Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Perry Vale, Greater London
An experienced roof surveyor for chimney surveys in Perry Vale. Over 5,000 surveys and 20+ years behind us.
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Worn or missing pointing
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Perry Vale
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it’s 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 complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. Typical surveys look at lifted or split lead flashings and gaps in the mortar around the pots, across shared and party-wall stacks, flaunching and chimney breasts.
London has Victorian and Edwardian terraces in almost every borough, frequently with slate roofs, chimney stacks shared with neighbours and gutters hidden behind parapets. Slates can last a century or more, but the nails holding them corrode, and slates slip. In Perry Vale, as across London, that is why a roof needs a proper look rather than a glance from the street. Shared chimney stacks and the lead around them are just as important to check.
We write the report in plain English, so you don’t need to be a roofer to follow it. Photographs show what each point refers to, and recommendations are put in order of urgency where relevant.
- Place
- Perry Vale (SE23, SE26, SE6)
- Region
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Should I look at the roof myself first?
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from the ground or a window. Water spilling over the edge can point to a blockage or a sagging run.
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.
Why it is worth a survey now in Perry Vale
A damp chimney breast seldom dries out until the cause is found. It can stain walls and damage plaster. Knowing whether it’s the flaunching, flashings, brickwork or ventilation means the right fix can be planned. A hidden valley or parapet gutter on a London house can hold water for weeks before anyone notices. By the time a ceiling stains, the timbers underneath may have been wet for a while.
There are three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Perry Vale
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Drones and thermal imaging where applicable
- Weekday and weekend surveys
Read what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
Your questions about chimney surveys in Perry Vale
Can a landlord with a rental near Forest Hill station book a roof survey?
Yes, rented property is part of what we cover. Just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and let us know about the building, including who will give access on the day.
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Perry Vale?
Normally it’s manageable with a little notice. Tell us what parking is available nearby, and the visit is planned around it.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, as long as access is agreed. Roofs over flats are frequently shared, so we need permission from the building owner or managing agent. We can only inspect what we are given access to.
Does someone need to be in?
If the survey includes the loft or the inside of the building, someone needs to let us in. Access is agreed with you when booking.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
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.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Let us know which days suit you as you book.
Do you need to go on the roof to check the chimney?
Each stack is viewed from the safest viewpoints: from ground level, windows and vantage points, and from the loft where there is access. A drone inspection is included in our Premium Survey where it applies. If part of a stack cannot be seen, the report says so.
Before and after the survey
A little preparation and a few simple habits help, both for the survey and for the roof itself. Our tips:
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. That helps you brief them.
Unused stacks should be capped in a way that still lets air through. Ventilation helps keep the stack dry.
Surveys for landlords and agents in Perry Vale
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. Recommendations are set out by urgency where it matters, which helps when budgeting.
Landlords and agents in Perry Vale book surveys as well as homeowners. A photo-illustrated written report gives you a clear record of the chimney stack, which helps you plan work between tenancies.
What this survey can’t tell you
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will suggest the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roof types and parts we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
The survey, step by step
Every visit follows the same pattern: we hear what you’ve seen, inspect the roof from each safe vantage point, take photographs as we go and record our findings for the written report. Most visits take roughly 1–2 hours at most homes, or half a day or so for a commercial building. From the street, a London terrace usually shows only its front slope or parapet, so in Perry Vale we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Let us know who holds the keys.
- 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.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Make sure the loft hatch can be reached
Book a survey
Unsure which package suits your roof? It is easiest to phone 07833 053749 or email us and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We will explain the options and the price.
Advice
Chimney surveys in Perry Vale: local notes
With Kingswood House about 1.7 miles west, Perry Vale sits in an area with a long building history. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Many homes in inner London are Victorian and Edwardian terraces, frequently with Welsh slate roofs. A butterfly roof with a central valley gutter, tucked behind a parapet wall, is common on these houses. In a house like that, shared stacks, party-wall upstands and lead flashings all need looking at as far as they can be seen. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
Trees in and around Mayow Park shed leaves that can end up in nearby gutters, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls. Anyone responsible for a site like Perrymount Primary School will know that long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle. The streets around a church like Christ Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if your house is among the older ones nearby, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look.
Perry Vale is about 3 miles south of New Cross, in Greater London. Perry Vale is part of the area we cover as part of our work across London and South East England. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, large and small.
Every address in SE23, SE26 and SE6 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We offer chimney surveys to properties on Como Road, Mayow Road and South Road and the roads around them. If you are just outside Perry Vale, we cover Bell Green (1 mile south-east), Sydenham (1 mile south-west), Bellingham (1 mile east), Southend (1 mile east) and Forest Hill (1 mile north-west). We also work in nearby towns such as London (5 miles north-west), City of Westminster (7 miles north-west), Marylebone (7 miles north-west), Kensington (8 miles north-west), St Pancras (7 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (6 miles north).
Landmarks near Perry Vale
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Mayow Park, Capitol Cinema pub and Forest Hill School, among other places. The closest station to Perry Vale is Forest Hill station, roughly 0.5 miles north-west. Nearby you’ll also find Lewisham Shopping Centre (2.3 miles north-east) and Greenwich Castle (3.5 miles north-east). For a walk, there’s Dacres Wood and Knight's Hill.