Essex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Stanford Rivers
Chimney surveys in Stanford Rivers, with over 20 years’ experience behind it. You get a clear report with photos.
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
Chimney survey in Stanford Rivers
Each stack is looked at from the safest viewpoints available: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the loft 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. Each defect is recorded with a photo and a plain description. Common reasons to book are gaps where the stack meets the roof and flaunching that has broken away, across lead flashings, brick chimney stacks and chimney pots and cowls.
Some older homes in villages like Stanford Rivers are listed or in a conservation area. If yours is, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so the council is the place to check. A roof report helps you plan work with that in mind. Where a building is listed, matching the existing roof materials is frequently expected.
We write the report in plain English, so you don’t need to be a roofer to follow it. Photos show what each point refers to.
- Where
- Stanford Rivers (CM5)
- Region
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
The survey, step by step
The visit has one job: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. The visit 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 Stanford Rivers can have low, tight loft spaces, so it’s useful to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it is safe.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can be seen safely.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- 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.
Preparing for the visit
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it’s shared
Getting a price
If you’re buying, it helps to book soon after your offer is accepted, so there’s time to use the report before exchange. Otherwise, simply phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form whenever suits you.
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Signs you need a chimney survey in Stanford Rivers
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.
Look out for signs like these:
- A stack that appears to lean
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
For site and facilities teams at buildings like Chipping Ongar Primary School, large buildings have long gutter runs and big roofs that need checking like any other.
Questions to ask before booking
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- Are they insured for the work?
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
What a survey costs
To price your survey, we check:
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- How many separate roofs there are, like extensions, dormers and garages
- The height of the building and how the roof can safely be seen
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
A Basic Survey starts from £150, with VAT included. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400, both with VAT included. We confirm the price for the job before you book.
Helping us price your survey
We will normally ask about:
- The property’s address and postcode
- What’s prompted the survey
- Any photos you have, taken from ground level or a window
- What kind of property and roof it is
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Pictures from ground level or a window are fine, and please don’t climb up for a closer look. To send them or to book, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
What you can safely check yourself
Keep a simple record: dates of leaks, photos from the ground and any work done on the roof. Send it with your enquiry and it will help the survey.
A DIY look is useful, but it isn’t a survey. From the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Places near Stanford Rivers
What else we do in Stanford Rivers
Before and after the survey
Getting the most from a chimney survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Some tips:
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Find out whether changes to a stack need permission
You get the report by email and can pass it to whoever does the work. We use plain English and a photo for each defect so anyone reading it can see what we saw.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Local roofs in Stanford Rivers
Weatherboarded walls and clay tile roofs are typical of older Essex buildings, while many towns grew with post-war and newer estates. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. With Hill Hall about 3 miles west, Stanford Rivers sits in an area with a long building history. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
If your house is among the older ones in the streets near Church of St Margaret of Antioch, its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first.
Stanford Rivers is about 6 miles north-west of Brentwood, in Essex. Houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings in Stanford Rivers can all book chimney surveys. Our area takes in places right across Essex. You can also see our page for Chelmsford.
All of CM5 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We cover properties on Mutton Row and School Road and the roads around them. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include Little End (1 mile south-east), Hare Street (1 mile south), Clatterford End (1 mile north-west), Marden Ash (1 mile north-east) and Navestock Heath (2 miles south). Within a short drive, we also cover Chelmsford (12 miles east), Basildon (13 miles south-east), Harlow (7 miles north-west), Brentwood (6 miles south-east), Billericay (10 miles south-east) and Loughton (7 miles south-west).
What’s near Stanford Rivers
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Woodman Public House and The Ongar Academy. Other landmarks nearby include St. Margaret's Hospital (4.2 miles west). For a walk, there is Gernon Bushes.
What we look for on each type of roof
Rendered stacks
Water can get in through cracks and then struggle to dry out. We record any cracking and where it is.
Lead flashings
Mortar fillets are sometimes used where lead would usually be. They tend to crack, so we look at them closely.
Your questions about chimney surveys in Stanford Rivers
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Stanford Rivers?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you’re planning to re-roof in a different material.
Is Stanford Rivers within the area you cover?
Yes, Stanford Rivers is covered. Our area covers London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. The journey is planned ahead, so it’s useful to know about access.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime, which suits people who work during the week. Let us know your preferred days when you book.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. Our survey is a roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey of the whole building. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
My chimney looks like it is leaning. What should I do?
A leaning stack should be looked at. We record the lean, the brickwork and the pointing, and recommend a structural engineer where it may be a structural concern.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Our surveys are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance. If you need details for a managing agent or a building owner, just ask.
Does someone need to be in?
Not necessarily. If we only need the outside, we can agree that in advance, but the loft and any rooms with damp need someone to let us in.