Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Northdown, Kent
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Northdown. We have completed more than 5,000 surveys across London and South East England.
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
How we price chimney surveys
Every roof is different, so prices are confirmed before you book. This is what makes a difference:
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- Whether you choose the Basic, Standard or Premium Survey
- How big the roof is
Prices start from £150, inc. VAT, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both inc. VAT. You will know the exact price before booking.
Helping us price your survey
When you call or email, these details help:
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Anything about access we should know
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
Booking is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and give us a few details about the property and we will point you to the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
About our chimney survey in Northdown
A chimney survey is about the outside of the stack and the roof around it. It is not a flue inspection, a chimney sweep or a gas safety inspection. For the flue itself, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas appliances, a Gas Safe registered engineer. We will tell you if we see anything that suggests they should take a look. If you are worried about loose, cracked or missing pots and signs that a stack is leaning, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
Around Northdown, older cottages sit alongside bungalows and newer houses. Coverings range from slate and clay tiles on older homes to concrete tiles on many later ones. Chimneys, valleys and gutters on older homes frequently need the most attention. Nails and battens under older coverings often give out before the slates or tiles themselves.
The written findings come by email, ready to forward to whoever needs them. Basic reports come within 48 hours, Standard within 24–48 hours and Premium on the day.
- Location
- Northdown (CT9, CT10)
- Region
- Kent
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Should I look at the roof myself first?
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, which helps when we look at the roof.
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from the ground or a window. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Different roofs, different checks
Lead flashings
Over time, lead can lift or come away from the brickwork. Any loose or split flashings are recorded.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Stains on timbers or brickwork around the stack can point to a leak. We record what we see with photographs.
Northdown homes and their roofs
Northdown lies within about 1 mile of the sea, and places near the sea get more salt in the air and more wind than inland. Salt is hard on nails, clips and metal flashings, and strong wind lifts anything already loose on a roof, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. Older houses across Kent frequently have handmade clay or peg tiles, and many have tile-hung walls. You will also find oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses among the county’s older buildings. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
Quex Park, about 4.5 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Northdown. On a period home nearby, the survey separates sound original work from tired later repairs. Shop and office owners around Westwood Cross may find that knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies.
Northdown is about 2 miles east of Margate, in Kent. From houses to flats and shops in Northdown, the roof can be surveyed. Our area takes in places right across Kent, large and small. You can also see our page for Canterbury.
Surveys in CT9 and CT10 are booked the same way as anywhere else. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Old Road, Holly Lane and Green Lane or anywhere close by, we can help. We also cover the places around Northdown: Palm Bay (1 mile north-west), Cliftonville (1 mile west), Kingsgate (1 mile east), St Peter's (1 mile south) and Broadstairs (2 miles south). Further out, we also cover Ramsgate (3 miles south), Deal (12 miles south), Herne Bay (12 miles west), Walmer (13 miles south), St Lawrence (3 miles south) and Newington (3 miles south-west).
Near you in Northdown
In Northdown, that means homes and buildings near Captain Digby Inn and Dane Court Grammar School and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Broadstairs station, roughly 1.8 miles south. Other landmarks nearby include Westwood Cross (2.1 miles south-west) and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital (1.4 miles south-west).
FAQs for Northdown
Can a landlord with a rental near Broadstairs station book a roof survey?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. You can call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you need.
Does being near the coast affect roofs in Northdown?
Yes, coastal weather is harder on roofs: there’s more wind, and more salt in the air. Ridges, verges, flashings and fixings are where it normally shows.
Can you survey a chimney stack we share with next door?
Yes. We look at the parts we can see safely and the parts you can give us access to. If a defect seems to be on your neighbour’s side, the report records it and you can raise it with them.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not always. If we only need the outside, we can agree that beforehand, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We inspect from wherever is safe: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the loft space. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where applicable. We note anything we couldn’t see.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
We are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
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.
How the survey works
Every roof is different; as a rough guide, the survey takes about 1–2 hours for most houses, and longer for a large or complex roof. If you have questions on the day, just ask. With a bit of garden around a house, as there frequently is around Northdown, the roof can be viewed from several angles. Let us know if any side is fenced off or hard to reach. Inside, the loft is looked at where it can be reached safely.
- You let us know how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
How to prepare
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
How to book
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, and you can call 07833 053749 or use the contact form to find out.
Read more
Do you need a chimney survey in Northdown?
Removing a chimney breast inside can leave questions about how the stack is supported. We record what we can see in the loft and outside, and the report recommends a structural engineer if support is a concern.
Signs worth acting on include:
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
For landlords with property near Broadstairs station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Before you book anyone
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
- What the survey will not cover
- Whether VAT is added on top
Also near Northdown
Other services in Northdown
What a chimney survey doesn’t cover
No survey can tell you everything, and it is better to know them up front. Bear these in mind:
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Conditions inside walls
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and does not.
Roof types and parts we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks