Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Telegraph Hill, Greater London
A survey of chimney stacks, pots, flashings and flaunching across Telegraph Hill, using drones and thermal imaging where it applies. Get in touch for a price.
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- A chimney out of line
- Damp patches on chimney breasts
Chimney survey in Telegraph Hill: what you get
Our survey covers the structure of the stack and its weathering details. It is not a flue inspection, a chimney sweep or a gas safety inspection. For the flue itself, you’ll need a sweep or, for gas appliances, a Gas Safe registered engineer. If something we see points to the flue, we will say so. Common reasons to book are pots or cowls that look unsafe and flaunching that has broken away, across brick chimney stacks, flaunching and chimney breasts.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces are found right across London, frequently with slate roofs, chimney stacks shared with neighbours and gutters hidden behind parapets. Slates can last a century or more, but the nails holding them corrode, and slates slip. In Telegraph Hill, as across London, that’s why a roof needs a proper look rather than a glance from the street. Shared chimney stacks and the lead around them are just as important to check.
Findings are set out part by part, from the main slopes down to the gutters and outlets. You will see the good as well as the bad.
- Place
- Telegraph Hill (SE4, SE15, SE14)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
DIY checks: what’s safe
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery, and a fall can be serious. That part is for a survey.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
Telegraph Hill homes and their roofs
Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. A butterfly roof with a central valley gutter, tucked behind a parapet wall, is common on these houses. In a house like that, shared stacks, party-wall upstands and lead flashings all need looking at as far as they can be seen. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters. About 2 miles north-east lies Queen's House, a reminder of how long the area around Telegraph Hill has been built on. If yours is one of the older homes, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof.
Anyone responsible for a site like Haberdashers' Hatcham College will know that a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for instance near Lewisham Shopping Centre, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies. For landlords with property near Brockley station, a roof report helps you deal with small faults before they turn into a call from a tenant.
Telegraph Hill is about 1 mile south-west of New Cross, in Greater London. We carry out chimney surveys in Telegraph Hill for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings. We cover towns and villages across Greater London, large and small.
Chimney surveys in SE4, SE15 and SE14 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether your property is on Mona Road, Pepys Road and Kitto Road or a nearby road, we can help. Close by, we survey roofs in Nunhead (1 mile south-west), New Cross (1 mile north-east), Peckham (1 mile north-west), St Johns (1 mile east) and Brockley (1 mile south-east). Larger places within reach include London (3 miles north-west), City of Westminster (6 miles north-west), Marylebone (6 miles north-west), Kensington (7 miles west), St Pancras (5 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (4 miles north).
Landmarks near Telegraph Hill
We work in homes and buildings around Fordham Park and The Brockley Barge pub. There’s a railway station in Telegraph Hill itself: Brockley station. Well-known places in the area include Southwark Adult Education Institute (0.6 miles north-west) and Lewisham Shopping Centre (1.4 miles east). Green spaces nearby include St. James's Park Lake and New Cross Gate Cutting.
Leave it or get it looked at?
Loose pots and bricks on a stack are a safety concern. A survey picks them out so they can be made safe by a roofer. London’s older roofs frequently have bitumen felt underlay or none at all, so a slipped slate can soon mean water inside. Left unchecked, water soaks into timber and plaster and the damage spreads.
Prices quoted always include VAT, and the written report is part of the package. Chimney survey starts from £150, including VAT. Size, height and access decide where your roof falls.
Why book with us
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- Every finding written up with photos
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
Before and after the survey
Some practical points come up on survey after survey. They apply to most roofs:
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Use a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances
- Leave close inspection to people with safe access
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
If the stack is shared, you can pass the report to your neighbour. It shows what we found and where from the viewpoints we used.
Have aerial and dish brackets on the stack checked, and moved if they’re working it loose. Less load on the stack means less strain in wind.
Also in Telegraph Hill
The survey, step by step
We’ll ask a few questions first, like when any problem began and what work has been done before. Then the inspection itself takes about one to two hours for most houses, and about three to four hours for a commercial roof. In a London area like Telegraph Hill, the main things to sort out are parking and access: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. We then look at whatever is safely visible from the ground, windows, the loft and, where it’s safe, the roof itself.
- You tell us how many stacks there are and any damp or problems you’ve noticed.
- The stacks are looked at from ground level, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We check the chimney breasts and the stack in the roof space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before the survey
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with whoever owns or manages the building
Getting a price
To arrange a survey, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and let us know the address and what’s prompted the survey. We’ll confirm the price before you book.
Advice
Different roofs, different checks
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They tend to crack, so we check them closely.
Brick stacks
Most chimney stacks are built of brick, with mortar joints that wear over time. The survey looks for crumbling bricks and worn or missing mortar.
Telegraph Hill: your questions answered
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Telegraph Hill?
It rarely stops a survey, but it’s worth planning. Let us know the parking rules on your street and we’ll work around them.
I let a flat near Brockley station. Can you check the roof?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and the report can go straight to you or your agent.
How do I book a survey in Telegraph Hill?
Just ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address. We’ll ask a few questions, confirm the price and agree a date, weekday or weekend.
Will you go up on the roof?
Only when it is safe. Some roofs are too steep or fragile to walk on safely. We use safe viewpoints, the loft space and a drone where it applies.
What causes damp on a chimney breast?
Damp on a chimney breast typically means water is getting into the stack, or moisture is trapped inside it. The survey looks at the stack, the flashings and the capping, and record what we find.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, as long as access is agreed. The roof of a block or converted house is often shared, so we need permission from whoever owns or manages the building. We inspect only the parts we’re allowed to reach.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
It’s worth having a leaning stack checked. We record the lean, the brickwork and the pointing, and recommend a structural engineer where it may be a structural concern.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Telegraph Hill
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work around your tenants.
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. Recommendations are set out by urgency where it matters.