East Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Sweethaws
Chimney surveys in Sweethaws from an independent, experienced roof surveyor. More than 20 years and over 5,000 surveys.
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
Chimney survey in Sweethaws: what you get
If you’re buying a home with chimneys, it’s worth knowing their condition before you exchange. On older stacks, we frequently find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. Our report gives you specific points to raise with the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. We survey flaunching, lead flashings and chimney pots and cowls, and people most often book us about flashings pulling away from the stack and cracked or missing flaunching.
Some older homes in villages like Sweethaws 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. Older materials such as clay tiles, slate and stone are frequently matched when work is done.
How fast the report arrives depends on the package: Basic within 48 hours, Standard in 24–48 hours and Premium the same day.
- Location
- Sweethaws (TN6)
- Region
- East Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your 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
What we can’t see
In fairness, a roof survey has limits:
- Structural calculations for a leaning stack
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- Conditions inside walls
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will tell you before you book. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Brick chimney stacks
What happens on the day
We photograph the roof as we go, so the report shows exactly what we saw. We take close-ups from wherever is safe, including by drone where it’s applicable and the weather allows. A typical visit takes roughly 1–2 hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. Older rural homes like those around Sweethaws can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints, and anything we can’t see is noted.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- Every part we can see is looked at: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the loft space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Preparing for the visit
- Check pets are kept safely away
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with whoever owns or manages the building
- If you are buying, let the agent know when we’re coming
How to book
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the details.
Advice
Tips from our surveys
A little preparation and a few simple habits help. Some pointers:
- Check your stacks from ground level after strong winds
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
If the stack is shared, you can pass the report to your neighbour. The photos show the problem and which side it’s on from the viewpoints we used.
Watch for damp or staining on chimney breasts. Early signs are easier to trace.
Different roofs, different checks
Lead flashings
Over time, lead can lift or come away from the brickwork. We photograph any we find that look loose or damaged.
Chimney pots and cowls
For unused flues, we check whether caps or cowls allow ventilation. Capping without ventilation can trap moisture.
Nearby places to Sweethaws
More services for Sweethaws
What we’re asked to look at in Sweethaws
Aerials and dishes are often fixed to stacks. The extra load in wind can work bricks and joints loose. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
Things that often lead to a survey include:
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
Landlords with a home close to Crowborough station may find that a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- What experience they bring
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- Whether the price includes VAT
- What happens after the report arrives
Sweethaws questions
Can a landlord with a rental near Crowborough station book a roof survey?
Yes, that’s a common request. Let us know whether a tenant or an agent will let us in, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
Do you cover smaller places like Sweethaws?
Yes. Sweethaws is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We survey roofs across London and the South East. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there as you book.
How long is the visit?
Most surveys take about 1–2 hours at most homes, and more on a big or complicated roof. The report follows by email.
How experienced are you?
We have completed more than 5,000 surveys, over more than 20 years.
Will you check the chimney is safe to use with a fire?
No. We survey the stack and its weathering, not the flue. For the flue, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer.
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.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We inspect from wherever is safe: the ground, nearby windows and higher points, and the loft space. Our Premium Survey includes a drone inspection where applicable. If part of a stack cannot be seen, the report says so.
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in Sweethaws
There are about 500,000 buildings on England’s list of listed buildings, and around 10,000 conservation areas. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, so check with the council. Handmade clay tiles and tile-hung upper walls are typical of older Sussex houses. A few old Sussex buildings still carry heavy Horsham stone slabs, and the county’s older buildings include oast houses and Wealden hall houses. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
If you look after a building such as Beacon Academy, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
Sweethaws is about 2 miles south-west of Crowborough, in East Sussex. In Sweethaws, as across East Sussex, every roof gets the same careful survey. Sweethaws is one of the towns and villages in East Sussex where we work. You can also see our page for Crawley.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: TN6. Close by, we survey roofs in High Hurstwood (1 mile south), Crowborough (2 miles north-east), Fairwarp (2 miles south-west), Jarvis Brook (2 miles north-east) and Marden's Hill (2 miles north). Within a short drive, we also cover Lewes (12 miles south-west), Hailsham (13 miles south-east), Uckfield (5 miles south), South Malling (12 miles south-west), Heathfield (7 miles south-east) and Southover (13 miles south-west).
Around Sweethaws
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Crow & Gate inn. The nearest railway station is Crowborough station, about 2.2 miles east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Tickerage Castle (4.6 miles south) and Crowborough War Memorial Hospital (1.3 miles north-east). Green spaces nearby include Crowborough Country Park.
Why act early in Sweethaws
Before deciding what to do with a redundant stack, a survey shows how it’s doing. Changes to stacks in conservation areas or on listed buildings may need consent, so check with them first. For older village homes like those around Sweethaws, the right replacement materials are not always easy to find quickly. That is one more reason to find defects before they become urgent.
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Prices start from £150, including VAT.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Sweethaws
- Drones and thermal imaging where it applies
- Surveys seven days a week
- Insured for professional indemnity and public liability
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and two real surveys.