Kent · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Seal
Chimney surveys in Seal, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. You get a clear report with photographs.
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
Water can get in through cracks and then struggle to dry out. Cracks are photographed and noted.
Lead flashings
Where the chimney meets the roof slopes, lead flashings keep water out. The survey looks at whether the lead is tight, sound and well fixed.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Seal
A chimney stands up above the roof, exposed to wind, rain and frost on every side. Over the years, the flaunching cracks, the pointing wears and flashings lift. That lets water into the brickwork, which can show up as damp on a chimney breast or in the loft space. A survey finds these problems and records them with photos. If you are worried about worn or missing pointing and flaunching that has broken away, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
In a village or hamlet like Seal, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Older roofs may be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, frequently with chimneys that have stood a long time. Each needs checking in its own way, and thatch is a specialist material we report on as far as it can be seen. On older roofs, it is usually the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
The report is yours to share with whoever needs it: your solicitor, the seller, your insurer, a roofer or the building’s managing agent, whichever applies.
- Location
- Seal (TN15)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Seal: your questions answered
How do I find out if my home in Seal is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Is Seal within the area you cover?
We do. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house, with the route planned beforehand.
What happens after the survey?
You will get the report by email. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation, and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation.
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. Everything is written up with photos.
Do I need to be at home?
Not necessarily. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but the loft and any rooms with damp need someone to let us in.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
It depends on its condition and your plans. We record how the stack is doing and whether it’s capped with ventilation. If you’re thinking of removing it, check with the council first in a conservation area or on a listed building.
Do you use drones?
Where it’s applicable and safe, yes. We’re a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID), flying a sub-250g drone. Drone inspection is part of the Drone Roof Survey and the Premium Survey, where applicable.
Chimney surveys around Seal
Across Kent, older roofs are often handmade clay or peg tiles, and tile-hanging on upper walls is a familiar sight. You’ll also find oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses among the county’s older buildings. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Historic houses such as Knole House, about 1.8 miles south, show how far back building in the area around Seal goes. If your house is among the older ones, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof.
The streets around a church like Church of St Peter and St Paul are often among the oldest in a place, and if your home is one of the older ones nearby, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. Landlords with a home close to Bat & Ball station may find that a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let. If you look after a building such as Seal Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Seal is about 2 miles north-east of Sevenoaks, in Kent. Seal is part of the area we cover as part of our work across London and the South East. Our Kent coverage includes Seal and the places around it. Maidstone is in our area too.
Chimney surveys in TN15 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover properties on High Street, Church Road and Jubilee Rise and the roads around them. We also cover the places around Seal: Greatness (1 mile west), Godden Green (1 mile south), Styants Bottom (2 miles east), Stone Street (2 miles south-east) and Bitchet Green (2 miles south-east). Larger places within reach include Maidstone (13 miles east), Dartford (11 miles north), Royal Tunbridge Wells (11 miles south), Gravesend (12 miles north-east), Tonbridge (7 miles south) and Northfleet (11 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in Seal
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Wildernesse School, Kemsing Down and The Five Bells Public House. For rail, the closest station is Bat & Ball station, roughly 1.1 miles west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Sevenoaks Hospital (1.1 miles west) and Sevenoaks Museum (1.7 miles south-west). For a walk, there is Dryhill Nature Reserve.
Checking the roof from ground level
Look up at the roof after a storm, from the ground: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
Keep a simple record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Send it with your enquiry, as it helps us focus the survey.
What else we do in Seal
For landlords and managing agents
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan.
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work.
What a chimney survey does not cover
In fairness, a roof 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 you’re not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and does not.
What we look at
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
What happens on the day
The visit normally starts outside and finishes in the loft: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the roof space where it can be reached. All told, expect about 1–2 hours for a house, and longer for a large or complex roof. Around Seal, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so tell us about the loft hatch and any ladder. Only areas that can be reached safely are inspected.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before we arrive
- Tell us about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- If you’re buying, check with the agent that we can get in
Getting a price
When you are ready to go ahead, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form. We will suggest a package, agree the price and find a date, weekday or weekend.
Advice
Before and after the survey
There is plenty you can do without going near the roof. Here’s what helps most:
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
- Do not use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Check unused flues are capped with ventilation
If anything in the report isn’t clear, just ask us. Standard Surveys come with a follow-up consultation, and Premium Surveys with an in-person one.
Make sure fixings on the stack are sound and taken off if they’re no longer needed. Less load on the stack means less strain in wind.