Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Seven Dials, Greater London
Independent chimney surveys in Seven Dials. We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys across London and the South East.
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- A chimney out of line
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
How a chimney survey works in Seven Dials
Damp on a chimney breast can have several causes. Water may be getting in at the top through cracked flaunching or an uncapped pot, through the brickwork, or at the flashings. Condensation inside an unventilated stack is another common cause. We look at each possibility and record what we find. That points the work in the right direction. We are frequently asked to look into frost-damaged brickwork on the stack and gaps where the stack meets the roof, across chimney pots and cowls, brick chimney stacks and chimney breasts.
Much of London’s housing is flats, in converted houses or purpose-built blocks, where the roof is usually a shared part of the building. Landlords, managing agents and residents’ companies need to know what condition it’s in and what work is coming up. A defect on a shared roof can reach more than one flat. A report gives everyone the same picture to plan from, with photos.
We keep jargon out of it: where something needs attention, it says so plainly.
- Place
- Seven Dials (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Region
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about chimney surveys in Seven Dials
How do I find out if my home in Seven Dials is listed?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Tottenham Court Road station?
Of course. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
Is a chimney survey the same as a flue inspection?
No. It is not a flue, sweep or gas safety inspection. We check the stack, pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings, and damp inside, and we will say if anything suggests the flue needs checking.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We look from the ground, from windows and from the loft where it’s safe. Where it applies, our Premium Survey adds a drone inspection for a closer view. Any area we couldn’t view is noted.
My chimney looks like it’s leaning. What should I do?
It is worth having a leaning stack checked. Our survey notes how it looks and the condition of the bricks and joints, and if it may be a structural issue, we recommend a structural engineer.
Do you need to get into the loft?
If the survey needs it and the loft space can be reached safely, yes. A clear path to the hatch helps.
What if it rains on the day?
Light rain is normally fine; heavy rain and wind are different. In high wind or heavy rain, a drone can’t fly and access may not be safe, and we’d agree another day.
What affects the price in Seven Dials
Survey packages start from £150, inc. VAT. The price for your roof depends on:
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- Whether it’s a home or a commercial building
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
There are three survey packages: the Basic Survey from £150, the Standard Survey from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, all including VAT. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
What to tell us when you get in touch
These details help when you contact us:
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- The reason for the survey, like buying, a leak or storm damage
- The address and postcode of the property
- The kind of building and roof involved
Not sure which survey you need? It is easiest to phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We’ll explain the options and the price.
Also near Seven Dials
More services for Seven Dials
Signs you need a chimney survey in Seven Dials
A stack takes the weather from every direction. Frost opens up cracks in the mortar, and rain gets into worn bricks and joints. Most people book after spotting damp or a loose pot, or before buying.
It is worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Worn or missing pointing
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
- A stack that appears to lean
Take a building like St Josephs Catholic Primary School: long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- Whether they hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Which limits apply to the survey
- Whether the price includes VAT
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
How the survey changes by roof type
Flaunching
Sitting at the very top, flaunching is fully exposed. We look for cracks, gaps around the pots and missing pieces.
Brick stacks
Spalled bricks, where the face has flaked off, are a sign of water and frost. We record any we can see.
What a chimney survey does not cover
Before you book, it’s worth knowing what a survey will not do:
- Areas we can’t view from safe positions
- Hidden damage within the stack
- Whether the flue is safe to use
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will suggest the right survey before booking. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. The report is emailed, so it can go straight to your client, photos included.
With a portfolio of properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or email us.
The survey, step by step
When we arrive, we begin with a quick chat about the roof and anything that’s worrying you. After that, we look at everything we can see safely. Most surveys take an hour or two at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. London terraces rarely offer a view of the whole roof from one spot, so in Seven Dials we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. If other people live in the building, tell us who can let us into the shared parts.
- You let us know whether any stacks are shared, unused or leaning.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- The top of each stack is checked for cracked flaunching and loose pots.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Before we arrive
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
Book a survey
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the details.
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Chimney surveys around Seven Dials
The wider area around Seven Dials has a long history of building, with Benjamin Franklin House about 0.4 miles south. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years. Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. Behind many of their parapets sit butterfly roofs and valley gutters that cannot be seen from the pavement. In a house like that, shared stacks, party-wall upstands and lead flashings all need looking at as far as they can be seen. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
If you run a business near Kingly Court, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies. If you let a flat or house near Tottenham Court Road station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Seven Dials is about 1 mile east of City of Westminster, in Greater London. We cover Seven Dials and the rest of Greater London. Seven Dials is one of the towns and villages in Greater London we cover for chimney surveys.
Chimney surveys in W1F, W1D and W1T work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether your property is on Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Seven Dials sits on or near the A301 and A400. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in St Giles (1 mile north), West End (1 mile west), Soho (1 mile west), Covent Garden (1 mile east) and Chinatown (1 mile south-west). Further out, we also cover Kensington (3 miles west), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east), Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Ruislip (13 miles west), Stockwell (3 miles south) and Orpington (13 miles south-east).
Around Seven Dials
In Seven Dials, that means homes and buildings near London Nautical School, St Anne's Churchyard and LSE Shaw Library and the streets around them. Nearby too are Two Brewers pub (less than half a mile south-west) and Mercers' School (0.8 miles east). There is a railway station in Seven Dials itself: Tottenham Court Road station. Well-known places in the area include Kingly Court (0.5 miles west) and St Paul's Hospital (within half a mile north-east). For a walk, there is Barnsbury Wood and Ludgate Hill.