Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in St Giles
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching in St Giles, carried out by an experienced roof surveyor. Every survey comes with a written report and photos.
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Staining on walls around the chimney
Chimney survey in St Giles: what you get
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. On older stacks, we often find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. You get photographs and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. We survey brick chimney stacks, chimney pots and cowls and chimney breasts, and people most often book us about flashings pulling away from the stack and flaunching that has broken away.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces are found right across London, many with Welsh slate roofs, shared chimney stacks and parapet or valley gutters. Good slates can last over a hundred years, yet the nails often give out first and let slates slip. In St Giles, as across London, that is why a roof needs a close look rather than a glance from the street. Shared chimney stacks and the lead around them are just as important to check.
The report works through the roof section by section, from the main slopes down to the gutters and outlets, with a note and a photo for each point. You’ll see the good as well as the bad.
- Where
- St Giles (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
St Giles: your questions answered
Is my home in St Giles listed or in a conservation area?
Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the local council can tell you about conservation areas. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Can parking be tricky for a visit in St Giles?
It rarely stops a survey, but it is worth planning. Let us know the parking rules on your street and we’ll work around them.
What should I do with a chimney I don’t use?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. Capping without airflow can lead to damp. We check how it is capped and its condition, so you can plan what to do with it.
Can you survey a chimney stack we share with next door?
Yes. We check the parts we can see safely and the parts you can give us access to. If a defect seems to be on your neighbour’s side, the report records it, so you can discuss it with them.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
We carry out surveys on any day of the week. To arrange a date, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
How many surveys have you done?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys.
What will the report tell me?
Written findings with photographs, covering the condition of the chimney stack, the defects we found and what we recommend, in order of urgency where relevant. 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.
What we do, step by step
On the day, we begin with a quick chat about the roof and anything that’s worrying you. We then inspect everything that can be seen safely. The survey normally takes about 1–2 hours for a house, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. London terraces rarely offer a view of the whole roof from one spot, so a visit in St Giles moves between viewpoints: the pavement, upstairs windows, the loft and any safe spot at the back. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Tell us who holds the keys.
- You let us know how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
How to prepare
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
- Find any records of previous roof work
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
Arrange a survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To arrange a day that suits you, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Read more
Roof by roof
Chimney pots and cowls
Each pot is bedded into the flaunching, often with a cowl or cap on top. The survey looks for cracked, loose or missing pots and cowls.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Inside, chimney breasts can show damp when water gets into the stack. We check the breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach.
Landlords, agents and block managers in St Giles
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work with less disruption.
If you own several properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To arrange surveys for several addresses, phone 07833 053749 or email us with the addresses.
Honest limits
This is not a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Checks on boilers, fires or their flues
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or email us and we will tell you before you book. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching
What happens if roof problems are left?
A damp chimney breast seldom dries out until the cause is found. It can stain walls and damage plaster. Finding the cause means the right work can be planned. Behind a London parapet, a blocked gutter can sit full of water without anyone seeing it. By the time a ceiling stains, the timbers underneath may have been wet for a while.
All our prices include VAT. Prices start from £150, including VAT. We confirm the price for your roof before booking.
What you get with us
- Drones and thermal imaging where it applies
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Surveys seven days a week
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in St Giles
Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. Behind many of their parapets sit butterfly roofs and valley gutters that can’t be seen from the pavement. Shared chimney stacks, party-wall upstands and lead work come with this kind of house. Whatever the covering, it’s often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. The wider area around St Giles has a long history of building, with Benjamin Franklin House about 0.5 miles south. On older houses around here, roofs often 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.
Shop and office owners around Kingly Court may find that a dated report on the roof is useful for planning and for any lease discussions. Landlords with a home close to Tottenham Court Road station may find that the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
St Giles is about 1 mile east of City of Westminster, in Greater London. We survey roofs in St Giles and the rest of Greater London, as part of our work across London and South East England. St Giles is one of the places in Greater London where we work.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: W1F, W1D and W1T. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane or anywhere close by, we can survey it. You’ll find St Giles on the A301 and A400, so it is easy for us to get to. If you’re just outside St Giles, we cover Seven Dials (1 mile south), West End (1 mile south-west), Soho (1 mile south-west), Covent Garden (1 mile south-east) and Chinatown (1 mile south-west). Further out, we also cover Kensington (3 miles west), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east), Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Ruislip (13 miles west), Stockwell (3 miles south) and Orpington (13 miles south-east).
Landmarks near St Giles
In St Giles, that means homes and buildings near LSE Shaw Library, The Crown pub and Mercers' School. You will also find London Nautical School (1 mile south-east) and St Anne's Churchyard (less than half a mile south-west). St Giles has its own railway station: Tottenham Court Road station. Well-known places in the area include Montfichet's Tower (1.1 miles east) and Kingly Court (0.5 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Barnsbury Wood and Ludgate Hill.
Signs you need a chimney survey in St Giles
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. They can lift in wind, crack with age or pull out of the mortar joints. Failed flashings are one of the most common causes of damp around chimneys. Lead flashings can also be stolen.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Bricks with flaking faces
- A stack that appears to lean
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
If you live in an older home near Soho Baptist Chapel, the nails, lead and mortar on the roof may be wearing out even where the slates or tiles look fine.
What to check before booking
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- Their insurance cover