Essex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Smith's Green
Chimney surveys around Smith's Green, with a written report you can act on. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Worn or missing pointing
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Smith's Green
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. On older stacks, we frequently find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. If you are worried about damp patches on chimney breasts and pots or cowls that look unsafe, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on chimney pots and cowls, brick chimney stacks and flaunching alike.
Older buildings in small places like Smith's Green may be listed or in a conservation area. If yours is, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so the council is the place to check. Knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan ahead with that in mind. Older materials such as clay tiles, slate and stone are often matched when work is done.
We write the report in plain English, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Each point is backed by a photograph where possible, with the urgent items made clear.
- Location
- Smith's Green (CM6, CM22)
- Region
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Why act early in Smith's Green
Before deciding what to do with a redundant stack, a survey shows how it is doing. Changes to stacks in conservation areas or on listed buildings may need consent, so check with them first. Older cottages and farmhouses around Smith's Green can have roof timbers that have been there a very long time, and water through a failed covering can rot timber if it is left.
There are three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on its size, access and what you need to know.
Why book us in Smith's Green
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- 5,000+ roofs surveyed
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- Over 20 years’ experience
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and our case studies.
What a survey costs
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- The shape of the roof and its details
- Height and safe access
Every price we give includes VAT. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. You’ll know the exact price before you book.
Getting in touch
These details help when you contact us:
- When you need the report by
- The type of building and roof, like pitched or flat
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or email us and tell us the address and what’s prompted the survey. You will know the price before anything is booked.
How the survey works
Every roof is different, but as a rough guide the survey takes about one to two hours for a house, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. If you have questions on the day, just ask. For a village or hamlet like Smith's Green, the journey is planned beforehand: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. On the day, we inspect whatever is safely visible, inside and out.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- We look at every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Getting ready for the survey
- Check pets are kept safely away
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Leave side gates unlocked
How to book
Once you know what you need, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day, weekday or weekend.
Related advice
Local roofs in Smith's Green
Weatherboarded walls and clay tile roofs are typical of older Essex buildings, and a good many post-war and modern estates besides. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. The wider area around Smith's Green has a long history of building, with Barrington Hall about 2.6 miles south-west. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
Take an older house close to Church of the Holy Trinity: the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine. If you let a flat or house near Stansted Airport station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Smith's Green is about 5 miles east of Bishop's Stortford, in Essex. Smith's Green gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a proper look at everything that’s safely in view, photos and a clear written report. We cover towns and villages across Essex, from the larger towns to small villages. Chelmsford is in our area too.
Every address in CM6 and CM22 is covered for chimney surveys. Streets in the area include Broadfield Road, The Oaks and Fleming Road, all of which we cover. Nearby, we also carry out chimney surveys in Little Canfield (1 mile east), Hope End Green (1 mile south), Takeley (1 mile west), Puttock's End (1 mile south) and Takeley Street (1 mile west). Larger places within reach include Chelmsford (13 miles south-east), Braintree (12 miles east), Harlow (10 miles south-west), Saffron Walden (11 miles north), Great Dunmow (3 miles east) and Epping (14 miles south-west).
Near you in Smith's Green
We work in homes and buildings around Lion And Lamb Public House and the streets around them. The closest station to Smith's Green is Stansted Airport station, about 1.6 miles north-west of the centre. A little further out are Little Easton Moat (2.6 miles north-east) and Herts and Essex Hospital (4.4 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Portingbury Hills and Aubrey Buxton Nature Reserve.
What you can safely check yourself
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.
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
For landlords and managing agents
Shared roofs need a little more planning: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Tell us about it when booking and we’ll plan the visit with that in mind.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords. Larger roofs take longer, and they’re priced for the size.
Smith's Green questions
I let a flat near Stansted Airport station. Can you check the roof?
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 my home in Smith's Green listed or in a conservation area?
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.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Yes, where applicable and safe. We fly a sub-250g drone and we’re a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). It is included in the Drone Roof Survey and, where applicable, the Premium Survey.
Can you give me structural calculations?
No. We are roof surveyors, not structural engineers. If we see signs that need an engineer’s opinion, we’ll recommend one.
Why is my chimney breast damp?
It can come from several places: water getting in at the top, through the brickwork or at the flashings, or moisture trapped in a stack with no ventilation. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause.
What’s in the survey report?
Written findings with photos, explaining the condition of the chimney stack, any defects and our recommendations. The Standard Survey adds moisture detection and a structural check, and the Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable and structural analysis.
Will you walk on the roof?
Only if it is safe. We look at everything that can be seen safely: from ground level, from windows and vantage points, from the loft space, from the roof itself where safe and by drone where it applies. Anything we can’t see is noted in the report.
When to book a survey in Smith's Green
Removing a chimney breast inside can leave questions about how the stack is supported. We note what’s visible in the loft space and outside, and recommend a structural engineer where support is in question.
Problems we come across often include:
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
Take a building like Takeley Primary School: a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
What to check before booking
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- Is VAT included in the price?
- What they will not be able to tell you
- Whether you get a written report with photos