Greater London · London and the South East
Old Coulsdon Chimney Survey
We carry out chimney surveys in Old Coulsdon and the rest of Greater London. Surveys run on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Mortar washing out of the joints
What a survey costs
Our packages start from £150, inc. VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- Height and safe access
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
Prices start from £150, including VAT. The final price depends on the size and height of the roof, access and which survey you book.
What to tell us when you get in touch
Here’s what helps us most when you contact us:
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
- Whether there is a loft hatch, a shared roof or tricky access
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
Booking is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email, let us know about the property and we’ll recommend the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Chimney survey in Old Coulsdon
If a chimney looks out of line, it’s worth getting it checked. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down, often after years of flue gases and damp. We record the lean and the condition of the brickwork and pointing. If the stack looks like a structural issue, the report recommends a structural engineer. We survey lead flashings, chimney breasts and flaunching, and the problems we’re asked to look at most are loose, cracked or missing pots and signs that a stack is leaning.
London has Victorian and Edwardian terraces in almost every borough, many with Welsh slate roofs, shared chimney stacks and parapet or valley gutters. Slates can last a century or more, but the nails holding them corrode, and slates slip. Homes in Old Coulsdon are no exception. Lead flashings and shared chimney stacks on these houses need a close look too.
How fast the report arrives depends on the package: the Basic Survey within 48 hours, the Standard Survey in 24 to 48 hours and the Premium Survey on the same day.
- Where
- Old Coulsdon (CR5, CR3, CR8)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Old Coulsdon
Other services in Old Coulsdon
DIY checks: what’s safe
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
You can learn a lot from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Never climb onto the roof to look.
Common roof problems in Old Coulsdon
Lots of homes have redundant stacks. A stack sealed without ventilation can trap damp. Damp patches can appear on chimney breasts even when nothing is leaking.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
Old Coulsdon is in London, so parking needs planning: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space when you book, as a space near the door cannot be promised.
Questions to ask before you book
- How soon the report will arrive
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
What this survey can’t tell you
A survey is a close look at the chimney stack, but it can’t do everything. The main limits are:
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Conditions inside walls
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
If you’re not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or email us and we will give you a straight answer. The full list of what we check.
Roof types and parts we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
FAQs for Old Coulsdon
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Old Coulsdon?
We cannot confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Is parking a problem for a survey in Old Coulsdon?
It can be, so it’s useful to let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space when you book. The visit is then planned around what’s available.
Should I worry about a leaning stack?
Don’t ignore it. Leaning often comes from mortar breaking down unevenly. We record its condition with photos, and a structural engineer can confirm whether it is stable.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
What’s in the survey report?
It works through the roof part by part, in writing and with photos, finishing with recommendations. Points are put with the most urgent first where relevant.
Is a chimney survey the same as a flue inspection?
No. It is not a flue, sweep or gas safety inspection. We check the stack, pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings, and damp inside, and we will say if anything suggests the flue needs checking.
Will you walk on the roof?
Only when it is safe. Safety comes first, and fragile or steep roofs cannot always be walked on. Safe viewpoints, the loft and a drone where applicable let us see the rest, and the report records anything we couldn’t see.
How the survey works
It’s useful to start with what’s prompted the survey: buying, a leak, storm damage, new work or just wanting to know where things stand. It helps us focus on what matters most to you. The visit typically takes between one and two hours for a house, and more on a big or complicated roof. In a London conversion, the way into the roof space is often from a communal landing or the top flat. Where that’s the case, access needs agreeing with whoever controls that landing. Otherwise, the visit in Old Coulsdon runs like any other.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Before the survey
- Tell us about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Find any records of previous roof work
- Check pets are kept safely away
How to book
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from ground level or a window, and please don’t climb up for a closer look. To send them or to book, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Read more
For landlords and managing agents
For blocks of flats, a roof survey helps managing agents and residents’ management companies plan ahead. Recommendations are set out with the most urgent first where relevant, which helps with budgets and planning.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, including offices, shops and units. Bigger roofs take more time, and they’re priced for the size.
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Old Coulsdon
In outer London, interwar semis with hipped, tiled roofs sit alongside older slate-roofed terraces. On a semi of that age, the small roofs over the bays, the hip tiles and any later dormer each need their own look. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Addington Palace, about 5 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Old Coulsdon. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
Take a building like Keston Primary School: a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. If you live near a park such as Dollypers Hill, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys, so outlets and downpipes are worth watching.
Old Coulsdon is about 1 mile south-east of Coulsdon, in Greater London. Old Coulsdon is part of the area we cover and the surrounding area across London and South East England. Across Greater London, we cover Old Coulsdon and the places around it. There’s also a page for London.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: CR5, CR3 and CR8. You will find streets such as Ellis Road, Tollers Lane and Court Avenue, and we cover them all. Close by, we survey roofs in Coulsdon (1 mile north-west), Chipstead (2 miles west), Purley (2 miles north), Woodcote (2 miles north-west) and Woodmansterne (3 miles west). Further out, we also cover London (14 miles north), City of Westminster (15 miles north), Marylebone (15 miles north), Kensington (14 miles north), Whitechapel (15 miles north) and Brompton (14 miles north).
Local landmarks in Old Coulsdon
Typical jobs here are in homes near Sunnydown School, Dollypers Hill and The Tudor Rose pub. For rail, the closest station is Coulsdon South station, about 1.4 miles north-west. Well-known places in the area include East Surrey Museum (2 miles south-east) and St Lawrence's Hospital (1.3 miles south-east). Not far away are Nore Hill and Mercers Lake.