Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Milcombe Chimney Survey
Chimney surveys around Milcombe, with a written report you can act on. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Milcombe
Many homes have chimneys that are no longer used. A disused stack still needs looking after. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. We check how redundant stacks have been capped and look for damp in the chimney breasts. The report sets out what we found and what we recommend. Typical surveys look at lifted or split lead flashings and gaps in the mortar around the pots, across chimney breasts, brick chimney stacks and flaunching.
Somewhere as small as Milcombe, 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 frequently need the most attention.
How fast the report arrives depends on the package: the Basic Survey within 48 hours, the Standard Survey in 24 to 48 hours and the Premium Survey on the same day.
- Location
- Milcombe (OX15)
- Region
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Shared roofs need a little more planning: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it when you book and we will plan the survey around it.
Landlords, agents and building managers in Milcombe and across Oxfordshire can book any of our surveys. For a price for a let property or a block, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Useful tips for Milcombe property owners
A little preparation and a few simple habits help. Some pointers:
- Make sure fixings on the stack are secure
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
If anything in the report is not clear, just ask us. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Keep an eye on chimney breasts for new damp patches. The sooner damp is spotted, the easier the cause is to find.
Do you need a chimney survey in Milcombe?
TV aerials, satellite dishes and their brackets are often fixed to chimneys. Their weight and the wind on them can loosen bricks and pointing. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
Here are some of the things we see frequently:
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
Take a building like Bloxham Church of England Primary School: large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
What we cannot see
Before booking, it is worth knowing what a survey will not do:
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
If you’re 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 our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
What we do, step by step
We look at the roof from outside and, where it is relevant and there is safe access, from inside the roof space too. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging. The whole visit typically takes roughly 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Around Milcombe, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so let us know about the loft hatch and any ladder. Only areas that can be reached safely are inspected.
- 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 is access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
How to prepare
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- If you are buying, check with the agent that we can get in
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
How to book
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, and you can ring 07833 053749 or email us to find out.
Read more
Checking the roof from the ground
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date, which helps when we look at the roof.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are frequently out of sight.
Places near Milcombe
What else we do in Milcombe
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Milcombe
Historic houses like Broughton Castle, about 2.2 miles north, show how far back building in the area around Milcombe goes. If your house is among the older ones, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Older buildings in west Oxfordshire often have Cotswold stone slate roofs, and some Oxfordshire villages still have thatch. Older houses in the South East often have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
If you let a flat or house near Banbury station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak. The streets around a church such as Church of St Lawrence are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
Milcombe is about 4 miles south-west of Banbury, in Oxfordshire. Milcombe is part of the area we cover and the surrounding area as part of our work across London and South East England. Milcombe is one of the places in Oxfordshire where we work for chimney surveys. For surveys nearby, see our Oxford page.
Here we cover the OX15 postcode area for chimney surveys. That includes homes and businesses on Station Road, Barlow Close and Main Road and the roads around them. Close by, we survey roofs in Tadmarton (2 miles north-west), Swalcliffe (3 miles north-west), Sibford Ferris (4 miles north-west), Burdrop (4 miles north-west) and Shutford (4 miles north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Banbury (4 miles north-east), Bicester (13 miles south-east), Kidlington (14 miles south), Bure Park (13 miles south-east), Chipping Norton (8 miles south-west) and Neithrop (4 miles north-east).
What’s near Milcombe
Around Milcombe, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Warriner School and The Horse & Groom pub, among other places. Milcombe’s nearest station is Banbury station, roughly 4.8 miles north-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Broughton Castle (2.2 miles north) and Horton General Hospital (4.2 miles north-east). Not far away are Woodford Bottom and Lamb's Pool and Crouch Hill.
Common questions in Milcombe
How do I find out if my home in Milcombe is listed?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
Is Milcombe within the area you cover?
Yes, Milcombe is on our map. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one.
Does someone need to be in?
It depends on what we need to see. For inside areas and the roof space, someone has to give us access.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes, as long as access is agreed. The roof of a block or converted house is frequently shared, so we need permission from whoever owns or manages the building. We can only inspect what we’re given access to.
Can you survey a chimney stack we share with next door?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We record the stack as far as we can see it and flag anything on the neighbour’s side.
Should I worry about a leaning stack?
Don’t ignore it. Leaning often comes from mortar breaking down unevenly. We record its condition with photos, and a structural engineer can assess whether it needs work.
Will you walk on the roof?
Only if it is safe. We inspect what can be seen safely: from the ground, from windows, from inside the roof space, from the roof where it is safe and by drone where it applies. Anything we can’t see is noted in the report.