Kent · London and the South East
Sarre Chimney Survey
We carry out chimney surveys in Sarre and the rest of Kent. We survey on weekdays and at weekends.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Chimney survey in Sarre: what you get
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it is worth knowing their condition before you exchange. On older stacks, we often find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. If you’re worried about flashings pulling away from the stack and damp patches on chimney breasts, we can find out what’s behind it.
Village roofs frequently face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, 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.
It is not only a list of defects. It explains what we found, why it matters and what we recommend, so you can plan your next steps.
- Place
- Sarre (CT7)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Landlord and commercial surveys in Sarre
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in. We survey seven days a week, which helps when tenants work during the week.
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
Local roofs in Sarre
Sarre is within about 3 miles of the coast, where sea air brings more salt and stronger wind than inland. Near the sea, metal fixings wear faster and loose pieces on a roof are more likely to lift, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. Quex Park, about 4.1 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Sarre. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs.
If you live in an older home near Church of Saint Nicholas, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. If you let a flat or house near Minster station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak. If you look after a building such as St Nicholas At Wade Church of England Primary School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Sarre is about 5 miles south-east of Herne Bay, in Kent. Whether the building in Sarre is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, the roof can be surveyed on a weekday or at the weekend. Across Kent, we cover Sarre. Canterbury is in our area too.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: CT7. Streets in the area include Island Road, Old Road and Chantry Park, and we cover them all. Other places close to Sarre include St Nicholas at Wade (1 mile north-east), West Stourmouth (1 mile south), East Stourmouth (2 miles south), Monkton (2 miles east) and Upstreet (2 miles south-west). Larger places within reach include Canterbury (8 miles south-west), Margate (7 miles north-east), Dover (14 miles south), Ramsgate (7 miles east), Broadstairs (8 miles east) and Whitstable (9 miles west).
Near you in Sarre
Typical jobs here are in homes near Grove Ferry Picnic Area and Kings Head Inn and the streets around them. Sarre’s nearest station is Minster station, roughly 3.5 miles east. Nearby you will also find Powell-Cotton Museum (3.8 miles north-east).
Common questions in Sarre
Is the coastal weather around Sarre hard on roofs?
Places near the sea get more wind and more salt in the air than inland, and both are hard on roofs. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces.
Is my home in Sarre 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.
Do I need to be at home?
If the survey includes the loft or the inside of the building, someone needs to let us in. We’ll talk about access as you book.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We don’t sample or test for asbestos. The report may flag materials that could contain asbestos on buildings built or refurbished before 2000, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it’s disturbed.
Should I worry about a leaning stack?
Have it checked rather than leaving it. Leaning often comes from mortar breaking down unevenly. We record its condition with photos, and a structural engineer can confirm whether it’s stable.
Do you work in Sarre?
Yes, we do. Sarre is part of the area we cover, and the service is the same as everywhere else we work.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We use safe viewpoints rather than climbing onto the stack. A drone inspection is part of the Premium Survey where applicable. Any area we couldn’t view is noted.
What a chimney survey does not cover
We only report whatever is safely visible on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
- Conditions inside walls
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
If you’re not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and does not.
Roofs we survey in Sarre
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
Also in Sarre
Checking the roof from ground level
You can learn a lot from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Never climb onto the roof to look.
What you can’t 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 applicable.
Tips that help
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Do not use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
- Make sure unused flues are capped with ventilation
You get the report by email and can pass it to whoever does the work. We use plain English and a photo for each defect, so it is easy to follow.
Make sure redundant flues are capped with ventilation. Ventilation helps keep the stack dry.
The survey, step by step
After the inspection, everything we found is written up as a written report with photographs, sent to you by email. As for time on site, it normally takes about 1–2 hours for a house, and longer for a large or complex roof. Cottages and farmhouses around Sarre often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. Each part is looked at from wherever it can safely be seen, and anything we cannot see is noted.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- The top of each stack is checked for cracked flaunching and loose pots.
- We note the brickwork, pointing and any sign of leaning.
- You receive a written report setting out what needs attention first.
Preparing for the visit
- Let us know where we can park nearby
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Jot down any questions you want answered
Booking a survey
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from the ground or a window, and please do not climb up for a closer look. To send them or to book, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Read more
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
A rendered stack can mask problems in the bricks below. We look for cracks, hollow areas and staining.
Flaunching
Flaunching is the mortar on top of a stack that holds the pots and sheds water. Cracks in it let water into the stack.