Buckinghamshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in North Lee, Buckinghamshire
Get a clear view of the chimney stack at a property in North Lee. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
How a chimney survey works in North Lee
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it’s worth knowing their condition before you exchange. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. We’re frequently asked to look into damp on a chimney breast inside and worn or missing pointing, on lead flashings, chimney breasts and shared and party-wall stacks.
In a village or hamlet like North Lee, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Older roofs may be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, frequently with chimneys that have stood a long time. Each needs checking in its own way, and thatch is a specialist material we report on as far as it can be seen. On older roofs, it is usually the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
The report is written in plain words, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Each point is backed by a photograph where possible, with the urgent items made clear.
- Where
- North Lee (HP22)
- Wider area
- Buckinghamshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about chimney surveys in North Lee
Is my home in North Lee listed or in a conservation area?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. It matters most if you’re planning to re-roof in a different material.
Do you cover smaller places like North Lee?
Yes, North Lee is covered. We work right across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
It depends on its condition and your plans. The survey shows its condition and how it’s been capped. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need consent.
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. Any area we couldn’t view is noted.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. We check the roof, not the whole building, so it is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. Many buyers have both.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
We check the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings. Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access. You get a written report with photos.
What we look for on each type of roof
Flaunching
Flaunching takes the worst of the weather. The survey checks for cracking and gaps around each pot.
Rendered stacks
Some stacks are rendered, which can hide the condition of the brickwork beneath. The survey checks for cracking, bulging and staining in the render.
Nearby places to North Lee
What else we do in North Lee
Useful tips for North Lee property owners
Most of what helps is simple and safe from ground level. A few suggestions:
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. It gives them a clear starting point.
Look at your chimneys from the ground now and then, especially after strong winds. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Signs you need a chimney survey in North Lee
Stacks that were used for open fires for many years can weaken from the inside. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which can make a stack lean.
We are often asked to look at:
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
The streets around a church such as Church of St Mary are often among the oldest in a place, and if your house is among the older ones nearby, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Before booking anyone
- What follow-up you get after the report
- What they will not be able to tell you
- What the report includes, and whether it has photos
- Their track record with similar roofs
DIY checks: what’s safe
Keep a simple record: dates of leaks, photos from the ground and any work done on the roof. Share it with us when booking and it will help the survey.
Your own check is a good start, but it isn’t a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
The survey, step by step
Time on site depends on the size and shape of the roof, but as a rough guide the survey takes an hour or two at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. If you have questions on the day, just ask. Cottages and farmhouses around North Lee often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. Each part is looked at from wherever it can safely be seen.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- 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.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Preparing for the visit
- Keep pets in another room
- Let us know about parking near the property
- If it is not your property yet, arrange access through the agent
Arrange a survey
A quick phone call is normally the easiest start: call 07833 053749 or drop us an email, and we will ask about the building and what you need. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
Related advice
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in North Lee
Some villages in Buckinghamshire still have thatched roofs. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters. Older buildings may be listed or sit in a conservation area. Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the council can say whether a street is in a conservation area. In either case, a change of roofing material may need consent.
Landlords with a home close to Stoke Mandeville station may find that the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at. If you run a business near Friars Square, a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak.
North Lee is about 3 miles south of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire. North Lee gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a careful inspection, photographs and a written report. Our area takes in places right across Buckinghamshire. We also survey roofs in Milton Keynes.
We cover every part of the HP22 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Close by, we survey roofs in Nash Lee (1 mile south-east), Terrick (1 mile south-east), Chalkshire (1 mile south-east), Stoke Mandeville (1 mile north-east) and Ellesborough (1 mile south). Further out, we also cover Aylesbury (3 miles north), High Wycombe (10 miles south), Chesham (9 miles south-east), Marlow (14 miles south), Amersham (11 miles south-east) and Beaconsfield (13 miles south-east).
Near you in North Lee
In North Lee, that means homes and buildings near The Mandeville School, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Stoke Mandeville station, about 1.1 miles north-east. Nearby you’ll also find National Paralympic Heritage Centre (1.9 miles north) and Little Kimble Motte (1.7 miles south). Open spaces near North Lee include Brush Hill Local Nature Reserve and Beacon Hill.
For landlords and managing agents
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too, from shops and offices to industrial units. Bigger roofs take more time.