Kent · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Old Wives Lees
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching for Old Wives Lees, from an experienced roof surveyor. Every survey comes with a written report and photos.
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Keep a simple record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Send it with your enquiry and it will help the survey.
Your own check is a good start, but it isn’t a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
About our chimney survey in Old Wives Lees
Many terraced and semi-detached homes share their chimney stacks with a neighbour. We check what can safely be seen and what the owner gives us access to. If a defect appears to be on the neighbour’s side, we note it, so you can talk to them. Everything is written up with photos and our recommendations. Typical surveys look at mortar washing out of the joints and a chimney out of line, on shared and party-wall stacks, brick chimney stacks and lead flashings.
Somewhere as small as Old Wives Lees, homes are frequently older cottages and farmhouses, with outbuildings and some 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’s usually the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
We write the report in plain English, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Each point is backed by a photograph where possible, with the urgent items made clear.
- Place
- Old Wives Lees (CT4)
- Region
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Why it is worth a survey now in Old Wives Lees
Chimneys are easy to forget because you rarely see the top of them. Defects tend to go unseen until there is a stain. A survey gives you a clear picture before that happens. In a small place like Old Wives Lees, homes can be exposed to wind and rain, which finds any gap, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
One thing that affects the price is the package: from £150 for Basic, £250 for Standard and £400 for Premium, inc. VAT. Size, height and access can affect the price too.
Why us?
- Packages from £150, including VAT
- Every finding written up with photos
- Insured for professional indemnity and public liability
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
Take a look at our cost guide and our case studies.
What happens on the day
On the day, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you want to find out. After that, we look at everything we can see safely, from ground level, from windows, in the roof space and by drone where it applies. The survey normally takes an hour or two for a house, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. In a small place like Old Wives Lees, access is normally the main thing to plan. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- The findings are written up with photos and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Check pets are kept safely away
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
How to book
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from the ground or a window; never climb up to get a better view. To get started, call 07833 053749 or send us an email.
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Nearby places to Old Wives Lees
Also in Old Wives Lees
Old Wives Lees homes and their roofs
Before planning roof work on an older home, find out whether it is listed or in a conservation area. Listed building consent covers changes to a listed building’s special interest, and an Article 4 direction can bring extra controls in a conservation area. Handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles hung on pegs through two holes, are typical of older Kent buildings. Oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of the county’s older buildings too. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
If you own a rental within reach of Chilham station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints. Trees in and around Broadham Down shed leaves that can end up in nearby gutters.
Old Wives Lees is about 5 miles west of Canterbury, in Kent. We provide chimney surveys for homeowners, landlords and businesses in Old Wives Lees. We cover towns and villages across Kent.
Here we cover the CT4 postcode area for chimney surveys. That includes homes and businesses on Cherry Orchard, Cobbs Hill and Green Lane and the roads around them. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include Chilham (1 mile south), Mountain Street (1 mile south), Oversland (2 miles north), Neames Forstal (2 miles north-west) and Shottenden (2 miles west). Larger places within reach include Ashford (9 miles south-west), Canterbury (5 miles east), Sittingbourne (12 miles north-west), Folkestone (15 miles south-east), Whitstable (7 miles north) and Faversham (5 miles north-west).
Around Old Wives Lees
Typical jobs here are in homes near Broadham Down and The Star Inn, among other places. Old Wives Lees’s nearest station is Chilham station, about 0.8 miles south-east. A little further out are Chilham Castle (0.9 miles south-west) and Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr (5.1 miles east). The countryside around Old Wives Lees includes Blean Woods RSPB Reserve.
Surveys for landlords and agents in Old Wives Lees
An agent can book and manage the survey for a landlord, with the report sent to whoever needs it. We agree a time with the tenant beforehand.
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan.
Old Wives Lees questions
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Old Wives Lees?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it is in a conservation area. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Chilham station?
Yes, that’s a common request. We just need to know who will give access, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. Our survey looks at the roof, not the whole building. If you need a full building survey, you will need a RICS survey as well.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. Capping without airflow can lead to damp. We check how it is capped and its condition, so you can decide with a builder what to do.
How can you see the top of the stack?
We use safe viewpoints rather than climbing onto the stack. Where it applies, our Premium Survey adds a drone inspection for a closer view. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
Over 5,000 surveys so far, across 20+ years of surveying roofs, and 98% of customers are satisfied.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. Our sub-250g drone is flown by a CAA-registered operator with a Flyer ID and Operator ID, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
Roof by roof
Flaunching
Cracked flaunching is one of the most common chimney defects we record. Caught early, it is frequently a small job.
Brick stacks
Brick stacks rely on sound pointing to keep water out. We check the bricks for spalling and the joints for erosion.
What we’re asked to look at in Old Wives Lees
TV aerials, satellite dishes and their brackets are frequently fixed to chimneys. The extra load in wind can work bricks and joints loose. Any fixings on the stack are checked and recorded.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Bricks with flaking faces
- A stack that appears to lean
If you live in an older home near Church of St Mary, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Before booking anyone
- How long the report takes to arrive
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- What the report includes, and whether it has photographs
- Are they insured for the work?