Kent · London and the South East
Chimney survey in The Valley, Kent
An experienced roof surveyor for chimney surveys in The Valley. Over 5,000 surveys and 20+ years behind us across London and the South East.
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Damp on a chimney breast inside
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
Leave it or get it looked at?
Chimneys are easy to forget because you rarely see the top of them. Defects tend to go unseen until there is a stain. A survey gives you a clear picture before that happens. In a place like The Valley, a barn or garage roof left to fail puts whatever is inside at risk. It’s worth including them in a survey before a winter does the damage.
For a price for your roof in The Valley, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and a few details. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Why book with us
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Surveys seven days a week
Read our cost guide and what we found on two real jobs.
How a chimney survey works in The Valley
A damp patch on a chimney breast does not always come from the same place. Water may be getting in at the top through cracked flaunching or an uncapped pot, through the brickwork, or at the flashings. Condensation inside an unventilated stack is another common cause. Our survey checks each of these and records the likely cause. That points the work in the right direction. We’re often asked to look into spalled or crumbling bricks and pots or cowls that look unsafe, on shared and party-wall stacks, flaunching and brick chimney stacks.
In a village or hamlet like The Valley, older cottages and farmhouses often sit alongside barns, outbuildings and a few newer houses. Older roofs may be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, often with chimneys that have stood a long time. We report on whatever is safely visible, and thatch is a specialist material. Chimneys and lead flashings on old roofs often need the most attention.
It isn’t only a list of defects. It explains what we found, why it matters and what we recommend, so you can decide what to do next.
- Where
- The Valley (ME13)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What we are asked to look at in The Valley
TV aerials, satellite dishes and their brackets are often fixed to chimneys. The extra load in wind can work bricks and joints loose. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Eroded joints in the brickwork
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
If you own a rental within reach of Charing station, a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let.
What to check before booking
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- What experience they bring
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
How the survey works
We work from the outside in: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the roof space where it can be reached. All told, expect between one and two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. Cottages and farmhouses around The Valley frequently have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints, 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 is access.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Before the survey
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Check we can get to the back of the property
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
Booking a survey
Prices start from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, so phone 07833 053749 or email us with the details.
Advice
Roofs, chimneys and gutters in The Valley
Across Kent, older roofs are frequently handmade clay or peg tiles, and tile-hanging on upper walls is a familiar sight. The county’s older buildings also include oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Belmont House and Gardens, about 2.1 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around The Valley. Older homes in the wider area frequently have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
Take an older house close to Church of St Lawrence: its chimney, valleys and lead work are likely to be the parts that need attention first. Homes near green spaces such as Spuckles and Kennelling Woods can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls.
The Valley is about 6 miles south-west of Faversham, in Kent. Houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings in The Valley can all book chimney surveys. The Valley is one of the towns and villages in Kent where we work for chimney surveys. Our Maidstone page covers surveys nearby.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: ME13. Close by, we survey roofs in Stalisfield Green (1 mile south), Stalisfield (1 mile south), Eastling (2 miles north), Throwley Forstal (2 miles east) and Throwley (2 miles north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Maidstone (12 miles west), Ashford (8 miles south), Canterbury (12 miles east), Sittingbourne (7 miles north-west), Whitstable (12 miles north-east) and Faversham (6 miles north-east).
Near you in The Valley
Typical jobs here are in homes near Spuckles and Kennelling Woods and The Plough Inn and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Charing station, roughly 3.2 miles south of the centre. A little further out are Newnham Castle (2.3 miles north).
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. The report sets out what needs attention now and what can wait.
The Valley questions
Can a landlord with a rental near Charing station book a roof survey?
Yes, landlords and agents book with us as well as owners. You can call 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and a few details, including who will give access on the day.
Do you cover smaller places like The Valley?
We do. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house.
How do you inspect a chimney without scaffolding?
We look from ground level, from windows and from the loft where it’s safe. A drone inspection is part of the Premium Survey where it applies. The report is clear about anything that couldn’t be seen.
Do you look in the loft space?
Yes, where the survey calls for it and there’s safe access. We look for staining, damp, daylight and signs of movement.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
It depends on what we need to see. For inside areas and the roof space, someone has to give us access.
What do you check on a chimney?
The whole stack, as far as it can be seen safely: pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, bricks and flashings. Leaning, unused stacks and damp on chimney breasts are recorded too.
Do you inspect the flue?
No. Our survey covers the outside of the stack and the roof around it. The flue should be checked by a sweep, or by a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas appliances.
Roof by roof
Flaunching
The sloping mortar around the pots is called flaunching. Cracks in it let water into the stack.
Chimney pots and cowls
For unused flues, we check whether caps or cowls allow ventilation. Poor capping can lead to damp inside the stack.
What we cannot see
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Whether a stack needs rebuilding on structural grounds
- Areas we cannot view from safe positions
If you are not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer before booking. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in The Valley
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks