Greater London · London and the South East
St John's Wood Chimney Survey
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching in St John's Wood. We have completed more than 5,000 surveys across London and South East England.
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
How a chimney survey works in St John's Wood
Each stack is looked at from the safest viewpoints available: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the roof space where it is safe. With our Premium Survey, a drone inspection is included where it applies. If we can’t see part of the stack, the report makes that clear. Every defect we find is photographed and described in plain words. Common reasons to book are bricks with flaking faces and cracked or missing flaunching, across brick chimney stacks, lead flashings and shared and party-wall stacks.
London has a great many flats in converted houses and purpose-built blocks, so roofs are often shared between several households. Whoever looks after the building needs a clear picture of the roof, chimneys and gutters. A defect on a shared roof can reach more than one flat. A report gives everyone the same picture to plan from, with photos.
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
- St John's Wood (NW8, NW6, NW3)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How the survey changes by roof type
Brick stacks
Many older stacks were built with lime mortar. We note where repairs should match the original mortar.
Chimney pots and cowls
Damaged pots are a safety concern as well as a leak risk. We photograph each pot and note any damage.
What we do, step by step
Every visit follows the same pattern: we hear what you’ve seen, inspect the roof from each safe vantage point, take photographs as we go and record our findings for the written report. Most visits take about 1–2 hours at a typical home, and longer for a large or complex roof. From the street, a London terrace usually shows only its front slope or parapet, so in St John's Wood we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Let us know who holds the keys.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can safely be seen.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, is emailed to you.
How to prepare
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we’re looking at
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
Booking a survey
Most bookings start with a short call: ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form, and we’ll ask about the building and what you need. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
Related advice
Why get it checked now?
Damp in a chimney breast normally gets worse while the cause is left. It can spoil decoration and plaster. Knowing whether it’s the flaunching, flashings, brickwork or ventilation means the right fix can be planned. In a London terrace or conversion, a roof defect rarely stays your problem alone: a blocked parapet gutter or slipped slate can let water into the flat below or the house next door. Dealing with it early is far less disruptive.
Our price is from £150, including VAT. The final price depends on the size and height of the roof, how it can safely be seen and which survey you book.
What you get with us
- An independent look at the roof
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
Checking the roof from the ground
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
You can learn a lot from the ground. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Never climb onto the roof to look.
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple and safe from the ground. A few suggestions:
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Don’t use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
Where another specialist is needed, such as a structural engineer or sweep, we explain why. It gives them a clear starting point.
Unused stacks should be capped in a way that still lets air through. Ventilation helps keep the stack dry.
Chimney surveys around St John's Wood
About 0.6 miles south-east lies Winfield House, a reminder of how long the area around St John's Wood has been built on. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Welsh slate on Victorian and Edwardian terraces is a familiar sight across inner London. A butterfly roof with a central valley gutter, tucked behind a parapet wall, is common on these houses. Lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are typical of these houses, if yours is one of them. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
If you live near a park like Primrose Hill, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls. If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near Church of All Souls, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs.
St John's Wood is about 1 mile south of Hampstead, in Greater London. St John's Wood is one of many places we visit across Greater London, for houses, flats and commercial buildings. Our area takes in places right across Greater London.
We survey roofs across NW8, NW6 and NW3 for chimney surveys and the streets around it. Whether your property is on The Lane, Hall Road and Hill Road or anywhere close by, we can survey it. You’ll find St John's Wood on the A5205, which makes it simple to reach. We also cover the places around St John's Wood: South Hampstead (1 mile north), Swiss Cottage (1 mile north), Primrose Hill (1 mile north-east), Lisson Grove (1 mile south) and Haverstock (1 mile north-east). We also work in nearby towns like London (4 miles south-east), Kensington (3 miles south-west), St Pancras (3 miles east), Shoreditch (4 miles east), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east) and Hoxton (4 miles east).
Around St John's Wood
In St John's Wood, that means homes and buildings near Cecil Sharp House, Primrose Hill and Arnold House School and the streets around them. You will also find Quintin Kynaston Community Academy (under half a mile north-west) and Cafe Med pub (under half a mile north-west). There is a railway station in St John's Wood itself: South Hampstead station. Well-known places in the area include Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth (under half a mile south) and Montfichet's Tower (3.5 miles south-east). Green spaces nearby include The Long Water and Primrose Hill.
What we are asked to look at in St John's Wood
Where a chimney meets the roof, lead flashings keep water out. With age they can lift, split or come away from the joints. Failed flashings are one of the most common causes of damp around chimneys. Lead flashings can also be stolen.
We’re often asked to look at:
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
Anyone responsible for a site like George Eliot Primary School will know that its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- What the survey won’t cover
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
- Is VAT included in the price?
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
Places near St John's Wood
What else we do in St John's Wood
Your questions about chimney surveys in St John's Wood
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near South Hampstead station?
Yes, rented property is part of what we cover. Just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and tell us about the building.
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in St John's Wood?
Typically it’s manageable with a little notice. Let us know what parking is available nearby, and the visit is planned around it.
Will you check the chimney is safe to use with a fire?
No. A flue inspection, sweep or gas safety check is a separate job. We check the structure and weathering of the stack and any damp and flag anything that suggests the flue needs a look.
What do you check on a chimney?
The survey covers the pots and cowls, the flaunching, the pointing, the bricks and the flashings. Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access. Everything is written up with photographs.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
Have it checked rather than leaving it. Stacks can lean when mortar on one side breaks down. We record its condition with photographs, and a structural engineer can assess whether it needs work.
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. Standard adds moisture detection and a structural check; Premium adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable and structural analysis.
What does a roof survey cost?
Our price is from £150, including VAT. Our three packages are Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, inc. VAT.