Essex · London and the South East
Stebbing Chimney Survey
Chimney surveys across Stebbing, with over 20 years’ experience behind it. You get a clear report with photographs.
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
Chimney surveys in Stebbing: local notes
What can be done to an older roof may depend on listing or a conservation area. Your council and Historic England’s list will tell you where you stand, before anyone quotes for re-roofing. Older buildings in Essex often have clay tiles and weatherboarding, and plenty of post-war and modern estates besides. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
For an older house near a landmark such as United Reformed Church, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. If you look after a building like Stebbing Primary School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Stebbing is about 6 miles west of Braintree, in Essex. We cover Stebbing and the rest of Essex. Stebbing is one of the towns and villages in Essex where we work. For surveys nearby, see our Chelmsford page.
Every address in CM6 is covered for chimney surveys. That includes homes and businesses on High Street, Ploughmans Way and Mount Fields. We also cover the places around Stebbing: Brookstreet (2 miles south), Little Dunmow (2 miles south), Blake End (3 miles south-east), Felsted (3 miles south) and Watch House Green (3 miles south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Chelmsford (11 miles south), Braintree (6 miles east), Harlow (15 miles south-west), Witham (12 miles south-east), Saffron Walden (11 miles north-west) and Halstead (10 miles east).
What’s near Stebbing
Around Stebbing, our work takes us to homes and buildings near White Hart pub and Putteridge High School and the streets around them. Nearby you’ll also find Little Easton Moat (3.5 miles west) and Braintree Community Hospital (5.5 miles east).
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Stebbing
A chimney stands up above the roof, exposed to wind, rain and frost on every side. Over the years, the flaunching cracks, the pointing wears and flashings lift. Water then gets into the stack and can show as damp on a chimney breast or a stain in the loft. A survey finds these problems and records them with photos. Common reasons to book are gaps where the stack meets the roof and worn or missing pointing, on lead flashings, flaunching and brick chimney stacks.
Village roofs often face open fields and take the full force of wind and rain, so ridges, chimney stacks, flashings and gutters work hard. Damp in old walls is slow to dry, so a small leak can do a lot of harm. A roof report shows what needs attention first. On exposed older roofs, chimneys and lead flashings are often the first to give way.
Most points in the report come with a picture, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Where
- Stebbing (CM6)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How the survey changes by roof type
Brick stacks
Frost can damage bricks that have soaked up water, making the faces flake away. Any spalling is noted with photos.
Flaunching
Cracked flaunching is one of the most common chimney defects we record. It’s normally a modest repair when it’s caught early.
Practical tips
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
With a shared stack, the report can help when talking to next door. It shows what we found and where, as far as we could see.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. Early signs are easier to trace.
The survey, step by step
Time on site depends on the size and shape of the roof; as a rough guide, the survey takes between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. You are welcome to ask questions while we are there. Older roofs in small places like Stebbing can have low, tight loft spaces, so it helps to know whether there is a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it is safe.
- You let us know whether any stacks are shared, unused or leaning.
- We check the roof around each stack, including the flashings.
- The top of each stack is checked for cracked flaunching and loose pots.
- We note the brickwork, pointing and any sign of leaning.
- The report explains the condition and which work is most urgent.
Getting ready for the survey
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
Arrange a survey
Our phone lines are open seven days a week. For a price or to book, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Read more
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Common questions in Stebbing
Do you cover smaller places like Stebbing?
Yes, we do. We survey roofs across London and the South East, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned beforehand.
Is my home in Stebbing listed or in a conservation area?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. Roofs over flats are often shared, so the building owner or managing agent needs to agree access. We inspect only the parts we’re allowed to reach.
Will you check the loft?
If the survey needs it and the roof space can be reached safely, yes. A clear path to the hatch helps, and if the loft can’t be reached safely, the report says so.
Does the report include photos?
Yes, every report has them. Pictures sit next to the findings they show, so you can see what we mean.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
It depends on what we need to see. Inside the building and in the loft, we need someone to let us in.
Is it a structural engineer’s report?
No. We point out what can be seen, like sagging or deflection, but we do not carry out calculations or give an engineer’s opinion. Where an engineer is needed, we say so in the report.
Honest limits
A survey is a careful look at the chimney stack, but it cannot do everything. The main limits are:
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- 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. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Flaunching
What happens if roof problems are left?
Most people never get a proper look at their chimney stacks. Problems frequently go unnoticed until damp appears inside. A survey gives you a clear picture before that happens. Around Stebbing, older homes often have old roof timbers, and water through a failed covering can rot timber if it’s left.
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package you pick makes a difference too. The price is always agreed first.
Why book with us
- Surveys on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
Take a look at how roof surveys are priced and what we found on two real jobs.