Kent · London and the South East
Penshurst Chimney Survey
We take a careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Penshurst, and put it all in a written report with photos.
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- A chimney out of line
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Penshurst
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it is worth knowing their condition before you exchange. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. Typical surveys look at spalled or crumbling bricks and eroded joints in the brickwork, on lead flashings, flaunching and chimney pots and cowls.
Older buildings in small places like Penshurst 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 often expected.
The Standard Survey adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey goes further, with thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Location
- Penshurst (TN11)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How it works
The aim of the visit is simple: to see as much of the chimney stack as can be seen safely and record it clearly. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It typically takes an hour or two at most homes, and longer for a large or complex roof. For a village or hamlet like Penshurst, the journey is planned ahead of time: let us know about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. On the day, we inspect everything that’s safely in view, inside and out.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
How to prepare
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Leave a clear route to the loft
Booking a survey
A quick phone call is typically the easiest start: call 07833 053749 or email us and we will ask a few questions about the roof. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Advice
Different roofs, different checks
Rendered stacks
Some stacks are rendered, which can hide the condition of the brickwork beneath. We look for cracks, hollow areas and staining.
Chimney pots and cowls
For unused flues, we check whether caps or cowls allow ventilation. Capping without ventilation can trap moisture.
How we price chimney surveys
What a survey costs depends on the time and equipment it needs. That comes down to:
- Height and safe access
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
Every price we give includes VAT. Our price is from £150, including VAT. You will know the price for the job before booking.
What to let us know when you get in touch
What helps most when you contact us:
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- The style of property, from a terrace to a block
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
Getting a price is simple: just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and give us a few details about the property and we will explain which survey suits. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Penshurst questions
Will you come out to Penshurst?
Yes, Penshurst is on our map. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one, with the route planned beforehand.
Is my home in Penshurst listed or in a conservation area?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Do you inspect the flue?
No. Our survey covers the outside of the stack and the roof around it. For the flue, you will need a sweep or, for gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Does someone need to be in?
Someone needs to let us in if we’re looking inside or in the loft. We’ll talk about access when booking.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, once whoever controls the roof agrees access. We check the parts we’re given access to.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. Capping without airflow can lead to damp. We check how it’s capped and its condition, so you can decide with a builder what to do.
My chimney looks like it is leaning. What should I do?
A leaning stack should be looked at. 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.
For landlords and managing agents
An agent can book and manage the survey for a landlord, with the report sent to whoever needs it. Access is agreed with the tenant in advance.
We survey roofs for letting agents and landlords as well as householders. The report gives you a dated record of the chimney stack, with photos, useful for planning maintenance.
Leave it or get it looked at?
Cracked flaunching and worn pointing are frequently modest repairs when they’re caught early. Leave it, and frost can work the stack loose, and the work grows. For an older or listed building in a place like Penshurst, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so a defect found early gives time to plan the work properly.
Every price we give includes VAT, and the report isn’t charged as an extra. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. Where your roof sits in the range depends on its size, height and access.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Penshurst
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- PI and public liability insurance
- 20+ years’ experience
- A written report with photos
Read how roof surveys are priced and what we found on two real jobs.
Nearby places to Penshurst
Also in Penshurst
What this survey can’t tell you
Our findings are based on what we can see safely on the day, so there are some things a survey cannot cover:
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Areas we cannot view from safe positions
- Conditions inside walls
If you’re not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll give you a straight answer before booking. What a survey covers and does not.
Roofs we survey in Penshurst
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
Local roofs in Penshurst
The wider area around Penshurst has a long history of building, with Penshurst Place about 0.4 miles north-east. If your house is among the older ones, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof. 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. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Take an older house close to Church of St John the Baptist: its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. Take a building like Penshurst Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School: large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other. If you own a rental within reach of Penshurst station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Penshurst is about 5 miles north-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells, in Kent. We survey roofs in Penshurst as part of our work across London and South East England. Penshurst is one of the towns and villages in Kent where we work for chimney surveys. Our Crawley page covers surveys nearby.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: TN11. You will find streets like High Street, The Warren and Beckets Field, all of which we cover. We also cover Chiddingstone Hoath (2 miles west), Walter's Green (2 miles south), Chiddingstone Causeway (2 miles north), Fordcombe (2 miles south) and Teasley Mead (3 miles south-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Sevenoaks (8 miles north), Royal Tunbridge Wells (5 miles south-east), Tonbridge (5 miles north-east), Kings Hill (12 miles north-east), Paddock Wood (9 miles east) and Southborough (4 miles east).
Around Penshurst
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Chiddingstone Castle Park and Gardens and The Leicester Arms Hotel. The nearest railway station is Penshurst station, roughly 1.8 miles north. Nearby you’ll also find Tonbridge Cottage Hospital (4.2 miles east) and Chiddingstone Castle (1.8 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Broadwater Warren RSPB Reserve and Barden Lake.