West Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Oving, West Sussex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching in Oving, carried out by an experienced roof surveyor. Every survey comes with a written report and photos.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Bricks with flaking faces
Tips from our surveys
You do not need to be a roofer to help. Here’s what helps most:
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
Questions about the findings are always welcome. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation.
Get small mortar repairs done while they’re small. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
Chimney survey in Oving
Our survey covers the structure of the stack and its weathering details. 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 will tell you if we see anything that suggests they should take a look. Common reasons to book are staining on walls around the chimney and frost-damaged brickwork on the stack, on chimney breasts, chimney pots and cowls and lead flashings.
Some older homes in villages like Oving are listed or in a conservation area. If yours is, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so the council is the place to check. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Older materials such as clay tiles, slate and stone are frequently matched when work is done.
You receive the findings by email, easy to pass on to a roofer, an agent or an insurer. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24–48 hours for Standard and same day for Premium.
- Place
- Oving (PO20)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on the day
There isn’t much for you to do on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we’ll take it from there. A typical survey takes between one and two hours for most houses; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. Older rural homes like those around Oving can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. Each part is looked at from wherever it can be seen safely.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks 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.
Getting ready for the survey
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we’re looking at
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
How to book
Once you know what you need, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form. We will suggest a package, agree the price and find a date.
Related advice
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
We cannot see the bricks behind render without it being opened up, so the report explains what we could and couldn’t assess.
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They crack with age, and we check them too.
Chimney surveys around Oving
Oving lies within about 5 miles of the sea, and being near the sea means more wind and salt than a roof inland would face. Near the sea, metal fixings wear faster and loose pieces on a roof are more likely to lift. Many older homes in Sussex have handmade clay tiles and tile-hung walls. A few old Sussex buildings still carry heavy Horsham stone slabs. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
Goodwood House lies about 2.4 miles north, so building around Oving goes back a long way. Older homes in the area may have roofs that need matching materials when work is done. For site and facilities teams at buildings such as Westbourne House School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale. For an older house near a landmark such as The Parish Church of St Andrew, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Oving is about 3 miles east of Chichester, in West Sussex. Oving gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a close look at whatever is safely visible, photos and a clear written report. We cover towns and villages across West Sussex. Portsmouth is in our area too.
Surveys in PO20 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether your property is on Church Lane, Sampsons Drive and Highfield Lane or a nearby road, we can help. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in Shopwyke (1 mile west), Tangmere (1 mile north), Maudlin (1 mile north-west), Merston (1 mile south) and Boxgrove (1 mile north). Larger places within reach include Worthing (14 miles east), Bognor Regis (4 miles south-east), Chichester (3 miles west), Selsey (8 miles south), Littlehampton (9 miles east) and Emsworth (9 miles west).
Landmarks near Oving
In Oving, that means homes and buildings near Tangmere Primary Academy and Chichester High School For Girls and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Chichester station, about 2.7 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include St Richard's Hospital (2.1 miles west) and Tote Copse Castle (1.4 miles east).
Can I check my roof myself?
A lot can be seen from the ground. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Never climb onto the roof to look.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date.
Questions from Oving
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Oving?
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.
Will you come out to Oving?
We do. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one.
Is a chimney survey the same as a flue inspection?
No. It is not a flue, sweep or gas safety inspection. We check the structure and weathering of the stack and any damp, and we will say if anything suggests the flue needs checking.
My chimney looks like it’s leaning. What should I do?
It’s worth having a leaning stack checked. Our survey notes how it looks and the condition of the bricks and joints, and if it may be a structural issue, we recommend a structural engineer.
Why is my chimney breast damp?
Damp on a chimney breast usually means water is getting into the stack, or moisture is trapped inside it. The survey looks at the stack, the flashings and the capping and records the likely cause.
What does a chimney survey cover?
The whole stack, as far as it can be seen safely: from the pots and flaunching down to the flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We don’t carry out asbestos surveys or testing. We flag materials that could contain asbestos, like cement sheets or soffits on pre-2000 buildings.
What affects the cost of chimney surveys
Not every roof costs the same to survey, for these reasons:
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
Prices start from £150, with VAT included, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both with VAT included. We confirm the price for your roof before you book.
Helping us price your survey
To price your survey accurately, we’ll ask about:
- The type of building and roof, like pitched or flat
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- Any deadline, like an exchange date
For a price for chimney surveys in Oving, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email. The address, the type of property and what you need to know help us give you an accurate price.
Why it is worth a survey now in Oving
If you’re buying, find out about the stacks before you exchange. Once you’ve exchanged, the work is down to you. A report gives you something specific to put to the seller. In a small place like Oving, homes can be exposed to wind and rain, which finds any gap, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package matters as well. We will give you the figure before anything is booked.
Why us?
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Surveys on any day of the week
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Package prices that include VAT
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and our case studies.