West Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Sutton, West Sussex
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching around Sutton, with a written report you can act on. Book a weekday or weekend visit.
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- A chimney out of line
How a chimney survey works in Sutton
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. On older stacks, we often find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. If you’ve noticed spalled or crumbling bricks and damp on a chimney breast inside, we can find out what’s behind it, whatever the roof.
Older buildings in small places like Sutton may be listed or in a conservation area. That can affect what materials can be used when work is done, so check with the council before planning anything. Knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan ahead with that in mind. Where a building is listed, matching the existing roof materials is often expected.
Most points in the report come with a picture, because a photo of a cracked flashing says more than a paragraph. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Location
- Sutton (RH20)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
When to book a survey in Sutton
Aerials and dishes are frequently fixed to stacks. Their weight and the wind on them can loosen bricks and pointing. Any fixings on the stack are checked and recorded.
A survey can pick up problems like:
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- A chimney out of line
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Mortar washing out of the joints
If you live in an older home near The Parish Church of the Holy Cross, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- How long the report takes to arrive
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- Whether the loft space is looked at, where there is one
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
Honest limits
In fairness, a roof survey has limits:
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- Hidden damage within the stack
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll suggest the right survey. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Flaunching
What we do, step by step
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect whatever is safely visible, and if part of the roof cannot be seen, the report says so. The survey typically takes an hour or two at a typical home, or half a day or so for a commercial building. Somewhere like Sutton needs a little journey planning: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. The roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from the loft where there’s safe access and from the roof where it is safe.
- We go through the chimneys, any damp and any work done on them.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- Pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, the chimney breasts and the loft are checked for damp where there’s access.
- The report, with photographs and recommendations, is emailed to you.
How to prepare
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
How to book
Unsure which package suits your roof? It’s easiest to ring 07833 053749 or email us and describe the roof and what’s worrying you. We’ll explain the options and the price.
Read more
DIY checks: what’s safe
You can learn a lot from the ground. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Please do not climb up for a closer look.
It helps to keep a record: dates of leaks, photos from ground level and any work done on the roof. Send it with your enquiry and it will help the survey.
What a chimney survey looks like in Sutton
Historic houses like Bignor Roman Villa, about 0.8 miles east, show how far back building in the area around Sutton goes. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead. Many older homes in Sussex have handmade clay tiles and tile-hung walls. Horsham stone slab roofs survive on some old Sussex buildings. Knowing the covering helps explain which parts of a roof are likely to need work first.
For landlords with property near Amberley station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints.
Sutton is about 9 miles north-west of Littlehampton, in West Sussex. In Sutton, as across West Sussex, every roof gets the same careful survey. Sutton is one of the towns and villages in West Sussex where we work for chimney surveys. You can also see our page for Brighton.
We cover every part of the RH20 postcode area for chimney surveys. Other places close to Sutton include Duncton (2 miles north-west), East Lavington (2 miles north-west), Rotherbridge (3 miles north), Graffham (3 miles north-west) and Haslingbourne (3 miles north). We also work in nearby towns such as Worthing (12 miles south-east), Bognor Regis (10 miles south), Chichester (9 miles south-west), Selsey (15 miles south-west), Littlehampton (9 miles south-east) and Lancing (14 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in Sutton
The closest station to Sutton is Amberley station, roughly 3.7 miles south-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Coultershaw Heritage Site (2.9 miles north) and Arundel and District Hospital (5.3 miles south-east). Green spaces nearby include Bignor Hill and Amberley Wild Brooks.
Your questions about chimney surveys in Sutton
How do I find out if my home in Sutton is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Is Sutton within the area you cover?
Yes, Sutton is covered. We survey roofs across London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
What do you check on a chimney?
Every part of the stack we can see from safe positions: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
Will you check the chimney is safe to use with a fire?
No. We survey the stack and its weathering, not the flue. The flue should be checked by a sweep, or by a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
If the survey includes the loft or the inside of the building, someone needs to let us in. We’ll talk about access when booking.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
We survey on any day from Monday to Sunday, during the day. Let us know your preferred days when booking.
What’s the best way to book?
Simply ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address. We will ask a few questions, confirm the price and agree a date, weekday or weekend.
Other services in Sutton
Tips from our surveys
A little preparation and a few simple habits help. Some pointers:
- Check unused flues are capped with ventilation
- Keep the report to compare against at the next survey
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. It gives them a clear starting point.
Check your stacks from the street or garden after a storm. Binoculars help you spot loose pots, missing mortar or lifted flashings.
What we look for on each type of roof
Rendered stacks
What’s behind the render can’t be seen without removing some, so the report explains what we could and couldn’t assess.
Lead flashings
Where the chimney meets the roof slopes, lead flashings keep water out. We check for lifting, splits and gaps in the joints.