Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Oxford
We take a careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Oxford, and put it all in a photo-illustrated written report.
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
Chimney survey in Oxford: what you get
Redundant chimneys are common, especially where fires have been replaced by central heating. A disused stack still needs looking after. Capping a stack without ventilation can trap moisture and lead to damp inside. Our survey looks at how each unused stack has been capped and checks the breasts for damp. The report sets out what we found and what we recommend. We survey lead flashings, brick chimney stacks and flaunching, and people most often book us about spalled or crumbling bricks and worn or missing pointing.
Trees in streets, gardens and parks drop leaves into gutters across places like Oxford, and once a gutter blocks, water spills down the wall. Hidden valley and parapet gutters can overflow into the house itself. It is one reason a roof is worth looking at as a whole, not just the obvious problem. Late autumn, once the leaves are down, is a sensible time to check gutters and outlets.
The report records the chimney stack as we found it on the day. That makes it useful now and a handy reference later, like when you want to compare after future work.
- Place
- Oxford (OX4, OX3, OX2, OX1)
- Region
- Oxfordshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Tips from our surveys
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week, before and after a survey:
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Check your stacks from the ground after strong winds
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
The report is emailed to you, ready to share with a roofer or builder. We use plain English and a photo for each defect so anyone reading it can see what we saw.
Look at your chimneys from ground level now and then, particularly after strong winds. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Questions from Oxford
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Oxford?
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.
Do you cover Oxford?
Yes. Our area covers London and South East England, and Oxford is part of that. Just call 07833 053749 or send us an email and let us know about the property, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. Our survey is a roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey of the whole building. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
What’s in the report?
Written findings with photos, explaining the condition of the chimney stack, any defects and our recommendations, in order of urgency where relevant. Standard adds moisture detection and a structural check; Premium adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable and structural analysis.
How long will you be at the property?
It normally takes roughly 1–2 hours on an ordinary house, or half a day or so for a commercial building. The report follows by email.
What does a chimney survey cover?
The whole stack, as far as it can be seen safely: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. We also note leaning, redundant stacks and damp inside.
Does the report include photographs?
Yes, plenty. Each finding is shown in a picture where possible, which makes the report easy to follow.
Checking the roof from the ground
It is useful to keep a record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Share it with us as you book.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
What happens on the day
A survey visit follows a simple order: we hear what you’ve seen, look at the roof from every safe viewpoint, photograph what we find and make notes for the report. It usually takes about 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. In busier parts of Oxford, parking can be tight, so tell us about driveways, permits or nearby car parks. On the day, we check the roof from ground level, from windows and vantage points, from the loft where there’s safe access and from the roof where it is safe, with the drone where applicable.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- We check every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the roof space.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Preparing for the visit
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Check we can get to the back of the property
- If you are buying, let the agent know when we’re coming
Booking a survey
Most bookings start with a short call: call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll ask a few questions about the roof. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
Advice
Different roofs, different checks
Rendered stacks
A rendered stack can mask problems in the bricks below. The survey checks for cracking, bulging and staining in the render.
Chimney pots and cowls
A loose or cracked pot can fall from height. We record their condition with photographs.
Oxford homes and their roofs
West Oxfordshire’s older buildings often carry Cotswold stone slates, and a few villages in the county keep their thatch. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. The wider area around Oxford has a long history of building, with Holywell Manor about 0.8 miles north-west. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
For site and facilities teams at buildings like East Oxford Primary School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. Take an older house close to St Clement's Church: corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
Oxford is in Oxfordshire. Surveys in Oxford work the same way as everywhere we cover: a close look at what can be seen safely, photos and a clear written report. Our Oxfordshire coverage includes Oxford and the places around it.
We survey roofs across the OX4, OX3, OX2 and OX1 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Streets in the area include High Street, New High Street and Radcliffe Square, and we cover them all. Main roads around Oxford include the A34 and A40, which makes travel easy. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include St Clement's (1 mile west), Headington Hill (1 mile north-east), New Marston (1 mile north), Donnington (1 mile south) and St. Ebbes (1 mile west). Within a short drive, we also cover Didcot (10 miles south), Bicester (11 miles north), Abingdon-on-Thames (6 miles south-west), Witney (11 miles west), Thame (11 miles east) and Wantage (14 miles south-west). Oxford is one of the larger places we cover in Oxfordshire.
Landmarks near Oxford
We work in homes and buildings around The Star pub, Alexander Library of Ornithology and Headington Rye Oxford, among other places. Other local landmarks include Cheney School (under half a mile east) and South Park (less than half a mile north-east). The closest station to Oxford is Oxford station, about 1.6 miles west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Warneford Hospital (within half a mile east) and Rumble Museum (under half a mile east). For a walk, there’s CS Lewis Nature Reserve and Headington Hill.
Signs you need a chimney survey in Oxford
The flaunching on top of a stack holds the pots in place and sheds water. Cracked flaunching lets water in, and each winter makes it worse. In time, the pots can become loose.
Look out for signs like these:
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
Living close to South Park is pleasant, but mature trees mean leaves in gutters and valleys each autumn, and an overflowing gutter soon means a wet wall.
Before you book anyone
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- What exactly goes into their report
- Are they insured for the work?
When you need someone else
To be straight with you, there are limits to any roof survey:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Areas we cannot view from safe positions
- Hidden damage within the stack
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
What we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings