Surrey · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Ockham, Surrey
Get a clear view of the chimney stack at a property in Ockham. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
Your questions about chimney surveys in Ockham
Will you come out to Ockham?
Yes, we do. We survey roofs across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned ahead of time.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Ockham?
Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the local council can tell you about conservation areas. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
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.
How do I book a survey in Ockham?
Simply ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day.
Can you survey at the weekend?
We survey on any day from Monday to Sunday, during the day. Just say which days work for you.
What insurance do you have?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, and we can provide details if a managing agent needs them.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. If it’s capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside. Our survey records its condition and how it’s capped, so you can decide with a builder what to do.
About our chimney survey in Ockham
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it is worth knowing their condition before you exchange. On older stacks, we frequently find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. We survey shared and party-wall stacks, chimney pots and cowls and chimney breasts, and people most often book us about gaps where the stack meets the roof and mortar washing out of the joints.
Older buildings in small places like Ockham may be listed or in a conservation area. That can affect what materials can be used when work is done, so check with the council before planning anything. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Where a building is listed, matching the existing roof materials is frequently expected.
What you get is a clear record of the chimney stack on the day we saw it. That makes it useful now and a handy reference later, for example when you want to check whether anything has changed.
- Place
- Ockham (GU23)
- Region
- Surrey
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Checking the roof from the ground
A lot can be seen from ground level. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Never climb onto the roof to look.
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
Tips that help
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out as worth the effort:
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
Once we have been, the findings are written up with photos. It covers the pots, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings, and any damp we found inside. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard reports in 24 to 48 hours and Premium reports the same day.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Freeholders and residents’ companies use a roof report to plan and budget.
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Tell us about it as you book and we’ll plan the visit with that in mind.
Also near Ockham
Also in Ockham
Local roofs in Ockham
With Byfleet Manor about 2.3 miles north, Ockham sits in an area with a long building history. 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. In Surrey, older roofs are often handmade clay tile, with tile-hanging on many upper walls. Some old buildings in Surrey and Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
For an older house near a landmark such as All Saints' Church, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. If you let a flat or house near Horsley station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints. If you look after a building such as Ripley Court School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Ockham is about 5 miles east of Woking, in Surrey. From houses to flats and shops in Ockham, we can survey the roof. Ockham is one of the places in Surrey where we work for chimney surveys. We also survey roofs in Guildford.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: GU23. Local streets include Alms Heath, Ockham Lane and School Lane. We also cover West Horsley (2 miles south), Ripley (2 miles west), East Horsley (2 miles south-east), Effingham (3 miles south-east) and East Clandon (3 miles south). Further out, we also cover Guildford (6 miles south-west), Woking (5 miles west), Camberley (12 miles west), Epsom (9 miles east), Horley (15 miles south-east) and Redhill (13 miles east).
Local landmarks in Ockham
Around Ockham, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Forest and the Highlands and The Black Swan pub and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Horsley station, roughly 1.7 miles south-east. Well-known places in the area include Send and Ripley History Society Museum (1.5 miles west) and Woking Community Hospital (4.4 miles west). The countryside around Ockham includes Boldermere Lake and Papercourt Marshes.
The survey, step by step
It helps to start with what’s prompted the survey: a purchase, a leak, a storm, new work or simply peace of mind. That way we can focus on what matters to you. The visit normally takes an hour or two for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. For a village or hamlet like Ockham, the journey is planned in advance: let us know about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. On the day, we inspect whatever is safely visible, inside and out.
- 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 be seen safely.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
Before the survey
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Tell us where we can park nearby
Arrange a survey
If you’re buying, it’s useful to book soon after your offer is accepted, so there is time to use the report before exchange. Otherwise, simply call 07833 053749 or use the contact form whenever suits you.
Advice
What a survey costs
The price reflects the time and kit the roof needs. The main factors are:
- The height of the building and how the roof can be seen safely
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
- Basic, Standard or Premium
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. The final price depends on how big and how high the roof is, access and which survey you book.
Helping us price your survey
Getting the details right at the start saves time. It is useful to include:
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
- Any stains, drips or damp patches you’ve seen indoors
- What kind of property and roof it is
We confirm the exact price before booking, so you know the cost up front. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. For a price for your roof, call 07833 053749 or send us an email.
What happens if roof problems are left?
If you are thinking of removing or reducing a stack, it’s useful to know its condition first. Changes to stacks in conservation areas or on listed buildings may need consent, so check with them first. Older cottages and farmhouses around Ockham can have roof timbers that have been there a very long time, where water from a failed roof can cause rot if it is left.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how safely it can be seen. Prices start from £150, including VAT.
What you get with us
- Visits on any day of the week
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
- 98% customer satisfaction
- Plain-English reports with photos
See what a roof survey costs or what we found on two real jobs.