Isle of Wight · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Northwood, Isle of Wight
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Northwood. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Worn or missing pointing
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Northwood
A chimney survey is about the outside of the stack and the roof around it. It isn’t a flue inspection, a sweep or a gas safety check. If you use a fire or a gas appliance, the flue should be checked by a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer as appropriate. We’ll tell you if we see anything that suggests they should take a look. If you are worried about gaps in the mortar around the pots and damaged chimney pots and cowls, we can find out what’s behind it, on lead flashings, chimney pots and cowls and chimney breasts alike.
In a village or hamlet like Northwood, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are often old. 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 typically the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
It isn’t only a list of defects. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend, so you can decide what to do next.
- Location
- Northwood (PO31)
- Region
- Isle of Wight
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Tips that help
Getting the most from a chimney survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Tips:
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
- Have the flue swept and checked if you use the fire
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
You can send the report to roofers or builders for quotes. Because everyone is pricing the same findings, the quotes are easier to compare.
Get small mortar repairs done while they’re small. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
What you can safely check yourself
What you can’t do safely is get up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery, and a fall can be serious. That part is for a survey, using safe viewpoints and a drone where it applies.
Keep a simple record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Share it with us as you book, as it helps us focus the survey.
What a chimney survey looks like in Northwood
Northwood lies within about 2 miles of the sea, and places near the sea get more salt in the air and more wind than inland. Near the sea, metal fixings wear faster and loose pieces on a roof are more likely to lift, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. Historic houses like Osborne House, about 2 miles east, show how far back building in the area around Northwood goes. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters.
Take an older house close to All Saints' Church: its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. For site and facilities teams at buildings like Northwood Primary School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Northwood is about 1 mile south of Cowes, in the Isle of Wight. We carry out chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Northwood. Our area takes in places right across the Isle of Wight. Our Portsmouth page covers surveys nearby.
Every address in PO31 is within our area for chimney surveys. Streets in the area include Nodes Road, Wyatts Lane and Uplands Road, and we cover them all. Close by, we survey roofs in Rew Street (1 mile west), Gurnard (1 mile north), Cowes (1 mile north), Noke Common (2 miles south) and Parkhurst (2 miles south). We also work in nearby towns such as Newport (3 miles south), Ryde (7 miles east), Sandown (9 miles south-east), Shanklin (10 miles south-east), Ventnor (11 miles south-east) and Oakfield (7 miles east). Harder-to-reach addresses take a little more planning, so please mention your location when you ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Near you in Northwood
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Cowes Enterprise College and The Travellers Joy pub, among other places. A little further out are Isle of Wight Natural History Centre (0.5 miles north) and West Cowes Castle (1.7 miles north). Open spaces near Northwood include Mill Hill and Briddlesford Nature Reserve.
Common questions in Northwood
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Northwood, take more of a battering?
It can do. Within about 2 miles of the sea, as Northwood is, metal fixings wear faster and gales find any loose ridge or slate.
Is Northwood within the area you cover?
We do. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house, with the route planned beforehand.
Our stack is shared. Can you still survey it?
Yes. We inspect what can be seen safely and what you 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.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. The roof of a block or converted house is often shared, so the freeholder or managing agent needs to agree access. We inspect only the parts we are allowed to reach.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We inspect from wherever is safe: from the ground, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. Our Premium Survey includes a drone inspection where applicable. We note anything we couldn’t see.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. This is a survey of the roof only, and it is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. Many buyers have both.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
What’s behind the render can’t be seen without removing some, so the report says what can and can’t be judged.
Lead flashings
Where the chimney meets the roof slopes, lead flashings keep water out. The survey looks at whether the lead is tight, sound and well fixed.
What we do, step by step
Photos are taken throughout the visit, so you can see in the report what we found and where. Close-ups come from the safest viewpoint available. Most surveys take about 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Cottages and farmhouses around Northwood often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. Each part is looked at from wherever it can be seen safely.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- 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 is access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
How to prepare
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with whoever owns or manages the building
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Jot down any questions you want answered
How to book
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from ground level or a window. To send them or to book, phone 07833 053749 or email us.
Related advice
Also near Northwood
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How we price chimney surveys
The price reflects the time and kit the roof needs. The main factors are:
- House, block, shop or office
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- Which survey package you book
Prices quoted always include VAT, and the written report is part of the package. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. Size, height and access decide where your roof falls.
Booking your survey
You do not need to know any roofing terms. It is enough to tell us:
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- Where the property is, with the postcode
Prices start from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, and you can phone 07833 053749 or email us to find out.
Why act early in Northwood
Chimneys are easy to forget because you rarely see the top of them. Problems frequently go unnoticed until damp appears inside. Surveying the stack now can catch problems first. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Northwood, driving rain gets into any weakness, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so they’re priced to match. You will know the figure before booking.
What you get with us
- Plain-English reports with photos
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
Take a look at our cost guide or two real surveys.