Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Little Wigborough, Essex
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you spend money on it. We carry out chimney surveys in Little Wigborough, with photographs and a clear written report.
- A stack that appears to lean
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Little Wigborough
We inspect chimneys from wherever they can safely be seen: from the ground, from windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there’s access. With our Premium Survey, a drone inspection is included where applicable. Where part of a stack cannot be seen, the report says so. Each defect is recorded with a photo and a plain description. If you are worried about a chimney out of line and lifted or split lead flashings, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on chimney pots and cowls, shared and party-wall stacks and chimney breasts alike.
Somewhere as small as Little Wigborough, homes are often older cottages and farmhouses, with outbuildings and some newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are often old. 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.
Every survey ends with a written report, with photos, emailed to you. It explains the condition of the chimney stack, the defects we found and what we recommend.
- Where
- Little Wigborough (CO5)
- Region
- Essex
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan, putting the urgent items at the top.
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. Recommendations are set out by urgency where it matters.
What we look for on each type of roof
Lead flashings
Where the chimney meets the roof slopes, lead flashings keep water out. We check for lifting, splits and gaps in the joints.
Flaunching
The sloping mortar around the pots is called flaunching. Cracks in it let water into the stack.
What we do, step by step
We photograph the roof as we go, so you can see in the report what we found and where. Close-ups come from the safest viewpoint available, including by drone where it is applicable and the weather allows. A typical visit takes roughly 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Somewhere like Little Wigborough needs a little journey planning: let us know about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. On the day, we inspect whatever is safely visible, inside and out.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check 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’s access.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
Booking a survey
To arrange a survey, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We’ll confirm the price before booking.
Read more
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Little Wigborough
Little Wigborough is within about 2 miles of the coast, so there’s more wind and more salt in the air than further inland. Metal fixings and flashings corrode faster in salt air, while gales work at loose ridges, slates and tiles. Layer Marney Tower, about 3.2 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Little Wigborough. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
Little Wigborough is about 6 miles south of Colchester, in Essex. We visit Little Wigborough as part of our work across Essex, for homes and businesses alike. Little Wigborough is one of the places in Essex we cover. Chelmsford is in our area too.
Chimney surveys in CO5 are booked the same way as anywhere else. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in Great Wigborough (1 mile west), Peldon (1 mile north-east), Layer Breton (3 miles north-west), Layer-de-la-Haye (3 miles north) and Malting Green (3 miles north). Further out, we also cover Colchester (6 miles north), Braintree (14 miles north-west), Clacton-on-Sea (12 miles east), Maldon (9 miles south-west), Witham (10 miles west) and Camulodunum (6 miles north).
What’s near Little Wigborough
Well-known places in the area include Essex County Hospital (5.9 miles north) and Birch Castle (3.4 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Abbotts Hall Farm.
Do you need a chimney survey in Little Wigborough?
Many chimneys are no longer used. A stack sealed without ventilation can trap damp. Damp patches can appear on chimney breasts even when nothing is leaking.
Look out for signs like these:
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- A chimney out of line
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Mortar washing out of the joints
If you live in an older home near Church of St Stephen, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Before you book anyone
- Are they insured for the work?
- What exactly goes into their report
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- How long the report takes to arrive
Practical tips
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week, before and after a survey:
- Make sure fixings on the stack are secure
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
With a shared stack, the report can help when talking to next door. It shows what we found and where from the viewpoints we used.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. Early signs are easier to trace.
Also near Little Wigborough
Other services in Little Wigborough
What a survey costs
A few things affect what a survey costs:
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the size and height of the roof, access and which survey you book.
Booking your survey
If you can, have these to hand when you get in touch:
- The property’s address and postcode
- Anything about access we should know
- What’s prompted the survey
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To arrange a day that suits you, phone 07833 053749 or email us with the address and the days you’d prefer.
Little Wigborough: your questions answered
How do I find out if my home in Little Wigborough is listed?
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. If a home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission.
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Little Wigborough, take more of a battering?
Often, yes. Within about 2 miles of the sea, as Little Wigborough is, metal fixings wear faster and gales find any loose ridge or slate.
Will you go up on the roof?
Only if it is safe. We inspect everything that’s safely in view: from ground level, from windows and vantage points, from the roof space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where it applies. The report says if anything couldn’t be seen.
What do I do with the report?
The report comes by email, and what you do next is up to you: raise it with a seller, send it to an insurer, brief a roofer or share it with a managing agent.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. Many houses share stacks with a neighbour. We survey what we can see safely, and note anything that seems to involve next door.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
Every part of the stack we can see from safe positions: from the pots and flaunching down to the flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
What does the report include?
Written findings with photos, covering the condition of the chimney stack, the defects we found and what we recommend, with the most urgent first where relevant. 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.