Kent · London and the South East
South Darenth Chimney Survey
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in South Darenth from an independent roof surveyor. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Signs that a stack is leaning
Chimney survey in South Darenth
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. Moisture trapped inside a stack with no ventilation can also cause damp. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. That points the work in the right direction. If you’ve noticed eroded joints in the brickwork and disused chimneys trapping moisture, we can find out what’s behind it.
Village roofs frequently face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, so ridges, chimney stacks, flashings and gutters work hard. Older walls take a long time to dry once water gets in. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. Lead flashings and old chimney stacks are often where weather gets in first.
The report is yours to share with whoever needs it: a seller or estate agent, an insurer, a roofer, a builder or a managing agent.
- Where
- South Darenth (DA4)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Do you need a chimney survey in South Darenth?
Stacks that were used for open fires for many years can weaken from the inside. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which can make a stack lean.
Signs worth acting on include:
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Cracked or missing flaunching
If you own a rental within reach of Farningham Road station, a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Questions to ask before you book
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
South Darenth: your questions answered
Do you cover smaller places like South Darenth?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We work right across London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when booking.
Is my home in South Darenth listed or in a conservation area?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Do you use drones?
Yes, where it applies and safe. We fly a sub-250g drone and we are a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). Drone inspection is part of the Drone Roof Survey and the Premium Survey, where it applies.
My chimney looks like it is leaning. What should I do?
Do not ignore it. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down. The survey records what we can see, and a structural engineer can confirm whether it’s stable.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. Our report may flag materials that could contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Can you find out why my chimney breast is damp?
Damp on a chimney breast usually means water is getting into the stack, or moisture is trapped inside it. The survey looks at the stack, the flashings and the capping and records the likely cause.
Which parts of the chimney do you look at?
The survey covers the pots and cowls, the flaunching, the pointing, the bricks and the flashings. We also check chimney breasts and the stack in the roof space where we can reach. You get a written report with photos.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
The survey, step by step
On the day, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you’d like to know. After that, we check everything we can see safely, using the ground, windows, the loft and a drone where applicable. The survey normally takes about 1–2 hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Older roofs in small places like South Darenth can have low, tight loft spaces, so tell us about the loft hatch and any ladder. We only go where it is safe.
- 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.
- Every part we can see is checked: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Where there is safe access, we check the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Check we can get to the back of the property
How to book
When you are ready to go ahead, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form. From there it is a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day, weekday or weekend.
Read more
For landlords and managing agents
Landlords and agents in South Darenth book surveys as well as householders. The report gives you a dated record of the chimney stack, with photographs, useful for planning maintenance.
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work around your tenants.
What we look for on each type of roof
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They tend to crack, so we look at them closely.
Chimney pots and cowls
A loose or cracked pot can fall from height. We photograph each pot and note any damage.
Tips that help
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
- Check your stacks from the ground after strong winds
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
You can send the report to roofers or builders for quotes. With the same list in front of each contractor, comparing quotes is simpler.
Have aerial and dish brackets on the stack checked, and moved if they’re working it loose. Less load on the stack means less strain in wind.
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in South Darenth
Many older homes in Kent have handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles held by pegs through two holes, and tile-hanging on their upper walls. The county’s older buildings also include oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses. Whatever the covering, it’s often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. Historic houses such as Lullingstone Castle, about 3.9 miles south-west, show how far back building in the area around South Darenth goes. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
If you live in an older home near The Parish Church of Saint Mary, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs. Anyone responsible for a site like Horton Kirby Church of England Primary School will know that a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
South Darenth is about 3 miles south of Dartford, in Kent. We provide chimney surveys for homes and businesses in South Darenth and nearby. South Darenth is one of the places in Kent we cover. You can also see our page for Maidstone.
Every address in DA4 is within our area for chimney surveys. We cover properties on East Hill, East Lane and New Road and the roads around them. Other places close to South Darenth include St Margarets (1 mile north-east), Sutton at Hone (1 mile north-west), Darenth (1 mile north), Grubb Street (1 mile east) and Green Street Green (1 mile north-east). Larger places within reach include Maidstone (15 miles south-east), Dartford (3 miles north), Sevenoaks (9 miles south), Gravesend (6 miles east), Tonbridge (14 miles south) and Northfleet (5 miles north-east).
What’s near South Darenth
Around South Darenth, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Leigh Academy, Darenth Country Park and The Greyhound pub and the streets around them. South Darenth’s nearest station is Farningham Road station, about 0.6 miles west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Stone Museum of Geology (2.9 miles north) and Eynsford Castle (2.7 miles south-west). Open spaces near South Darenth include Wansunt Pit and Sawyers Lake.