Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Newnham Murren
Chimney surveys in Newnham Murren, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. You get a clear report with photos.
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- A chimney out of line
Chimney survey in Newnham Murren
A chimney stands up above the roof, exposed to wind, rain and frost on every side. Over the years, the flaunching cracks, the pointing wears and flashings lift. Water then gets into the stack and can show as damp on a chimney breast or a stain in the loft. A survey finds these problems and records them with photographs. We are often asked to look into flaunching that has broken away and flashings pulling away from the stack, across chimney breasts, brick chimney stacks and flaunching.
Older buildings in small places like Newnham Murren 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. Older materials like clay tiles, slate and stone are often matched when work is done.
The Standard Survey adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Where
- Newnham Murren (OX10)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What you can safely check yourself
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
After strong wind, take a look from the pavement or garden: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Do not go up yourself.
Surveys for landlords and agents in Newnham Murren
We survey roofs for landlords and letting agents as well as homeowners. The report gives you a dated record of the chimney stack, with photographs.
Letting agents often book on a landlord’s behalf, with the report sent to whoever needs it. We agree a time with the tenant beforehand.
Towns and villages near Newnham Murren
What else we do in Newnham Murren
Leave it or get it looked at?
Most people never get a proper look at their chimney stacks. Defects tend to go unseen until there is a stain. A survey gives you a clear picture before that happens. For older village homes like those around Newnham Murren, the right replacement materials are not always easy to find quickly. Spotting a problem early leaves room to find them.
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT.
Why book with us
- Visits on any day of the week
- Over 5,000 surveys carried out
- Over 20 years’ experience
- Drone and thermal imaging surveys available
Read our cost guide and what we found on two real jobs.
Common questions in Newnham Murren
I let a flat near Cholsey station. Can you check the roof?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can phone 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you need.
Do you cover smaller places like Newnham Murren?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We survey roofs across London and South East England. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when you book.
What insurance do you have?
We are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
What if it rains on the day?
It depends on the weather and the survey. Strong wind or heavy rain can make access unsafe and ground a drone, so we’d move the date with you.
Will you go up on the roof?
Not unless it is safe. Most of what we need can be seen from safe viewpoints, the loft and, where it applies, a drone, and anything out of sight is recorded in the report.
Do you inspect the flue?
No. We survey the stack and its weathering, not the flue. For the flue, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Can you find out why my chimney breast is damp?
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.
What happens on the day
A survey visit follows a simple order: we listen to what’s been worrying you, inspect the roof from every safe viewpoint, take photographs as we go and record our findings for the written report. Most visits take roughly 1–2 hours for a house, and about three to four hours for a commercial roof. In a hamlet or village like Newnham Murren, a postcode does not always lead to the right gate, so a few directions, or a note of a nearby landmark, help us arrive on time. After that, the survey runs as it would anywhere.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- 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
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Find any records of previous roof work
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
Arrange a survey
Most bookings start with a short call: call 07833 053749 or send us an email. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
Read more
What a chimney survey looks like in Newnham Murren
West Oxfordshire’s older buildings frequently carry Cotswold stone slates, and a few villages in the county keep their thatch. In this part of the South East, older roofs are mostly slate or clay tile and many newer ones concrete tile. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first. With Brightwell Manor about 2.5 miles north-west, Newnham Murren sits in an area with a long building history. 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.
Landlords with a home close to Cholsey station may find that the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at. For an older house near a landmark such as Church of St Mary Magdalene, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs. Trees in and around Kinecroft shed leaves that can end up in nearby gutters.
Newnham Murren is about 2 miles south of Benson, in Oxfordshire. Houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings in Newnham Murren can all book chimney surveys. Newnham Murren is one of the towns and villages in Oxfordshire we cover for chimney surveys. You can also see our page for Reading.
All of OX10 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. If you need a chimney survey at a property on The Street, Halifax Road and Hasthorpe Road or anywhere close by, we can help. We also cover Crowmarsh Gifford (1 mile north-east), Mongewell (1 mile south), Winterbrook (1 mile south-west), North Stoke (2 miles south) and Cholsey (2 miles south-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Oxford (12 miles north-west), Didcot (6 miles west), Abingdon-on-Thames (9 miles north-west), Thame (12 miles north-east), Wantage (13 miles west) and Henley-on-Thames (10 miles south-east).
Near you in Newnham Murren
We work in homes and buildings around Kinecroft, Wallingford School and Wallingford School. The nearest railway station is Cholsey station, roughly 2.5 miles south-west. Other landmarks nearby include Wallingford Castle (0.6 miles north-west). For a walk, there is Wittenham Clumps and Cholsey Marsh.
Roof by roof
Lead flashings
Flashings can lift in wind or pull out of their mortar joints. We photograph any we find that look loose or damaged.
Flaunching
Flaunching takes the worst of the weather. The survey checks for cracking and gaps around each pot.
When you need someone else
Before you book, it is worth knowing what a survey won’t do:
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
What we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching