Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Wennington, Greater London
A careful look at the chimney stack at your property in Wennington, with photographs and a written report.
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
- Cracked or missing flaunching
- Worn or missing pointing
What affects the cost of chimney surveys
Prices vary from roof to roof, for these reasons:
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- The height of the building and how the roof can safely be seen
- Whether you choose the Basic, Standard or Premium Survey
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
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. Our price is from £150, including VAT.
What to let us know when you contact us
Some details help us recommend the right survey and price. When you contact us, it helps to mention:
- Anything about access we should know
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To find a date that works for you, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and the days you’d prefer.
Chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Wennington
If you are 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 works alongside a RICS home survey, not instead of one. We are often asked to look into lifted or split lead flashings and unused flues sealed without airflow, on chimney pots and cowls, lead flashings and brick chimney stacks.
Many London terraces have a butterfly roof, with two slopes meeting in a central valley gutter that drains to the rear. Hidden behind the parapet, that gutter can block or split without anyone seeing it. For a house in Wennington with this kind of roof, the hidden gutter is one of the first things to check.
The report doesn’t just list problems. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend.
- Place
- Wennington (RM13)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What a chimney survey looks like in Wennington
Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. On a semi of that age, the small roofs over the bays, the hip tiles and any later dormer each need their own look. On roofs like these, good slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens, lead and mortar around them. Historic houses like Rainham Hall, about 1.5 miles north-west, show how far back building in the area around Wennington goes. If you own one of the older houses, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
Homes near green spaces such as Wildspace Conservation Park can get more leaves in their gutters in autumn, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls. Shop and office owners around Lakeside Shopping Centre may find that a roof report helps plan work around trading rather than after a leak.
Wennington is about 4 miles south of Hornchurch, in Greater London. Whether the building in Wennington is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, we can survey the roof on a weekday or at the weekend. We cover towns and villages across Greater London. We also survey roofs in London.
We cover every part of the RM13 postcode area for chimney surveys. We also cover the places around Wennington: Aveley (1 mile east), Hacton (2 miles north), South Ockendon (3 miles east), Upminster Bridge (4 miles north) and Hornchurch (4 miles north). Larger places within reach include London (14 miles west), St Pancras (15 miles west), Shoreditch (13 miles west), Walthamstow (12 miles north-west), Hoxton (13 miles west) and Whitechapel (12 miles west).
What’s near Wennington
Typical jobs here are in homes near Lennard Arms Inn, Wildspace Conservation Park and Harris Academy Rainham. The closest station to Wennington is Rainham (Essex) station, roughly 1.4 miles north-west. Nearby you’ll also find St George's Hospital (2.8 miles north) and Erith Museum (2.5 miles south-west). Green spaces nearby include Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve.
How it works
You don’t need to do much on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we’ll get on with the inspection. A typical survey takes between one and two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. From the street, a London terrace typically shows only its front slope or parapet, so in Wennington we work round the house, using the street, the windows, the loft and any safe vantage point behind it. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Let us know who holds the keys.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- Each chimney is viewed from wherever it can be seen safely.
- We check and photograph the pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- You get a report with photographs and our recommendations.
Getting ready for the survey
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Leave side gates unlocked
Book a survey
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. Otherwise, simply phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form whenever suits you.
Related advice
Common questions in Wennington
Is my home in Wennington listed or in a conservation area?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it’s worth checking before planning any.
Is parking a problem for a survey in Wennington?
It depends on the street. Where there are permit zones, a visitor permit or nearby pay-and-display bay works well.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, and we can provide details if a managing agent needs them.
Do you look in the roof space?
Where it is relevant to the survey and there is safe access, yes. A clear path to the hatch helps.
Will you go up on the roof?
Not always. Some roofs are too steep or fragile to walk on safely. We use safe viewpoints, the loft space and a drone where it applies, and the report records anything we couldn’t see.
How long does the survey take?
It normally takes about one to two hours for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. You’ll then get the report by email, on the timescale of your package.
Is a leaning chimney dangerous?
Don’t ignore it. Leaning often comes from mortar breaking down unevenly. We record its condition with photos, and a structural engineer can confirm whether it is stable.
Different roofs, different checks
Flaunching
The sloping mortar around the pots is called flaunching. Once it cracks, water can get straight into the brickwork.
Brick stacks
Most chimney stacks are built of brick, with mortar joints that wear over time. We check the bricks for spalling and the joints for erosion.
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple and safe from ground level. Our suggestions:
- Have the flue swept and checked if you use the fire
- Note any damp on chimney breasts and when it appears
- Remove aerials or dishes from the stack if they’re no longer needed
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
If the stack is shared, you can pass the report to your neighbour. It shows what we found and where, as far as we could see.
Check redundant flues are capped with ventilation. Ventilation helps keep the stack dry.
What we can’t see
No survey can tell you everything, and we’d rather be clear about that before booking. Keep these in mind:
- Flue inspections or sweeping
- A structural engineer’s assessment
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
If you are not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will give you a straight answer. What our survey covers.
Roof types and parts we check
- Flaunching
- Brick chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- Chimney breasts
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
Nearby places to Wennington
What else we do in Wennington
Common roof problems in Wennington
Removing a chimney breast inside can leave questions about how the stack is supported. We note what’s visible in the roof space and outside, and the report recommends a structural engineer if support is a concern.
Things that often lead to a survey include:
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Disused chimneys trapping moisture
For an older house near a landmark like St Mary and St Peter's Church, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Whether the price includes VAT
- When you’ll get the report
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- Will the report include photos?