Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Streatham
Find out what’s going on with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. We carry out chimney surveys in Streatham.
- A stack that appears to lean
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
The survey, step by step
The visit normally starts outside and finishes in the loft: outside views come first, then the loft space if there is safe access. All told, expect roughly 1–2 hours for most houses, and longer for a large or complex roof. For a visit in Streatham, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about parking, the floor the property is on, any shared entrance and loft access. We then look at whatever is safely visible from ground level, windows, the loft and, where it is safe, the roof itself.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
How to prepare
- If it isn’t your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
Book a survey
Photos help, if you have them. Pictures from the ground or a window are fine; never climb up to get a better view. To send them or to book, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
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How a chimney survey works in Streatham
Chimney stacks take more weather than almost any other part of a house. In time, flaunching cracks, mortar washes out and flashings come loose. Water then gets into the stack and can show as damp on a chimney breast or a stain in the loft. We record what we find with photographs and recommendations. Typical surveys look at staining on walls around the chimney and unused flues sealed without airflow, across chimney breasts, flaunching and brick chimney stacks.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces are found right across London, 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. Homes in Streatham are no exception. Lead flashings and shared chimney stacks on these houses need a proper look too.
What you get is a clear record of the chimney stack on the day we saw it. That makes it useful now and a handy reference later.
- Where
- Streatham (SW16, SW2, CR4, SW12)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Towns and villages near Streatham
More services for Streatham
Leave it or get it looked at?
For a buyer, the best time to learn about a chimney is before exchange. After that, any work is yours to arrange and pay for. A report gives you something specific to put to the seller. A hidden valley or parapet gutter on a London house can hold water for weeks before anyone notices. When the stain finally shows, the damage underneath is often older than it looks.
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so they’re priced to match. The price is confirmed before booking.
Why book us in Streatham
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- Photos and a written report every time
- Prices that include VAT
What you can safely check yourself
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Local roofs in Streatham
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 cannot be seen from the pavement. Lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are typical of these houses, if yours is one of them. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. With Kingswood House about 2 miles east, Streatham sits in an area with a long building history. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
The streets around a church such as St Leonard's Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, its roof may have old fixings, lead flashings and chimneys that need a closer look. For site and facilities teams at buildings such as St Andrew's Catholic Primary School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Streatham is about 5 miles south of London, in Greater London. We survey roofs in Streatham as part of our work across London and South East England. Our area takes in places right across Greater London.
Surveys in SW16, SW2, CR4 and SW12 are booked the same way as anywhere else. If you need a chimney survey at a property on Stanthorpe Road, Gleneagle Mews and Madeira Road or a nearby road, we can survey it. Being close to the A205 and A216, Streatham is easy for us to reach for chimney surveys. Close by, we survey roofs in Streatham Park (1 mile west), Furzedown (1 mile west), Streatham Hill (1 mile north), Hyde farm estate (1 mile north) and Grange Mills (1 mile north-west). Larger places within reach include London (5 miles north), City of Westminster (6 miles north), Marylebone (6 miles north), Kensington (6 miles north-west), St Pancras (7 miles north) and Shoreditch (7 miles north).
Around Streatham
In Streatham, that means homes and buildings near Bishop Thomas Grant Catholic Secondary School, Streatham Common and Waldorf School of South West London. There’s a railway station in Streatham itself: Streatham station. A little further out are Clockworks Museum (1.1 miles east) and Southside Wandsworth (3.3 miles north-west). Not far away are Knight's Hill and Battersea Park Lake.
What we look for on each type of roof
Brick stacks
Brick stacks rely on sound pointing to keep water out. We check the bricks for spalling and the joints for erosion.
Rendered stacks
A rendered stack can mask problems in the bricks below. The survey checks for cracking, bulging and staining in the render.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Streatham
Landlords and agents in Streatham book surveys as well as householders. A report with photos gives you a clear record of the chimney stack, useful for planning maintenance.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, including offices, shops and units. Larger roofs take longer.
When to book a survey in Streatham
Flaunching is the mortar bed that holds the pots and throws water off the top. Once it cracks, water gets in and frost makes the cracks bigger. In time, the pots can become loose.
A survey can pick up problems like:
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Worn or missing pointing
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Flaunching that has broken away
If you run a business near Southside Wandsworth, a written record of the roof’s condition helps you plan maintenance rather than react to leaks.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- How soon the report will arrive
- What insurance they carry
- What they won’t be able to tell you
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
Streatham questions
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Streatham?
It rarely stops a survey, but it is worth planning. Let us know what parking is available nearby, and the visit is planned around it.
Can a landlord with a rental near Streatham station book a roof survey?
Yes, letting agents and landlords book with us as well as owners. You can phone 07833 053749 or email us with the address and a few details, including who will give access on the day.
Will you check the loft?
Where it is relevant to the survey and there’s safe access, yes. A clear path to the hatch helps, and if the loft can’t be reached safely, the report says so.
Is it a problem to have an unused chimney?
An unused stack still needs to stay weathertight and ventilated. Capping without airflow can lead to damp. We check how it’s capped and its condition, so you can plan what to do with it.
Can you give me structural calculations?
No. We point out what can be seen, such as sagging or deflection, but we’re not structural engineers and do not carry out calculations. Where an engineer is needed, we say so in the report.
What if it rains on the day?
A survey can typically go ahead in light rain, and it can even help show where water is getting in. Strong wind or heavy rain can stop drone flights and make roof access unsafe, so we will agree a new date if the weather is not suitable.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes. A shared roof needs access agreed first, with the freeholder or managing agent. Tell us about it when you book and we’ll plan the survey around it.