Kent · London and the South East
Shepway Chimney Survey
A careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Shepway, and put it all in a written report with photos.
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
About our chimney survey in Shepway
Many terraced and semi-detached homes share their chimney stacks with a neighbour. We inspect the parts we can see safely and the parts the owner gives us access to. Where a problem seems to involve a neighbour’s side, the report records it, so you can talk to them. Everything is written up with photos and what we recommend. Common reasons to book are unused flues sealed without airflow and a stack that appears to lean, across chimney breasts, brick chimney stacks and shared and party-wall stacks.
Trees around homes in smaller places like Shepway drop leaves, twigs and moss onto roofs and into gutters. Blocked gutters overflow and soak the walls below, and moss holds water against tiles. It’s the kind of slow problem a roof report picks up early. Plants growing from a gutter or moss on the tiles are signs worth noting from ground level.
You can share the report with anyone who needs it: your solicitor, the seller, your insurer, a roofer or the building’s managing agent, whichever applies.
- Place
- Shepway (ME15)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
For landlords and managing agents
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, including offices, shops and units. Larger roofs take longer, so they’re priced to suit.
Tips that help
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week, before and after a survey:
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. That helps you brief them.
Have worn pointing and cracked flaunching dealt with early. It is far simpler than rebuilding a stack later.
Places near Shepway
More services for Shepway
Local roofs in Shepway
With Stoneacre about 1.4 miles east, Shepway sits in an area with a long building history. If you own one of the older houses, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Across Kent, older roofs are often handmade clay or peg tiles, and tile-hanging on upper walls is a familiar sight. Kent’s older buildings take in oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses as well. Whatever the covering, it is frequently the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
For site and facilities teams at buildings like Greenfields Community Primary School, long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle. If you live in an older home near St Martin's Church, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look.
Shepway is about 1 mile south-east of Maidstone, in Kent. We survey roofs in Shepway across London and South East England. Our Kent coverage includes Shepway and the places around it.
Every address in ME15 is covered for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Derby Road, Devon Road and Surrey Road or a nearby road, we can survey it. Close by, we survey roofs in Willington (1 mile east), Park Wood (1 mile south), Otham (1 mile south-east), Maidstone (1 mile north-west) and Weavering (1 mile north-east). Larger places within reach include Sittingbourne (10 miles north-east), Royal Tunbridge Wells (15 miles south-west), Gravesend (14 miles north-west), Tonbridge (12 miles west), Faversham (15 miles east) and Northfleet (15 miles north-west).
What’s near Shepway
Around Shepway, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Mote Park, The Wheatsheaf pub and Senacre Technology College, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Maidstone West station, roughly 1.7 miles north-west. Well-known places in the area include KIMS hospital (2.2 miles north) and Allington Castle (3.1 miles north-west). Green spaces nearby include Detling Hill.
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
Cracked render can let water in and trap it behind. We record any cracking and where it is.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Inside, chimney breasts can show damp when water gets into the stack. We check the breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach.
What happens on the day
The aim of the visit is simple: to see as much of the chimney stack as can safely be seen and record it clearly. Notes and photos go into the written report. It normally takes between one and two hours at most homes, and longer for a large or complex roof. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to Shepway is booked with the forecast in mind: drone flights and thermal imaging need the right conditions, while a look from the ground and the loft can go ahead in most weather.
- We start by noting which stacks are in use, shared or causing concern.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- We check the flaunching and pots on every stack.
- Any lean, spalling or worn pointing is recorded.
- You receive a written report setting out what needs attention first.
Before we arrive
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
- Leave side gates unlocked
Booking a survey
To arrange a survey, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Related advice
Honest limits
It’s useful to know what a survey will not do before booking:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- Parts of the stack that cannot be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer before booking. What a survey covers and does not.
What we look at
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
What we are asked to look at in Shepway
A stack takes the weather from every direction. Frost works into cracks in the flaunching and pointing, and rain soaks into worn brickwork. People typically call us when they notice damp or a problem with the stack, or before a purchase.
Most people get in touch after spotting something like this:
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- A chimney out of line
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
Living close to Mote Park is pleasant, but mature trees mean leaves in gutters and valleys each autumn, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls.
Questions to ask before you book
- What the report includes, and whether it has photographs
- Is VAT included in the price?
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
Shepway questions
How do I find out if my home in Shepway is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Can a landlord with a rental near Maidstone West station book a roof survey?
Yes, that is a common request. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
What if it rains on the day?
Light rain does not normally stop a survey. High wind or heavy rain can stop drone flights and make roof access unsafe, so if conditions are not right we’ll arrange another day with you.
Should I worry about a leaning stack?
It’s 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.
How long does the survey take?
Time on site depends on the roof, but most surveys take between one and two hours for most houses, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. The report is sent afterwards by email.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
What does a roof survey cost?
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on its size, height, access and the package, and it’s agreed before booking.