West Berkshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Newtown Common, West Berkshire
An experienced roof surveyor for chimney surveys in Newtown Common. Over 5,000 surveys and 20+ years behind us across London and South East England.
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
Practical tips
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They’re worth knowing whatever the roof:
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
The report is emailed to you, ready to share with a roofer or builder. We use plain English and a photo for each defect, so it is easy to follow.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. The sooner damp is spotted, the easier the cause is to find.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Newtown Common
A damp patch on a chimney breast doesn’t always come from the same place. It might come in at the top, through worn pointing or porous bricks, or where the flashings meet the roof. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. We look at each possibility and record what we find. That points the work in the right direction. We are frequently asked to look into flashings pulling away from the stack and bricks with flaking faces, across chimney pots and cowls, lead flashings and brick chimney stacks.
Some older homes in villages like Newtown Common are 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. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Older materials such as clay tiles, slate and stone are often matched when work is done.
You receive the findings by email, easy to pass on to a roofer, an agent or an insurer. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24–48 hours for Standard and same day for Premium.
- Location
- Newtown Common (RG20)
- Wider area
- West Berkshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
How the survey changes by roof type
Lead flashings
Lead flashings seal the joint between the stack and the roof. The survey looks at whether the lead is tight, sound and well fixed.
Chimney pots and cowls
Damaged pots are a safety concern as well as a leak risk. We photograph each pot and note any damage.
What this survey cannot tell you
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or email us and we will tell you before booking. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What this survey covers
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
Questions from Newtown Common
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Newtown Common?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it’s worth checking before planning any.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Newbury station?
Of course. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
What happens after the survey?
You receive the written report by email, with photographs and recommendations. You can use it to talk to a seller, an insurer, a roofer or a managing agent, whichever applies.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity and public liability insurance cover our surveys. Ask if you need details for a managing agent or building owner.
How experienced are you?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys.
Do you climb onto every roof?
Not always. Some roofs are too steep or fragile to walk on safely. Safe viewpoints, the loft and a drone where it applies let us see the rest, and the report records anything we couldn’t see.
What does a chimney survey cover?
The whole stack, as far as it can be seen safely: from the pots and flaunching down to the flashings. We also note leaning, redundant stacks and damp inside.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
What you can’t do safely is get up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery, and a fall can be serious. That is where a survey comes in.
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Photograph them and note the date, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
What a chimney survey looks like in Newtown Common
Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles, with flat-roofed extensions, dormers and garages common everywhere. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. With Highclere Castle about 3.1 miles south-west, Newtown Common sits in an area with a long building history. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
Anyone responsible for a site like Horris Hill School will know that large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. Landlords with a home close to Newbury station may find that a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant. If your home is one of the older ones in the streets near Church of St Mary and St John the Baptist, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look.
Newtown Common is about 2 miles south of Newbury, in West Berkshire. Roofs in Newtown Common get the same thorough look as anywhere else in West Berkshire. Newtown Common is one of the towns and villages in West Berkshire where we work for chimney surveys. Our Reading page covers surveys nearby.
We survey roofs across RG20 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. We also cover Burghclere Common (1 mile south), Earlstone Common (1 mile south), Sandleford (1 mile north-east), Wash Common (1 mile north-west) and Wash Water (1 mile west). Within a short drive, we also cover Thatcham (4 miles north-east), Burghfield Common (12 miles east), Speenhamland (3 miles north), Hungerford (9 miles west), Calcot (13 miles north-east) and Lambourn (13 miles north-west).
What’s near Newtown Common
In Newtown Common, that means homes and buildings near Park House School and Sandleford Priory. The closest station to Newtown Common is Newbury station, roughly 2.2 miles north of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Old Chapel Textile Centre (2.1 miles east) and West Berkshire Community Hospital (3.1 miles north-east). Open spaces near Newtown Common include Beacon Hill and Audrey's Meadow.
How the survey works
A survey visit follows a simple order: we listen to what’s been worrying you, inspect the roof from each safe vantage point, photograph what we find and record our findings for the written report. Most visits take roughly 1–2 hours for most houses, or half a day or so for a commercial building. Cottages and farmhouses around Newtown Common often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can be seen safely.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Preparing for the visit
- Let us know about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
How to book
Not sure which survey you need? The easiest way is to call 07833 053749 or email us and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We will talk you through the options and what they cost.
Related advice
Landlords, agents and block managers in Newtown Common
We survey roofs for letting agents and landlords as well as householders. A photo-illustrated written report gives you a clear record of the chimney stack, useful for planning maintenance.
Letting agents often book on a landlord’s behalf. Access is agreed with the tenant in advance.