Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Ridley, Kent
We take a careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Ridley, and put it all in a written report with photos.
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
About our chimney survey in Ridley
Chimney stacks take more weather than almost any other part of a house. Over the years, the flaunching cracks, the pointing wears and flashings lift. Water then gets into the stack and can show as damp on a chimney breast or a stain in the loft. A survey finds these problems and records them with photographs. We survey flaunching, chimney breasts and brick chimney stacks, and the problems we’re asked to look at most are mortar washing out of the joints and a stack that appears to lean.
Village roofs frequently 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. Lead flashings and old chimney stacks are often where weather gets in first.
The Standard Survey adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Location
- Ridley (TN15)
- Region
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Prices for chimney surveys in Ridley
We confirm the price for your survey before booking. These are the things that affect it:
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- Roof area
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
We offer 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.
Booking your survey
These details help when you contact us:
- Where the property is, with the postcode
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- Pictures from the garden or a window, if you have them
- Access details, such as a loft hatch or a shared roof
You can call us seven days a week. For a price or to book, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Can I check my roof myself?
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
What you cannot do safely is get up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery. That’s where a survey comes in, using safe viewpoints and a drone where it applies.
FAQs for Ridley
How do I find out if my home in Ridley is listed?
We cannot confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, and councils can also use Article 4 directions.
Can a landlord with a rental near Meopham station book a roof survey?
Yes, letting agents and landlords book with us as well as owners. You can ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and some details.
Do you cover Ridley?
Yes. We survey roofs across London and South East England, and that includes Ridley.
How much is a survey?
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. We confirm the price for your roof before booking, based on the roof’s size, access and package. To get a price, call 07833 053749 or email us.
How do I arrange a chimney survey in Ridley?
Just call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day, weekday or weekend.
Why is my chimney breast damp?
Damp on a chimney breast usually means water is getting into the stack, or moisture is trapped inside it. The survey looks at the stack, the flashings and the capping and records the likely cause.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
Every part of the stack we can see from safe positions: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
The survey, step by step
Where it is relevant and can be reached safely, the roof space is checked as well as the outside. Inside, we look for staining, damp, gaps and signs of movement, as far as the space allows. All in, the survey usually takes about one to two hours at a typical home, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. Somewhere as small as Ridley, access is often the only tricky part. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- 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.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Let us know where we can park nearby
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
Getting a price
A quick phone call is normally the easiest start: ring 07833 053749 or email us, and we will ask about the building and what you need. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Advice
Chimney surveys in Ridley: local notes
Many older homes in Kent have handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles held by pegs through two holes, and tile-hanging on their upper walls. The county’s older buildings also include oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Historic houses like Cobham College, about 4 miles north-east, show how far back building in the area around Ridley goes. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years.
If you let a flat or house near Meopham station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak. Take an older house close to Church of Saint Peter: its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look.
Ridley is about 6 miles south of Northfleet, in Kent. Whether the building in Ridley is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, the roof can be surveyed on a weekday or at the weekend. Ridley is one of the towns and villages in Kent we cover for chimney surveys. Our Maidstone page covers surveys nearby.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: TN15. Close by, we survey roofs in New Street (1 mile east), Hodsoll Street (1 mile south), South Street (1 mile east), New Ash Green (1 mile north-west) and Culverstone Green (2 miles south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Maidstone (11 miles south-east), Dartford (8 miles north-west), Sevenoaks (8 miles south-west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (15 miles south), Gravesend (6 miles north-east) and Tonbridge (11 miles south).
Local landmarks in Ridley
The nearest railway station is Meopham station, roughly 2.6 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Ightham Court (4.4 miles south) and Coldrum Long Barrow (3.1 miles south-east).
When to book a survey in Ridley
TV aerials, satellite dishes and their brackets are often fixed to chimneys. The extra load in wind can work bricks and joints loose. Any fixings on the stack are checked and recorded.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- A chimney out of line
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
Anyone responsible for a site like Meopham School will know that long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
Also near Ridley
Also in Ridley
When you need someone else
Every survey has limits, and we’d rather be clear about that before booking. Keep these in mind:
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll recommend the right survey. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What we look at
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
What happens if roof problems are left?
A leaning stack should be looked at sooner rather than later. We record its condition and recommend a structural engineer where needed, so you can decide what to do next. For an older or listed building in a place like Ridley, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so leaving a defect until it’s urgent leaves less time to plan.
To find out what your survey will cost, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email and let us know about the roof. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Why book us in Ridley
- An independent look at the roof
- Insured for professional indemnity and public liability
- Packages from £150, inc. VAT
- Weekday and weekend surveys
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and what we found on two real jobs.