Buckinghamshire · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Terriers
Chimney surveys in Terriers and the rest of Buckinghamshire. Surveys run on any day of the week.
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Chimney survey in Terriers
Many terraced and semi-detached homes share their chimney stacks with a neighbour. We look at what can safely be seen and what the owner gives us access to. Where a problem seems to involve a neighbour’s side, the report records it and you can then discuss it with them. You get a report with photographs and our recommendations. We survey shared and party-wall stacks, brick chimney stacks and lead flashings, and people most often book us about damaged chimney pots and cowls and a chimney out of line.
Around Terriers, older cottages sit alongside bungalows and newer houses. Older roofs can have slate, clay tiles or other traditional coverings, while many later ones have concrete tiles. On older homes, chimney stacks, valleys and gutters are typically where the work is, and the fixings under the coverings matter too. The fixings under an older roof often fail before good slates or tiles do.
Nothing in the report is left vague: where something needs attention, it says so plainly, and where it can wait, that is said too.
- Place
- Terriers (HP13, HP15)
- Wider area
- Buckinghamshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Roof by roof
Chimney pots and cowls
Pots sit in the flaunching on top of the stack, and cowls or caps sit on the pots. The survey looks for cracked, loose or missing pots and cowls.
Lead flashings
Some older stacks have mortar fillets instead of lead. They tend to crack, so we look at them closely.
What we do, step by step
Once we’ve finished looking, we write up our findings in a report with photos. On timing, it normally takes roughly 1–2 hours for a house, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. With a bit of garden around a house, as there often is around Terriers, the roof can be viewed from several angles. Let us know if any side is fenced off or hard to reach. Inside, the loft is looked at where it can be reached safely.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- We inspect each stack from safe viewpoints outside.
- 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 roof space where we can reach them.
- The findings are written up with photos and recommendations and emailed to you.
Getting ready for the survey
- Tell us about parking before the day
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
Booking a survey
Booking is simple: just call 07833 053749 or use the contact form, let us know about the property and we will explain which survey suits. The price is agreed up front.
Read more
Terriers homes and their roofs
Some villages in Buckinghamshire still have thatched roofs. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look. The wider area around Terriers has a long history of building, with Hughenden Manor about 1.1 miles north-west. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead.
For businesses in and around places such as Eden, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies. Landlords with a home close to High Wycombe station may find that a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let. Take an older house close to Church of Saint Francis: old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Terriers is about 1 mile north-east of High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire. Terriers gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a close look at everything that’s safely in view, photos and a clear written report. Terriers is one of the towns and villages in Buckinghamshire we cover for chimney surveys. Reading is in our area too.
Every address in HP13 and HP15 is within our area for chimney surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Local streets include Terry Road, Perth Road and Green Road, and we cover them all. We also cover the places around Terriers: Totteridge (1 mile south-east), Four Ashes (1 mile north), High Wycombe (1 mile south-west), Micklefield (1 mile south-east) and Hazlemere (1 mile north-east). Further out, we also cover Aylesbury (13 miles north), Chesham (7 miles north-east), Marlow (5 miles south), Amersham (6 miles north-east), Beaconsfield (4 miles south-east) and Chalfont St Peter (8 miles east).
What’s near Terriers
Around Terriers, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Tower, The Dolphin Eye pub and Highworth Combined School and Nursery. The closest station to Terriers is High Wycombe station, about 1 mile south-west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Hospital of St John the Baptist (1.1 miles south) and High Wycombe Castle (1 mile south-west). Open spaces near Terriers include Gomm's Wood.
FAQs for Terriers
Is Terriers within the area you cover?
Yes. Terriers is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We cover the whole of London and South East England. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when booking.
How do I find out if my home in Terriers is listed?
Your council is the best source, with Historic England’s list for listed buildings. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, and councils can also use Article 4 directions.
Do you climb onto every roof?
Not always. Safety comes first, and fragile or steep roofs cannot always be walked on. Safe viewpoints, the loft and a drone where applicable let us see the rest.
What if it rains on the day?
Some surveys depend on the weather more than others. Drones can’t fly safely in high wind or heavy rain, and thermal imaging works best after a sunny day, with a dry roof and little wind. We’ll rearrange with you if the weather isn’t right.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
It is worth having a leaning stack checked. Our survey notes how it looks and the condition of the bricks and joints, and if it may be a structural issue, we recommend a structural engineer.
What causes damp on a chimney breast?
Normally it is water getting in from outside, or condensation in a sealed stack. We check the stack, the flashings and how unused flues are capped, and record what we find.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Checking the roof from the ground
A DIY look is useful, but it is not a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
A lot can be seen 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.
For landlords and managing agents
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, including offices, shops and units. Bigger roofs take more time.
For blocks of flats, a roof survey helps managing agents and residents’ management companies plan ahead. Recommendations are set out in order of urgency where relevant, which helps when budgeting.
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 suitable contractor. Around Terriers, a leak in an older house can soak into timbers and plaster, and that’s a much bigger job than the original defect.
To find out what your survey will cost, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and tell us about the roof. We’ll confirm the figure before booking.
Why book with us
- An independent view of the roof
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Photographs and a written report every time
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
Take a look at our cost guide and what we found on two real jobs.
Places near Terriers
More services for Terriers
Honest limits
It’s a careful look at the chimney stack, not the whole story. Its limits include:
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- What’s inside the brickwork or behind render, without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will tell you before booking. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What we look at
- Flaunching
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks