East Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in South Street, East Sussex
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you spend money on it. Chimney surveys in South Street, with photos and a clear written report.
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
How a chimney survey works in South Street
A damp patch on a chimney breast doesn’t always come from the same place. Water may be getting in at the top through cracked flaunching or an uncapped pot, through the brickwork, or at the flashings. Condensation inside an unventilated stack is another common cause. We check each possibility and record what we find. You then know where to start. We survey chimney breasts, lead flashings and flaunching, and the problems we are asked to look at most are gaps in the mortar around the pots and mortar washing out of the joints.
In a small place like South Street, many roofs stand in the open, which is hard on ridges, chimneys, flashings and gutters. Damp in old walls is slow to dry, so a small leak can do a lot of harm. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
The report records the chimney stack as we found it on the day. It is useful right away, and a good reference for later, such as when you want to compare after future work.
- Where
- South Street (BN8)
- Wider area
- East Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from South Street
How do I find out if my home in South Street is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it is worth checking before planning any.
Do you cover smaller places like South Street?
Yes, we do. We cover the whole of London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Do you take photos of the roof?
Yes, plenty. Pictures sit next to the findings they show.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
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.
What’s in the report?
Written findings with photographs, explaining the condition of the chimney stack, any defects and our recommendations, by urgency where it matters. The Standard Survey adds moisture detection and a structural check, and the Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies and structural analysis.
Does the weather affect the survey?
Some surveys depend on the weather more than others. Drones cannot fly safely in strong wind or heavy rain, and thermal imaging works best with a dry roof, little wind and a sunny day beforehand. If the conditions are not right, we’ll talk to you about another date.
How can you see the top of the stack?
We look from the ground, from windows and from the loft where it is safe. A drone inspection is part of the Premium Survey where applicable. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
What we can’t see
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Hidden damage within the stack
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will recommend the right survey. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
Before and after the survey
Some practical points come up on survey after survey. They apply to most roofs:
- Photograph damp patches with the date
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
If the stack is shared, you can pass the report to your neighbour. The photos show the problem and which side it’s on from the viewpoints we used.
Unused stacks should be capped in a way that still lets air through. That helps stop damp building up inside.
Different roofs, different checks
Brick stacks
Spalled bricks, where the face has flaked off, are a sign of water and frost. We record any we can see.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Damp patches on chimney breasts often point to a problem above. We check the breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach.
What happens on the day
There is not much for you to do on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we will take it from there. The survey itself takes about 1–2 hours for most houses, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. In a small place like South Street, access is normally the main thing to plan. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- 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.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach them.
- We send a written report with photos, the defects found and what we recommend.
Getting ready for the survey
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Getting a price
To arrange a survey, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and tell us the address and what’s prompted the survey. We’ll confirm the price before you book.
Advice
Why act early in South Street
If you’re buying, find out about the stacks before you exchange. Once you’ve exchanged, the work is down to you. A report gives you something specific to put to the seller. In a small place like South Street, homes can be exposed to wind and rain, which finds any gap, and older walls, once damp, take a long time to dry.
Our price is from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, with VAT included, and we can help you choose.
Why book with us
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- An independent look at the roof
- 98% customer satisfaction
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and two real surveys.
South Street homes and their roofs
There are about 500,000 buildings on England’s list of listed buildings, and around 10,000 conservation areas. If your 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, so check with the council. Handmade clay tiles and tile-hung upper walls are typical of older Sussex houses. A few old Sussex buildings still carry heavy Horsham stone slabs, and the county’s older buildings include oast houses and Wealden hall houses. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
If you live in an older home near The Parish Church of St Peter, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. Anyone responsible for a site like Chailey School will know that a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
South Street is about 5 miles east of Burgess Hill, in East Sussex. If you’re in South Street, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: a call or an email, a price, then a date. We cover towns and villages across East Sussex, from the larger towns to small villages. For surveys nearby, see our Brighton page.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: BN8. Whether your property is on Green Lane, Markstakes Corner and St James Walk or a nearby road, we can survey it. If you’re just outside South Street, we cover South Chailey (1 mile south), Chailey (1 mile north-east), North Chailey (2 miles north), Chiltington (2 miles south) and Plumpton Green (2 miles south-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Seaford (13 miles south-east), Lewes (5 miles south), Hailsham (13 miles south-east), Crowborough (11 miles north-east), Uckfield (5 miles east) and Newhaven (11 miles south).
Landmarks near South Street
Around South Street, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Five Bells Inn and Chailey St Peter's Church of England Primary School. South Street’s nearest station is Plumpton station, about 2.2 miles south-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Princess Royal Hospital (4.3 miles north-west). Not far away are Blackcap and Malling Down.
Do you need a chimney survey in South Street?
Lots of homes have redundant stacks. A stack sealed without ventilation can trap damp. Damp patches can appear on chimney breasts even when nothing is leaking.
Problems we come across often include:
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Lifted or split lead flashings
If you own a rental within reach of Plumpton station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Before you book anyone
- Their track record with similar roofs
- What they won’t be able to tell you
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely