Essex · London and the South East
Rickling Green Chimney Survey
We take a careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Rickling Green, with photos and a written report.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Bricks with flaking faces
- A chimney out of line
Chimney survey in Rickling Green
A damp patch on a chimney breast does not always come from the same place. It might come in at the top, through worn pointing or porous bricks, or where the flashings meet the roof. Condensation inside an unventilated stack is another common cause. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. You then know where to start. Common reasons to book are flashings pulling away from the stack and mortar washing out of the joints, on shared and party-wall stacks, chimney pots and cowls and flaunching.
In a small place like Rickling Green, many roofs stand in the open, so ridges, chimney stacks, flashings and gutters work hard. Damp in old walls is slow to dry, so a small leak can do a lot of harm. A roof report shows what needs attention first. Lead flashings and old chimney stacks are often where weather gets in first.
The report works through the roof section by section, from the main slopes down to the gutters and outlets, each with a short note and a photo. It records what’s sound as well as what is not.
- Location
- Rickling Green (CB11)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Chimney surveys in Rickling Green: local notes
With Horham Hall about 4.8 miles east, Rickling Green sits in an area with a long building history. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Clay tiles and timber weatherboarding mark out many of the older buildings in Essex, and a good many post-war and modern estates besides. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
For an older house near a landmark such as Church of Quendon, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Rickling Green is about 5 miles south of Saffron Walden, in Essex. Rickling Green is part of the area we cover across London and South East England. Across Essex, we cover Rickling Green and the places around it. For surveys nearby, see our Chelmsford page.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: CB11. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Rickling Green Road, Hallfield and Brick Kiln Lane or a nearby road, we can survey it. Other places close to Rickling Green include Wicken Bonhunt (2 miles north-west), Manuden (2 miles south-west), Hill Green (2 miles north-west), Clavering (3 miles north-west) and Berden (3 miles west). Within a short drive, we also cover Harlow (13 miles south), Saffron Walden (5 miles north), Great Dunmow (9 miles south-east), Stansted Mountfitchet (3 miles south), Great Notley (15 miles south-east) and Newhall (12 miles south).
Around Rickling Green
In Rickling Green, that means homes and buildings near Cricketers Public House. Rickling Green’s nearest station is Newport (Essex) station, roughly 2.3 miles north of the centre. A little further out are Herts and Essex Hospital (5.8 miles south) and House On The Hill Toy Museum (3.1 miles south). Not far away are Aubrey Buxton Nature Reserve.
The survey, step by step
We do not take risks to get a closer look. Everything that can safely be seen is inspected, and if part of the roof can’t be seen, the report says so. Most visits take about 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Somewhere as small as Rickling Green, access is frequently the only tricky part. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Visits can be on weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Where there’s safe access, we look at the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
How to prepare
- For flats, check roof access has been agreed
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Book a survey
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Take them safely from the ground or a window; never climb up to get a better view. To get started, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Read more
Practical tips
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Photograph damp patches with the date
With a shared stack, the report can help when talking to next door. It shows what we found and where from the viewpoints we used.
Have aerial and dish brackets on the stack checked, and moved if they’re working it loose. Removing unused fixings takes strain off the brickwork.
When you need someone else
It’s useful to know what a survey won’t do before booking:
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Parts of the stack that can’t be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we cannot access
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll recommend the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roof types and parts we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
Landlords, agents and block managers in Rickling Green
A roof problem in a let property affects your tenants as well as the building. A survey shows what needs attention, so you can plan the work with less disruption.
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too. Larger roofs take longer, and they’re priced for the size.
Questions from Rickling Green
How do I find out if my home in Rickling Green is listed?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Newport (Essex) station?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. Just ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the details, and we will talk through which survey suits.
What’s the best way to book?
It is easiest to call 07833 053749 or email us. Give us the address and a few details about the roof. We survey on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes, if the freeholder or managing agent agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we’re allowed to reach, and the report makes that clear.
Does the weather affect the survey?
It depends on the weather and the survey. Strong wind or a downpour can make access unsafe and ground a drone, and we’d agree another day.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
We check the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings. We also check chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach. You get a written report with photos.
Do you need to get into the loft?
If the survey needs it and the roof space can be reached safely, yes. Please clear anything stored under the hatch, and if the loft can’t be reached safely, the report says so.
Common roof problems in Rickling Green
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. With age they can lift, split or come away from the joints. When flashings fail, water frequently shows up in the loft or on the chimney breast. Lead is also a target for theft.
A survey makes sense if you’ve noticed:
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- A stack that appears to lean
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
If you let a flat or house near Newport (Essex) station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Questions to ask before booking
- Are they insured for the work?
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- How they’ll see the roof: from ground level, the loft, the roof or by drone
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
Also near Rickling Green
Also in Rickling Green
Different roofs, different checks
Flaunching
The sloping mortar around the pots is called flaunching. Cracks in it let water into the stack.
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They crack with age, and we check them too.