Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Soho, Greater London
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Soho. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Signs that a stack is leaning
Roof by roof
Rendered stacks
A rendered stack can mask problems in the bricks below. We look for cracks, hollow areas and staining.
Flaunching
Flaunching is the mortar on top of a stack that holds the pots and sheds water. Cracks in it let water into the stack.
About our chimney survey in Soho
Redundant chimneys are common, especially where fires have been replaced by central heating. Even when it isn’t used, a stack has to stay weathertight. If it has been capped without ventilation, damp can build up inside it. Our survey looks at how each unused stack has been capped and checks the breasts for damp. You get photos of each stack and our recommendations. If you’ve noticed mortar washing out of the joints and damaged chimney pots and cowls, we can find out what’s behind it, whatever the roof.
London has Victorian and Edwardian terraces in almost every borough, often with slate roofs, chimney stacks shared with neighbours and gutters hidden behind parapets. Good slates can last over a hundred years, yet the nails frequently give out first and let slates slip. Homes in Soho are no exception. Shared chimney stacks and the lead around them are just as important to check.
After the visit, you get a written report with photos, sent by email. It sets out the condition of the chimney stack, any defects and our written recommendations.
- Location
- Soho (W1F, W1T, W1D)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Also in Soho
What we cannot see
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Areas we can’t view from safe positions
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will tell you. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Soho
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
Why act early in Soho
If a stack seems to lean, don’t leave it. Our survey records it and says when a structural engineer should look at it, so you know where you stand. A hidden valley or parapet gutter on a London house can hold water for weeks before anyone notices. By the time a ceiling stains, the timbers underneath may have been wet for a while.
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so they’re priced to match. You’ll know the figure before booking.
What you get with us
- 5,000+ surveys completed
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- Every finding written up with photos
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and our case studies.
Soho questions
How do I find out if my home in Soho is listed?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
I let a flat near Tottenham Court Road 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.
Do you inspect the flue?
No. It isn’t 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.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Our cover is professional indemnity plus public liability.
Do you inspect shared chimneys?
Yes. Shared stacks are common on terraced and semi-detached houses. We survey what we can see safely, and note anything that seems to involve next door.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
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.
When does the report arrive?
The Premium Survey report comes the same day, the Standard within 24–48 hours and the Basic within 48 hours. Each one is emailed, ready to forward.
Chimney surveys in Soho: local notes
With Benjamin Franklin House about 0.5 miles south-east, Soho sits in an area with a long building history. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years. Welsh slate on Victorian and Edwardian terraces is a familiar sight across inner London. Many have butterfly roofs draining to a central valley gutter, with parapet walls and gutters hidden behind them. If your home in Soho is one of them, lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are part of the picture too. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Take an older house close to St Anne's Church: old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs. For landlords with property near Tottenham Court Road station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant. If you look after a building like Soho Parish CofE Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Soho is about 1 mile east of City of Westminster, in Greater London. Houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings in Soho can all book chimney surveys. Soho is one of the places in Greater London we cover.
All of W1F, W1T and W1D is covered for chimney surveys. That includes homes and businesses on Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane and the roads around them. Soho is on the A4 and A301, which makes it straightforward to reach. Other places close to Soho include West End (1 mile east), Chinatown (1 mile south), Seven Dials (1 mile east), St Giles (1 mile north-east) and St James's (1 mile south). Larger places within reach include Kensington (3 miles west), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east), Whitechapel (3 miles east), Hampstead (3 miles north-west), Ruislip (13 miles west) and Stockwell (3 miles south).
Around Soho
We work in homes and buildings around Bar Soho, St Anne's Churchyard and Harris Westminster Sixth Form and the streets around them. You’ll also find LITE Regal International School (0.6 miles west) and London Library (0.5 miles south-west). There is a railway station in Soho itself: Tottenham Court Road station. Well-known places in the area include Kingly Court (under half a mile west) and Montfichet's Tower (1.3 miles east). The countryside around Soho includes St. James's Park Lake and Ludgate Hill.
The survey, step by step
On the day, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you want to find out. We then inspect everything that can be seen safely. Most surveys take about 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. For a visit in Soho, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about parking, the floor the property is on, any shared entrance and loft access. On the day, the roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from inside the loft space and from the roof where it is safe.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
Arrange a survey
Getting a price is simple: just call 07833 053749 or use the contact form, let us know about the property and we’ll explain which survey suits. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
If you own several properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with the building owner or managing agent. Mention it when you contact us and we’ll plan the survey around it.
Checking the roof from ground level
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery, and falls from height are serious. That is where a survey comes in, using safe viewpoints and a drone where it applies.