Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Sulham
Find out the condition of the chimney stack at your property in Sulham from an independent roof surveyor. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Worn or missing pointing
- Staining on walls around the chimney
How a chimney survey works in Sulham
Our chimney survey covers the stack and the details that keep water out around it: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and the flashings at the roof line. We also look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access. You get a photo-illustrated written report and our recommendations. It suits a single stack on a house as well as several on a larger building. If you’re worried about frost-damaged brickwork on the stack and a stack that appears to lean, we can find out what’s behind it, on brick chimney stacks, lead flashings and chimney pots and cowls alike.
In a village or hamlet like Sulham, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are frequently old. We report on everything that’s safely in view, and thatch is a specialist material. On older roofs, it is typically the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
We write the report in plain English, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Photos show what each point refers to, with the urgent items made clear.
- Location
- Sulham (RG8)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
FAQs for Sulham
Is my home in Sulham listed or in a conservation area?
We cannot confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Is Sulham within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. We cover the whole of London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned beforehand.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Yes, where it’s applicable. Flights depend on the weather on the day and airspace rules, and we check for restrictions near airports before flying. We’re a CAA-registered drone operator.
Do you inspect the flue?
No. A flue inspection, sweep or gas safety check is a separate job. We look at the stack, pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings, and damp inside and flag anything that suggests the flue needs a look.
My chimney looks like it’s leaning. What should I do?
Have it checked rather than leaving it. Leaning frequently comes from mortar breaking down unevenly. The survey records what we can see, and a structural engineer can confirm whether it is stable.
Can you survey in bad weather?
It can, depending on the survey. 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.
What causes damp on a chimney breast?
Damp on a chimney breast normally means water is getting into the stack, or moisture is trapped inside it. We check the stack, the flashings and how unused flues are capped, and record what we find.
When to book a survey in Sulham
Flaunching is the mortar bed that holds the pots and throws water off the top. Cracked flaunching lets water in, and each winter makes it worse. Loose pots can follow.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- A stack that appears to lean
If you live in an older home near Church of St Nicholas, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Questions to ask before you book
- Their insurance cover
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
Places near Sulham
Also in Sulham
Before and after the survey
You don’t need to be a roofer to help. Here’s what helps most:
- Check that disused chimneys can still breathe
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
Many people use the report to get quotes for the work. Because everyone is pricing the same findings, the quotes are easier to compare.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. The sooner damp is spotted, the easier the cause is to find.
How we price chimney surveys
All our prices include VAT. What changes the price is:
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
- Roof area
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
There are three survey packages: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, all including VAT. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Booking your survey
Before you get in touch, it helps to have:
- Dates you’re working to, like exchange
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- Pictures from the garden or a window, if you have them
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We will confirm the price before booking.
Honest limits
In fairness, there are limits to any roof survey:
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will recommend the right survey. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney breasts
Chimney surveys in Sulham: local notes
Cotswold stone slates are found on older buildings in west Oxfordshire, and thatch survives in some of the county’s villages. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first. Mapledurham House, about 2 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Sulham. On older houses around here, roofs often 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.
For landlords with property near Pangbourne station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at. If you look after a building like Denefield School, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time.
Sulham is about 4 miles west of Reading, in Oxfordshire. We survey roofs in Sulham across London and South East England. Our area takes in places right across Oxfordshire, from the larger towns to small villages.
Here we cover the RG8 postcode area for chimney surveys. Whether your property is on Sulham Lane and Nunhide Lane or anywhere close by, we can help. Other places close to Sulham include Tidmarsh (1 mile west), Little Heath (1 mile south-east), Pangbourne (1 mile north-west), Purley on Thames (1 mile north-east) and Tilehurst (2 miles east). Larger places within reach include Didcot (12 miles north-west), Henley-on-Thames (8 miles north-east), Benson (11 miles north), Wallingford (10 miles north), Great Western Park (13 miles north-west) and Watlington (13 miles north).
What’s near Sulham
We work in homes and buildings around Pangbourne Primary School. The nearest railway station is Pangbourne station, roughly 1.4 miles north-west. Nearby you will also find Battle Hospital (3.3 miles east) and Royal Berkshire Regiment Museum (3.1 miles east). Open spaces near Sulham include Moor Copse Nature Reserve and Hosehill Lake.
DIY checks: what’s safe
Look up at the roof after a storm, from the ground: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
Keep a simple record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Send it with your enquiry, as it helps us focus the survey.
How it works
The aim of the visit is simple: to look at the chimney stack as closely as is safe and record what we find. Notes and photographs go into the written report. It usually takes between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Cottages and farmhouses around Sulham often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. Each part is looked at from wherever it can safely be seen, and anything we cannot see is noted.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- We check every stack from wherever it can be seen safely.
- 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 is not your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Keep pets in another room
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
Getting a price
Once you know what you need, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day.