Greater London · London and the South East
North Ockendon Chimney Survey
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in North Ockendon from an independent roof surveyor. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
Chimney survey in North Ockendon
Each stack is looked at from the safest viewpoints available: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the roof space where it’s safe. A drone inspection is part of our Premium Survey where it applies. Where part of a stack can’t be seen, the report says so. Each defect is recorded with a photo and a plain description. Common reasons to book are a stack that appears to lean and damp on a chimney breast inside, across brick chimney stacks, shared and party-wall stacks and flaunching.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces are found right across London, many with Welsh slate roofs, shared chimney stacks and parapet or valley gutters. Good slates can last over a hundred years, yet the nails frequently give out first and let slates slip. In North Ockendon, as across London, that’s why a roof needs a close look rather than a glance from the street. Lead flashings and shared chimney stacks on these houses need a close look too.
The written findings come 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.
- Place
- North Ockendon (RM14)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Common roof problems in North Ockendon
Flashings seal the gap where a stack passes through the roof. They can lift in wind, crack with age or pull out of the mortar joints. Failed flashings are one of the most common causes of damp around chimneys. Lead is also a target for theft.
Typical things we are asked to look at include:
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
If you let a flat or house near Ockendon station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- What exactly goes into their report
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- When you will get the report
Towns and villages near North Ockendon
Also in North Ockendon
North Ockendon questions
Does a conservation area affect roof work in North Ockendon?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Can parking be tricky for a visit in North Ockendon?
It can be, so it’s useful to tell us about permits, visitor bays or off-street space as you book. That way the visit can be planned around it.
What happens after the survey?
You will receive the report by email, and what you do next is up to you: raise it with a seller, send it to an insurer, brief a roofer or share it with a managing agent.
Do you climb onto every roof?
Only where it is safe to do so. We inspect whatever is safely visible: from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the roof space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where applicable. The report says if anything couldn’t be seen.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
It is worth having a leaning stack checked. We record the lean, the brickwork and the pointing, and if it may be a structural issue, we recommend a structural engineer.
Do you need to go on the roof to check the chimney?
Each stack is viewed from the safest viewpoints: from the ground, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. Our Premium Survey includes a drone inspection where it applies. We note anything we couldn’t see.
Do you cover North Ockendon?
Yes. We survey roofs across London and South East England, North Ockendon included.
What affects the price in North Ockendon
Survey packages start from £150, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on:
- How big the roof is
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- The shape of the roof and its details
All our prices include VAT. Our price is from £150, including VAT. You will know the price for your survey before you book.
What to let us know when you contact us
These details help when you get in touch:
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- Anything about access we should know
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
Unsure which package suits your roof? The easiest way is to phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We’ll explain the options and the price.
For landlords and managing agents
Freeholders and residents’ companies use a roof report to plan and budget, putting the urgent items at the top.
Any of our surveys can be booked by landlords, agents and building managers in North Ockendon. For a price for a let property or a block, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
How it works
The visit has one job: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. The visit typically takes between one and two hours at a typical home, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. London terraces rarely offer a view of the whole roof from one spot, so in North Ockendon we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Let us know who holds the keys.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can safely be seen.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there is safe access.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Preparing for the visit
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
Booking a survey
Booking is simple: just ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form, let us know about the property and we’ll suggest the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Before and after the survey
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Photograph damp patches with the date
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
- Do not use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
If anything in the report isn’t clear, just ask us. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation.
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.
Chimney surveys in North Ockendon: local notes
Further from the centre, London’s housing takes in interwar semis with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles as well as slate-roofed terraces. If your home in North Ockendon is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. The wider area around North Ockendon has a long history of building, with Hare Hall about 4.5 miles north-west. 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.
If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for instance near Ealing Broadway Centre, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies. The streets around a church like Church of St Mary Magdalene are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
North Ockendon is about 3 miles east of Hornchurch, in Greater London. Roofs in North Ockendon get the same thorough look as anywhere else in Greater London. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, from the larger towns to small villages. Chelmsford is in our area too.
We survey roofs across the RM14 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. We also cover Puddle Dock (1 mile north), Cranham (2 miles north-west), Upminster (2 miles north-west), South Ockendon (2 miles south) and Upminster Bridge (2 miles north-west). Further out, we also cover Walthamstow (14 miles west), Whitechapel (15 miles west), Orpington (14 miles south-west), Plaistow (11 miles west), Leyton (13 miles west) and New Cross (15 miles west).
Local landmarks in North Ockendon
Typical jobs here are in homes near Eastbrook School and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Ockendon station, roughly 1.5 miles south of the centre. A little further out are Upminster Tithe Barn Museum of Nostalgia (2.1 miles north-west) and St George's Hospital (3 miles west). Not far away are Cranham Marsh.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
A DIY look is useful, but it isn’t a survey. From the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are frequently out of sight.