Essex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Monkey Street, Essex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching for Monkey Street, from an experienced roof surveyor. Every survey comes with a written report and photographs.
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- A stack that appears to lean
How a chimney survey works in Monkey Street
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. It might come in at the top, through worn pointing or porous bricks, or where the flashings meet the roof. Condensation inside an unventilated stack is another common cause. We look at each possibility and record what we find. You then know where to start. If you’re worried about unused flues sealed without airflow and pots or cowls that look unsafe, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
Older buildings in small places like Monkey Street may be listed or in a conservation area. If yours is, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so the council is the place to check. Knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan ahead with that in mind. Where a building is listed, matching the existing roof materials is often expected.
You can share the report with anyone who needs it: your solicitor, the seller, your insurer, a roofer or the building’s managing agent.
- Place
- Monkey Street (CO7)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Roof by roof
Chimney breasts and the loft
Where a breast has been taken out, we look at what supports the stack. Confirming the support is a job for a structural engineer.
Brick stacks
Frost can damage bricks that have soaked up water, making the faces flake away. We record any we can see.
Checking the roof from ground level
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
Keep a simple record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Share it with us when booking, as it helps us focus the survey.
How the survey works
We do not take risks to get a closer look. We inspect everything that’s safely in view, and if part of the roof can’t be seen, the report says so. Most visits take between one and two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Older roofs in small places like Monkey Street can have low, tight loft spaces, so tell us about the loft hatch and any ladder. We only go where it’s safe.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- 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
- Keep pets in another room
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Book a survey
Booking is simple: just call 07833 053749 or drop us an email, let us know about the property and we will recommend the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Related advice
Towns and villages near Monkey Street
Also in Monkey Street
When you need someone else
It’s a careful look at the chimney stack, not the whole story. The main limits are:
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
Common questions in Monkey Street
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Monkey Street?
We can’t confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Great Bentley station?
Yes, that is a common request. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
There is no single answer. We record how the stack is doing and whether it is capped with ventilation. If you’re thinking of removing it, check with the council first in a conservation area or on a listed building.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes, once whoever controls the roof agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we are allowed to reach, and the report makes that clear.
Is Monkey Street in your area?
Yes. Our area covers London and South East England, and that includes Monkey Street.
How many surveys have you done?
More than 5,000 surveys over 20+ years.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We look from the ground, from windows and from the loft where it’s safe. Where it applies, our Premium Survey adds a drone inspection for a closer view. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
Useful tips for Monkey Street property owners
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week, before and after a survey:
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
Once we have been, the findings are written up with photos. It explains the condition of each part of the stack and any damp inside. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24 to 48 hours and Premium reports the same day.
Check fixings on the stack are sound and taken off if they’re no longer needed. Less load on the stack means less strain in wind.
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
If you own several properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan.
Chimney surveys around Monkey Street
The coast is about 5 miles or less from Monkey Street, where sea air brings more salt and stronger wind than inland. Salt is hard on nails, clips and metal flashings, and strong wind lifts anything already loose on a roof. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, with post-war and more recent estates making up much of the newer housing. Whatever the covering, it’s frequently the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Landlords with a home close to Great Bentley station may find that a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let. Take an older house close to Church of St Mary: old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Monkey Street is about 7 miles north-west of Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex. If you are in Monkey Street, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: a call or an email, a price, then a date. Monkey Street is one of the towns and villages in Essex where we work. We also survey roofs in Chelmsford.
We survey roofs across CO7 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. We cover properties on Rectory Road and Harwich Road and the roads around them. We also cover Little Bentley (1 mile east), Cowey Green (1 mile west), Hare Green (1 mile west), Balls Green (2 miles south-west) and Great Bromley (2 miles west). Further out, we also cover Colchester (7 miles west), Clacton-on-Sea (7 miles south-east), Harwich (9 miles east), Camulodunum (8 miles west), Greenstead (6 miles west) and Tiptree (15 miles west).
Local landmarks in Monkey Street
In Monkey Street, that means homes and buildings near Bricklayers pub, among other places. Monkey Street’s nearest station is Great Bentley station, about 2.6 miles south. Green spaces nearby include Weeleyhall Wood.