Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Littlebury, Essex
Chimney surveys in Littlebury from an independent, experienced roof surveyor. More than 20 years and over 5,000 surveys.
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
About our chimney survey in Littlebury
If you are buying a home with chimneys, it is worth knowing their condition before you exchange. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. You get photographs 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 eroded joints in the brickwork and damp on a chimney breast inside, across shared and party-wall stacks, flaunching and lead flashings.
In a small place like Littlebury, many roofs stand in the open, so ridges, chimney stacks, flashings and gutters work hard. Older walls take a long time to dry once water gets in. A roof report shows what needs attention first. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
We write the report in plain English, so you don’t need to be a roofer to follow it. Each point is backed by a photograph where possible, with the urgent items made clear.
- Place
- Littlebury (CB11)
- Region
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
When to book a survey in Littlebury
A stack takes the weather from every direction. Frost works into cracks in the flaunching and pointing, and rain soaks into worn brickwork. Most people book after spotting damp or a loose pot, or before buying.
A survey makes sense if you’ve noticed:
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
The streets around a church such as Church of the Holy Trinity are often among the oldest in a place, and if your house is among the older ones nearby, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
Questions to ask before booking
- What exactly goes into their report
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- Their track record with similar roofs
- When you will get the report
What a chimney survey looks like in Littlebury
Historic houses such as Audley End House, about 1.1 miles south-east, show how far back building in the area around Littlebury goes. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, while many towns grew with post-war and newer estates. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
Landlords with a home close to Great Chesterford station may find that a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant. If you look after a building such as Saffron Walden County High School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Littlebury is about 2 miles north-west of Saffron Walden, in Essex. In Littlebury, as across Essex, every roof gets the same careful survey. Littlebury is one of the towns and villages in Essex where we work for chimney surveys. We also survey roofs in Chelmsford.
We survey roofs across CB11 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Whether your property is on High Street, Walden Road and Cambridge Road or anywhere close by, we can survey it. If you’re just outside Littlebury, we cover Audley End (1 mile south), Little Chesterford (1 mile north), Saffron Walden (2 miles south-east), Wendens Ambo (2 miles south) and Little Walden (2 miles north-east). Larger places within reach include Great Dunmow (13 miles south-east), Stansted Mountfitchet (9 miles south), Elsenham (8 miles south), Church End (13 miles south-east), Thaxted (8 miles south-east) and Newport (3 miles south).
Around Littlebury
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Queens Head Inn and the streets around them. Littlebury’s nearest station is Great Chesterford station, roughly 1.9 miles north of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Saffron Walden Community Hospital (2.1 miles east) and Saffron Walden Museum (1.5 miles south-east). Not far away are Hales and Shadwell Woods.
What this survey cannot tell you
Every survey has limits, and it’s better to know them up front. Keep these in mind:
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Parts of the stack that can’t be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we cannot access
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will tell you before you book. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
Also near Littlebury
Also in Littlebury
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Where a roof is shared: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you contact us and we will plan the survey around it.
If you own several properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To arrange surveys for several addresses, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email with the addresses.
Littlebury questions
Will you come out to Littlebury?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. Our area covers London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when you book.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Littlebury?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We do not carry out asbestos surveys or testing. We flag materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement sheets or soffits on pre-2000 buildings, and recommend a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before they’re disturbed.
Will you check the loft?
Typically, if there is one and it can be reached safely. The roof space can show things the outside can’t, like damp timbers, staining or daylight.
Do I need to be at home?
Someone needs to let us in if we are looking inside or in the loft. Access is agreed with you as you book.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. We look at the roof, not the whole building, so it is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. It can sit alongside a RICS survey if you want both.
Does the weather affect the survey?
It depends on the weather and the survey. In strong wind or a downpour, a drone can’t fly and access may not be safe, so we’d move the date with you.
What a survey costs
All our prices include VAT. What changes the price is:
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- The size of the roof
- The use of thermal imaging or a drone
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, including VAT, and we will tell you which fits.
Booking your survey
What helps most when you contact us:
- The kind of building and roof involved
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
- Anything about access we should know
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, and you can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form to find out.
What you can safely check yourself
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
What we do, step by step
Every roof is different; as a rough guide, the survey takes roughly 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. You are welcome to ask questions while we’re there. Rural addresses near Littlebury can be hard to find from a postcode alone, so a few directions, or a note of a nearby landmark, help us arrive on time. The visit itself is the same as anywhere else.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Where there’s safe access, we look at the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
Preparing for the visit
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Tell us about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Leave side gates unlocked
Booking a survey
Not sure which survey you need? The easiest way is to phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We’ll talk you through the options and what they cost.