Greater London · London and the South East
Waterloo Chimney Survey
We carry out chimney surveys in Waterloo and the rest of Greater London. We survey on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Worn or missing pointing
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
Surveys for landlords and agents in Waterloo
Where a roof is shared: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you contact us and we will plan the visit with that in mind.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, from shops and offices to industrial units. Larger roofs take longer.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Waterloo
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. Cracked flaunching, failed flashings and worn pointing are common findings on older stacks. You get photographs and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. If you’ve noticed staining on walls around the chimney and unused flues sealed without airflow, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces are found right across London, many with Welsh slate roofs, shared chimney stacks and parapet or valley gutters. Good slates can last over a hundred years, yet the nails often give out first and let slates slip. In Waterloo, as across London, that is why a roof needs a close look rather than a glance from the street. Shared chimney stacks and the lead around them are just as important to check.
If any part of the chimney stack couldn’t be seen safely, we say so in the report. You’ll know exactly what was inspected and what wasn’t.
- Location
- Waterloo (SE1, SE11, WC2N)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Waterloo homes and their roofs
Benjamin Franklin House, about 0.7 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Waterloo. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. Behind many of their parapets sit butterfly roofs and valley gutters that cannot be seen from the pavement. Lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are typical of these houses, if yours is one of them. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them.
Landlords with a home close to London Waterloo station may find that a dated record of the roof is useful when planning maintenance across a let. Take a building like Oasis Academy Johanna: long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Waterloo is about 1 mile west of London, in Greater London. We survey roofs in Waterloo and the rest of Greater London. Across Greater London, we cover Waterloo and the places around it.
Here we cover the SE1, SE11 and WC2N postcode area for chimney surveys. Local streets include York Road, Spur Road and Bear Lane. Waterloo is on the A301 and A302, which makes it straightforward to reach. If you are just outside Waterloo, we cover South Bank (1 mile north-west), Bankside (1 mile north-east), Adelphi (1 mile north-west), Temple (1 mile north) and Charing Cross (1 mile north-west). We also work in nearby towns like Kensington (4 miles west), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east), Hoxton (3 miles north-east), Hampstead (5 miles north-west), Ruislip (14 miles west) and Orpington (12 miles south-east).
Near you in Waterloo
We work in homes and buildings around Jubilee Gardens, Oasis Academy South Bank and Lambeth Palace Library. Also close by are The Duke of Sussex pub (under half a mile east) and Oasis Academy South Bank (within half a mile south). Waterloo has its own railway station: London Waterloo station. Well-known places in the area include Gabriel's Wharf (0.5 miles north) and Baynard's Castle (0.9 miles north-east). For a walk, there’s Ludgate Hill and Bellenden Road Nature Garden.
What we are asked to look at in Waterloo
TV aerials, satellite dishes and their brackets are often fixed to chimneys. Their weight and the wind on them can loosen bricks and pointing. We check fixings on the stack as part of the survey.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- Flaunching that has broken away
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
Trees in and around Jubilee Gardens shed leaves that can end up in nearby gutters.
Questions to ask before you book
- Whether VAT is in the quoted price
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- Their insurance cover
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
Common questions in Waterloo
Is parking a problem for a survey in Waterloo?
London parking needs a little planning, so let us know about permits, bays or a driveway as you book. That way the visit can be planned around it.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near London Waterloo station?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you need, and we’ll talk through which survey suits.
Is it a structural engineer’s report?
No. We point out what can be seen, such as sagging or deflection, but we’re not structural engineers and do not carry out calculations. Where an engineer is needed, we say so in the report.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. This is a survey of the roof only, so it’s not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. Many buyers have both.
Do you take photos of the roof?
Yes. Photographs are part of every report.
Does the weather affect the survey?
Light rain is typically fine; heavy rain and wind are different. High wind or heavy rain can make access unsafe and ground a drone, so we’d move the date with you.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys.
Why act early in Waterloo
A loose pot or brick can fall from height. Finding them early means they can be dealt with before they come down by a roofer. Work on a London roof is rarely simple to arrange, with parking, neighbours and access all to think about. That is a good reason to find problems early, while there is time to plan, rather than in a rush after a leak.
Prices start from £150, including VAT, for a Basic Survey. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both including VAT. You’ll know the price for your roof before booking.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Waterloo
- Over 20 years’ experience
- Packages from £150, including VAT
- PI and public liability insurance
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
Take a look at our cost guide or what we found on two real jobs.
What a chimney survey does not cover
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Flue inspections or sweeping
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will tell you before booking. What a survey covers and does not.
What we check
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
Tips from our surveys
Some practical points come up on survey after survey. They’re worth knowing whatever the roof:
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Check with the council before altering a stack in a conservation area or on a listed building
Where another specialist is needed, like a structural engineer or sweep, we explain why. That helps you brief them.
Get small mortar repairs done while they’re small. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
How it works
A survey visit follows a simple order: we listen to what’s been worrying you, inspect the roof from each safe vantage point, photograph what we find and record our findings for the written report. Most visits take about one to two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. For a visit in Waterloo, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. On the day, the roof is looked at from the ground, from windows, from inside the roof space and from the roof where it is safe.
- 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.
- Where there’s safe access, we look at the stack in the loft and the chimney breasts for damp.
- The findings are written up with photographs and recommendations and emailed to you.
Before we arrive
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Let us know about parking before the day
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
Booking a survey
A quick phone call is typically the easiest start: call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.