Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in St Margarets, Greater London
Chimney surveys in St Margarets and the rest of Greater London. Surveys run on any day of the week.
- Mortar washing out of the joints
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- A chimney out of line
How a chimney survey works in St Margarets
Our survey covers the structure of the stack and its weathering details. It is not a flue inspection, a sweep or a gas safety check. For the flue itself, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas appliances, a Gas Safe registered engineer. If something we see points to the flue, we’ll say so. We survey brick chimney stacks, chimney breasts and shared and party-wall stacks, and the problems we are asked to look at most are spalled or crumbling bricks and redundant stacks capped without ventilation.
London has Victorian and Edwardian terraces in almost every borough, many with Welsh slate roofs, shared chimney stacks and parapet or valley gutters. Slates can last a century or more, but the nails holding them corrode, and slates slip. In St Margarets, as across London, that’s why a roof needs a proper look rather than a glance from the street. Lead flashings and shared chimney stacks on these houses need a proper look too.
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. It records what’s sound as well as what isn’t.
- Place
- St Margarets (TW1, TW7, TW9)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Leave it or get it looked at?
A loose pot or brick can fall from height. A survey picks them out so they can be made safe by a roofer. Blocked gutters and hoppers on London houses overflow and soak brickwork. A blocked outlet ignored for a winter or two can mean damp walls inside.
Prices start from £150, inc. VAT, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both inc. VAT. You will know the exact price before booking.
Why us?
- An independent look at the roof
- PI and public liability insurance
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and what we found on two real jobs.
St Margarets homes and their roofs
Richmond House, about 1 mile south, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around St Margarets. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Outer London has plenty of Victorian and Edwardian terraces with slate roofs, but also a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles. If your home in St Margarets is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. Whatever the covering, it’s often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first.
Homes near green spaces such as Richmond Green can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and an overflowing gutter soon means a wet wall. St Margarets is in London, so parking needs planning: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space as you book. If you let a flat or house near St Margarets (London) station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints.
St Margarets is about 1 mile north-east of Twickenham, in Greater London. Wherever you are in St Margarets, we can carry out chimney surveys at your property. St Margarets is one of the towns and villages in Greater London we cover for chimney surveys. We also survey roofs in London.
Every address in TW1, TW7 and TW9 is covered for chimney surveys. We offer chimney surveys to properties on Eve Road, Park Road and Crown Road. You will find St Margarets on the A316 and A3004, which makes it simple to reach. If you are just outside St Margarets, we cover Isleworth (1 mile north-west), Richmond (1 mile east), Ivybridge (1 mile west), Eel Pie Island (1 mile south) and Twickenham (1 mile south-west). Within a short drive, we also cover London (10 miles east), City of Westminster (8 miles north-east), Marylebone (8 miles north-east), Kensington (6 miles north-east), St Pancras (10 miles north-east) and Shoreditch (11 miles north-east).
Around St Margarets
We work in homes and buildings around Richmond Green, Orleans Park School and The Turks Head pub, among other places. There is a railway station in St Margarets itself: St Margarets (London) station. A little further out are South Middlesex Hospital (0.8 miles west) and Eel Pie Island Museum (0.8 miles south). Not far away are Richmond Hill and Ham Lands.
What a chimney survey doesn’t cover
This isn’t a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
If you are not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and does not.
What this survey covers
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
Before and after the survey
Here are a few things we’d tell any owner:
- Don’t use a ladder to reach the stack yourself
- Look at the chimneys with binoculars after a storm
- Check fixings on the stack are secure
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
If the stack is shared, you can pass the report to your neighbour. The photos show the problem and which side it is on from the viewpoints we used.
Check fixings on the stack are sound, and moved if they’re working it loose. Less load on the stack means less strain in wind.
Roof by roof
Brick stacks
Older brick stacks often have soft lime mortar. We note where repairs should match the original mortar.
Rendered stacks
Some stacks are rendered, which can hide the condition of the brickwork beneath. The survey checks for cracking, bulging and staining in the render.
Common questions in St Margarets
I let a flat near St Margarets (London) station. Can you check the roof?
Of course. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Can parking be tricky for a visit in St Margarets?
Typically it’s manageable with a little notice. Let us know the parking rules on your street and we’ll work around them.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not always. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. Our survey looks at the roof, not the whole building. If you need a full building survey, you will need a RICS survey as well.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it is applicable and safe, yes. We fly a sub-250g drone and we’re a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). It is included in the Drone Roof Survey and, where applicable, the Premium Survey.
Will you check the loft?
Where it is relevant to the survey and there is safe access, yes. Please clear anything stored under the hatch.
Does the weather affect the survey?
Some surveys depend on the weather more than others. Drone flights need calm, dry weather, and thermal imaging works best with a dry roof, little wind and a sunny day beforehand. If the conditions aren’t right, we will talk to you about another date.
For landlords and managing agents
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you contact us and we will plan the survey around it.
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in. Surveys run on any day of the week, which helps when tenants work during the week.
What happens on the day
We don’t take risks to get a closer look. Everything that can safely be seen is inspected, and anything we can’t see is noted in the report. Most visits take between one and two hours for most houses; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. London terraces rarely offer a view of the whole roof from one spot, so in St Margarets we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. If other people live in the building, let us know who can let us into the shared parts.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- Where there’s safe access, we check the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- You get a photo-illustrated written report and our recommendations.
Getting ready for the survey
- If it is not your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
Booking a survey
You can call us seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays. For a price or to book, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.