Hampshire · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Pilley, Hampshire
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching in Pilley. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
Chimney survey in Pilley
Redundant chimneys are common, particularly where fires have been replaced by central heating. A disused stack still needs looking after. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. We check how redundant stacks have been capped and look for damp in the chimney breasts. The report sets out what we found and what we recommend. We survey lead flashings, chimney pots and cowls and brick chimney stacks, and people most often book us about flashings pulling away from the stack and mortar washing out of the joints.
Village roofs often face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, which is hard on ridges, chimneys, flashings and gutters. Older walls take a long time to dry once water gets in. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are frequently the first to give way.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Place
- Pilley (SO41)
- Wider area
- Hampshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about chimney surveys in Pilley
Is my home in Pilley listed or in a conservation area?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you’re planning to re-roof in a different material.
Will you come out to Pilley?
Yes, we do. We work right across London and the South East, from towns to the smallest villages. The journey is planned ahead, so it is useful to know about access.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes, as long as access is agreed. Roofs over flats are frequently shared, so we need permission from the freeholder or managing agent. We inspect only the parts we’re allowed to reach.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and testing aren’t part of what we do. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, like cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before any work.
What happens next?
We email you the written report with photos and recommendations. You can use it to talk to a seller, an insurer, a roofer or a managing agent, whichever applies.
Can you survey in bad weather?
Light rain does not usually stop a survey, and it can even help show where water is getting in. Heavy rain or strong wind can ground a drone and make the roof unsafe, so if conditions aren’t right we’ll arrange another day with you.
How much does a chimney survey cost in Pilley?
Our price is from £150, including VAT. You’ll know the exact price before booking. For a price, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Roof by roof
Chimney pots and cowls
A loose or cracked pot can fall from height. We record their condition with photographs.
Brick stacks
Frost can damage bricks that have soaked up water, making the faces flake away. We record any we can see.
Chimney surveys in Pilley: local notes
The coast is about 2 miles or less from Pilley, and being near the sea means more wind and salt than a roof inland would face. Metal fixings and flashings corrode faster in salt air, while gales work at loose ridges, slates and tiles, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. Thatch survives on some older buildings in Hampshire’s villages. Older houses in the South East often have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
The streets around a church such as Saint Nicholas Chapel are often among the oldest in a place, and if your home is one of the older ones nearby, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. If you own a rental within reach of Lymington Town station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Pilley is about 2 miles north of Lymington, in Hampshire. In Pilley, as across Hampshire, every roof gets the same careful survey. We cover towns and villages across Hampshire, from the larger towns to small villages. You can also see our page for Southampton.
Surveys in SO41 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. You will find streets such as Pilley Street, Burnt House Lane and May Lane, and we cover them all. Other places close to Pilley include Pilley Bailey (1 mile north-east), Warborne (1 mile south-west), Bull Hill (1 mile east), Portmore (1 mile south-east) and Boldre (1 mile west). We also work in nearby towns such as Eastleigh (15 miles north-east), Fareham (15 miles east), Totton (9 miles north), Chandler's Ford (15 miles north-east), Hedge End (14 miles north-east) and Romsey (15 miles north).
Landmarks near Pilley
Around Pilley, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Priestlands School, The Red Lion Inn and Southlands School. For rail, the closest station is Lymington Town station, roughly 1.5 miles south of the centre. Well-known places in the area include St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery (1.7 miles south) and Lymington New Forest Hospital (1.1 miles south-west). The countryside around Pilley includes Boldre Foreshore.
When to book a survey in Pilley
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.
It is worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- A stack that appears to lean
For site and facilities teams at buildings such as William Gilpin Church of England Primary School, long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Before booking anyone
- How soon the report will arrive
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- Which limits apply to the survey
- What happens after the report arrives
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with the freeholder or managing agent. Mention it when you get in touch and we’ll plan the survey around it.
Letting agents can arrange access with tenants. We survey seven days a week, which can make access easier.
Practical tips
Over many surveys, some simple habits stand out as worth the effort:
- Make sure fixings on the stack are secure
- Have the flue swept and checked if you use the fire
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Do not use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
The report is emailed to you, ready to share with a roofer or builder. Each defect is described in plain words and shown in a photo so anyone reading it can see what we saw.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Checking the roof from the ground
A lot can be seen from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Please don’t climb up for a closer look.
A DIY look is useful, but it is not a survey. From the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
What we do, step by step
We will ask a few questions first, about the roof’s history, any leaks and past repairs. Then the inspection itself takes an hour or two at most homes, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. Around Pilley, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so it is useful to know whether there is a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. Only areas that can be reached safely are inspected.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- The flashings and the roof around each chimney are inspected.
- We look at the flaunching and pots on every stack.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Getting ready for the survey
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
Booking a survey
A quick phone call is normally the easiest start: call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will ask a few questions about the roof. The price is agreed before a date is set.