Buckinghamshire · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Little Ickford
Wondering about the chimney stack at a property in Little Ickford? You can book a chimney survey in Little Ickford and across Buckinghamshire, with plain-English findings.
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
Questions from Little Ickford
Is Little Ickford within the area you cover?
Yes, Little Ickford is covered. We survey roofs across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. The journey is planned ahead, so it helps to know about access.
Is my home in Little Ickford listed or in a conservation area?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Will you walk on the roof?
Only where it is safe to do so. We look at everything that can safely be seen: from ground level, from windows and vantage points, from the loft space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where applicable. Anything we cannot see is noted in the report.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
There is no single answer. The survey shows its condition and how it’s been capped. If you are thinking of removing it, check with the council first in a conservation area or on a listed building.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
We survey on any day from Monday to Sunday, during the day. Let us know your preferred days when booking.
What causes damp on a chimney breast?
It can come from several places: cracked flaunching, worn pointing, failed flashings, uncapped pots, or damp trapped in an unventilated stack. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not always. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Little Ickford
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it is 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 works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. We survey flaunching, brick chimney stacks and chimney breasts, and people most often book us about flaunching that has broken away and staining on walls around the chimney.
Village roofs often face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, which is hard on ridges, chimneys, flashings and gutters. Damp in old walls is slow to dry, so a small leak can do a lot of harm. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
We keep jargon out of it: where something needs attention, it says so plainly, and where it can wait, that’s said too.
- Where
- Little Ickford (HP18)
- Wider area
- Buckinghamshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Little Ickford homes and their roofs
Historic houses like Boarstall Tower, about 4.8 miles north, show how far back building in the area around Little Ickford goes. If your house is among the older ones, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Thatch survives on some older buildings in Buckinghamshire’s villages. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
For an older house near a landmark such as Parish Church of St Nicholas, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. If you own a rental within reach of Haddenham & Thame Parkway station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Little Ickford is about 4 miles west of Thame, in Buckinghamshire. Little Ickford is one of many places we visit across Buckinghamshire, for houses, flats and commercial buildings. Across Buckinghamshire, we cover Little Ickford and the places around it. We also survey roofs in Oxford.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: HP18. Streets in the area include Bulls Lane and Little Ickford, and we cover them all. We also cover the places around Little Ickford: Ickford (1 mile north-west), Shabbington (1 mile east), Draycott (1 mile south-west), Worminghall (1 mile north-west) and Albury (1 mile south). Larger places within reach include Aylesbury (11 miles east), Elmhurst (11 miles north-east), Southcourt (11 miles east), Princes Risborough (10 miles east), Haydon Hill (10 miles north-east) and Turnfurlong (12 miles east).
Local landmarks in Little Ickford
Typical jobs here are in homes near The Royal Oak pub. Little Ickford’s nearest station is Haddenham & Thame Parkway station, roughly 4.9 miles east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Waterperry Gardens Rural Museum (1.6 miles west) and Thame Community Hospital (3.7 miles east). The countryside around Little Ickford includes Bernwood Meadows.
Towns and villages near Little Ickford
Also in Little Ickford
Honest limits
To be straight with you, there are limits to any roof survey:
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will give you a straight answer before you book. What a survey covers and does not.
Roof types and parts we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
The survey, step by step
The aim of the visit is simple: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. The visit typically takes between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Older rural homes like those around Little Ickford can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. Each part is looked at from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- The flashings and the roof around each chimney are inspected.
- The top of each stack is checked for cracked flaunching and loose pots.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Before the survey
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
- Tell us about parking before the day
- Find any records of previous roof work
How to book
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the details.
Related advice
What affects the price in Little Ickford
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
- Height and safe access
- The roof’s overall size
Prices start from £150, inc. VAT, for a Basic Survey. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400, both inc. VAT. You will know the exact price before booking.
Booking your survey
Getting the details right at the start saves time. It helps to include:
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
To get a price for chimney surveys in Little Ickford, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email. A few details about the property and the roof help us give you an accurate price.
Can I check my roof myself?
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date.
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way, and a fall can be serious. That part is for a survey.
How the survey changes by roof type
Brick stacks
Most chimney stacks are built of brick, with mortar joints that wear over time. The survey looks for crumbling bricks and worn or missing mortar.
Lead flashings
Where the chimney meets the roof slopes, lead flashings keep water out. We check for lifting, splits and gaps in the joints.
Signs you need a chimney survey in Little Ickford
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. They can lift in wind, crack with age or pull out of the mortar joints. Failed flashings are one of the most common causes of damp around chimneys. Lead is also a target for theft.
People normally book a survey after spotting one of these:
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- A stack that appears to lean
Take a building like Ickford School: a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- Whether VAT is added on top
- What experience they bring
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- Will the report include photos?