structural analysis.
Will you walk on the roof?
Only if it’s safe. We check everything that can safely be seen: from ground level, from windows, from inside the loft space, from the roof where it is safe and by drone where it applies. Anything we cannot see is noted in the report.
Also near Little Dunmow
What else we do in Little Dunmow
Chimney surveys in Little Dunmow: local notes
Older buildings in Essex often have clay tiles and weatherboarding, and a good many post-war and modern estates besides. Whatever the covering, it’s often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. There are about 500,000 buildings on England’s list of listed buildings, and around 10,000 conservation areas. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, so the council is the place to ask.
Anyone responsible for a site like The Flitch Green Academy will know that long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle. If you live in an older home near Church of St Mary the Virgin, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
Little Dunmow is about 6 miles west of Braintree, in Essex. Surveys in Little Dunmow work the same way as everywhere we cover: a careful inspection, photographs and a written report. Little Dunmow is one of the places in Essex where we work for chimney surveys. You can also see our page for Chelmsford.
Surveys in CM6 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Local streets include Station Road, Worrin Road and Durand Lane, all of which we cover. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include Brookstreet (1 mile west), Felsted (1 mile east), Causeway End (1 mile south-east), North End (1 mile south) and Watch House Green (2 miles east). Larger places within reach include Chelmsford (9 miles south), Braintree (6 miles east), Harlow (14 miles south-west), Maldon (15 miles south-east), Witham (10 miles south-east) and Saffron Walden (13 miles north-west).
Near you in Little Dunmow
In Little Dunmow, that means homes and buildings near Flitch Of Bacon Public House. A little further out are Little Easton Moat (4 miles north-west) and Braintree Community Hospital (5.4 miles east). For a walk, there is Phyllis Currie Nature Reserve.
How the survey changes by roof type
Brick stacks
Older brick stacks frequently have soft lime mortar. Repairs should suit the original materials, which we mention where relevant.
Lead flashings
Over time, lead can lift or come away from the brickwork. We photograph any we find that look loose or damaged.
Practical tips
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week, before and after a survey:
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
- Don’t use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
Questions about the findings are always welcome. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. Binoculars help you spot loose pots, missing mortar or lifted flashings.
Leave it or get it looked at?
A damp chimney breast seldom dries out until the cause is found. It can spoil decoration and plaster. Finding the cause means the right work can be planned. Around Little Dunmow, a leak in an older house can soak into timbers and plaster, which is far harder to put right than the roof fault itself.
Prices start from £150, inc. VAT, for a Basic Survey. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400, both with VAT included. You’ll know the price for your survey before booking.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Little Dunmow
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Prices that include VAT
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Visits on any day of the week
How it works
Time on site depends on the size and shape of the roof, but as a rough guide the survey takes between one and two hours on an ordinary house, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. If you have questions on the day, just ask. Homes around Little Dunmow often have gardens on more than one side, which gives us room to step back and see the roof. Let us know if any side is fenced off or hard to reach. Inside, the loft is checked where it can be reached safely.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We look at every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there is access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
How to prepare
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Let us know about parking before the day
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
Arrange a survey
Not sure which survey you need? It’s easiest to phone 07833 053749 or email us and describe the roof and what’s worrying you. We’ll talk you through the options and what they cost.