Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Shotover Hill Chimney Survey
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in Shotover Hill. We visit on weekdays and at weekends.
- Worn or missing pointing
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- A stack that appears to lean
FAQs for Shotover Hill
Do you cover smaller places like Shotover Hill?
We do. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one, with the route planned beforehand.
How do I find out if my home in Shotover Hill is listed?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it’s in a conservation area. If a home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We use safe viewpoints rather than climbing onto the stack. Where applicable, our Premium Survey adds a drone inspection for a closer view. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
How do I arrange a chimney survey in Shotover Hill?
It is easiest to ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form. Give us the address and a few details about the roof, and we’ll take it from there. Surveys run seven days a week.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
Have it checked rather than leaving it. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down. The survey records what we can see, and a structural engineer can assess whether it needs work.
Is a chimney survey the same as a flue inspection?
No. We survey the stack and its weathering, not the flue. For the flue, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys, across London and South East England.
How a chimney survey works in Shotover Hill
Many homes have chimneys that are no longer used. A disused stack still needs looking after. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. We check how redundant stacks have been capped and look for damp in the chimney breasts. The report sets out what we found and what we recommend. We survey flaunching, chimney pots and cowls and lead flashings, and common reasons people get in touch are a stack that appears to lean and damp on a chimney breast inside.
Around Shotover Hill, older cottages sit alongside bungalows and newer houses. Coverings range from slate and clay tiles on older homes to concrete tiles on many later ones. Chimneys, valleys and gutters on older homes frequently need the most attention, and the fixings under the coverings matter too. The fixings under an older roof frequently fail before good slates or tiles do.
We keep jargon out of it: where something needs attention, it says so plainly.
- Where
- Shotover Hill (OX3)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Surveys for landlords and agents in Shotover Hill
A roof problem in a let property affects your tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work with less disruption.
Letting agents can arrange access with tenants, at a time agreed beforehand. We survey seven days a week, which helps when tenants work during the week.
What we are asked to look at in Shotover Hill
Years of fires can affect the mortar inside a stack. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which is one reason stacks start to lean.
Common reasons to book include:
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Flaunching that has broken away
Living close to Stansfeld Park is pleasant, but mature trees mean leaves in gutters and valleys each autumn.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Are they insured for the work?
- What they will not be able to tell you
- What happens after the report arrives
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
What affects the price in Shotover Hill
What a survey costs depends on the time and equipment it needs. The main factors are:
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
- The use of thermal imaging or a drone
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on how big and how high the roof is, access and which survey you book.
Getting in touch
We will normally ask about:
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- The type of building and roof, like pitched or flat
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
When you are ready to go ahead, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email. From there it is a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day.
Towns and villages near Shotover Hill
What else we do in Shotover Hill
Honest limits
Before booking, it is worth knowing what a survey will not do:
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
If you are not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will give you a straight answer. The full list of what we check.
What we check
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
What happens if roof problems are left?
If you’re thinking of removing or reducing a stack, it is useful to know its condition first. Changes to stacks in conservation areas or on listed buildings may need consent and the council can advise. In an older home around Shotover Hill, water from a roof defect can get into timber and plaster, and that is a much bigger job than the original defect.
We offer three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, with VAT included. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Why book us in Shotover Hill
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Prices that include VAT
Read our cost guide or two real surveys.
How the survey works
We photograph the roof as we go, so the report shows exactly what we saw. We take close-ups from wherever is safe, including by drone where it is applicable and the weather allows. Most surveys take an hour or two at most homes, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to Shotover Hill is booked with the forecast in mind: the parts that need calm, dry weather are planned around it.
- 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.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Where there is safe access, we look at the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- You get a report with photographs and our recommendations.
Getting ready for the survey
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Find any records of previous roof work
Arrange a survey
We confirm the price for your survey before booking, so you know the cost up front. Our price is from £150, including VAT. For a price for your roof, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Advice
Shotover Hill homes and their roofs
Older buildings in west Oxfordshire often have Cotswold stone slate roofs, and some Oxfordshire villages still have thatch. In this part of the South East, older roofs are mostly slate or clay tile and many newer ones concrete tile. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Historic houses such as Holywell Manor, about 2.4 miles west, show how far back building in the area around Shotover Hill goes. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead.
For landlords with property near Oxford station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let. If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for example near Templars Square, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies.
Shotover Hill is about 2 miles east of Oxford, in Oxfordshire. We visit Shotover Hill as part of our work across Oxfordshire, for houses, flats and commercial buildings. We cover towns and villages across Oxfordshire, large and small.
We cover every part of the OX3 postcode area for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Local streets include Old Road, Mark Road and York Road, all of which we cover. Other places close to Shotover Hill include Risinghurst (1 mile north), Barton (1 mile north), Horspath (1 mile south-east), Littleworth (2 miles east) and Forest Hill (2 miles north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Didcot (10 miles south), Bicester (10 miles north), Abingdon-on-Thames (6 miles south-west), Witney (13 miles west), Thame (9 miles east) and Wantage (15 miles south-west).
Near you in Shotover Hill
We work in homes and buildings around Cheney School, Headington Quarry Foundation Stage School and Crown & Thistle pub, among other places. You will also find St Francis Church (0.7 miles south-west) and Stansfeld Park (less than half a mile north-west). The nearest railway station is Oxford station, roughly 3.3 miles west. Nearby you will also find Rumble Museum (1.2 miles west) and Templars Square (1.7 miles south-west). Green spaces nearby include Shotover and CS Lewis Nature Reserve.