Brighton and Hove · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Whitehawk, Brighton and Hove
Chimney surveys in Whitehawk and the rest of Brighton and Hove. Surveys run on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Pots or cowls that look unsafe
- Lifted or split lead flashings
- A chimney out of line
How a chimney survey works in Whitehawk
For buyers, a chimney survey before exchange can flag work you may want to raise. On older stacks, we frequently find cracked flaunching, loose flashings and worn pointing. You get photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. Common reasons to book are damp patches on chimney breasts and unused flues sealed without airflow, on brick chimney stacks, chimney breasts and flaunching.
Around Whitehawk, gardens, hedges and nearby trees can mean leaves and moss end up on roofs and in gutters. Once gutters and outlets block, water spills over and soaks the walls. A report spots that kind of slow problem before it becomes damp inside. Moss on the roof and weeds in the gutter are both easy to spot from ground level.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Location
- Whitehawk (BN2)
- Region
- Brighton and Hove
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What you can safely check yourself
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
What a chimney survey looks like in Whitehawk
Whitehawk lies within about 1 mile of the sea, and being near the sea means more wind and salt than a roof inland would face. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces, and driving rain gets into whatever gap is left. Royal Pavilion, about 1.4 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Whitehawk. On older houses around here, roofs often 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.
If you look after a building such as City Academy Whitehawk, a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. For an older house near a landmark such as St Cuthman's, old fixings, lead flashings and tall chimneys are typical of older roofs.
Whitehawk is about 1 mile south-east of Brighton, in Brighton and Hove. We provide chimney surveys for homes and businesses in Whitehawk. Whitehawk is one of the towns and villages in Brighton and Hove we cover.
We cover every part of the BN2 postcode area for chimney surveys. We offer chimney surveys to properties on Peel Road, Manor Road and Craven Road and the roads around them. Neighbouring places we cover for chimney surveys include Kemptown (1 mile south-west), Hanover (1 mile west), Carlton Hill (1 mile west), Bevendean (1 mile north) and Brighton (1 mile north-west). Larger places within reach include Brighton and Hove (4 miles west), Hove (3 miles west), Aldrington (4 miles west), Withdean (3 miles north-west), Hangleton (5 miles north-west) and Patcham (3 miles north-west).
Around Whitehawk
In Whitehawk, that means homes and buildings near St Mary's Hall, Whitehawk Hill and Longhill High School and the streets around them. Whitehawk’s nearest station is Brighton station, roughly 1.6 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Brighton Motor Museum (0.7 miles south-west) and Royal Sussex County Hospital (0.6 miles south-west). Not far away are Newmarket Hill and Whitehawk Hill.
Also near Whitehawk
Other services in Whitehawk
Roof by roof
Chimney pots and cowls
A loose or cracked pot can fall from height. We record their condition with photographs.
Chimney breasts and the loft
Damp patches on chimney breasts often point to a problem above. We check the breasts and the stack in the roof space where we can reach.
Questions from Whitehawk
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Whitehawk, take more of a battering?
Generally, yes: wind and salt air take more of a toll near the sea. Ridges, verges, flashings and fixings are where it usually shows.
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Brighton station?
Yes, landlords and agents are among the people we work for. You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you need, and we will talk through which survey suits.
What insurance do you have?
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
Do I need to be at home?
Not necessarily. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. We look at the roof, not the whole building, so it’s not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. It can sit alongside a RICS survey if you want both.
How long is the visit?
Most surveys take about one to two hours at a house, as part of a look at the roof around the stack. We’ll confirm the timing as you book.
Should a redundant chimney be removed?
It depends on its condition and your plans. The survey shows its condition and how it’s been capped. In a conservation area or on a listed building, changes may need consent.
What we’re asked to look at in Whitehawk
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.
Common reasons to book include:
- Staining on walls around the chimney
- A stack that appears to lean
- Gaps in the mortar around the pots
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
If you live near a park such as Whitehawk Hill, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys, and an overflowing gutter soon means a wet wall.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- What the survey won’t cover
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
- Is VAT included in the price?
How the survey works
Time on site depends on the size and shape of the roof, but as a rough guide the survey takes about one to two hours for a house, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. You’re welcome to ask questions while we’re there. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to Whitehawk is booked with the forecast in mind: the parts that need calm, dry weather are planned around it.
- We start with the details: how many stacks, whether any are shared and any signs of damp.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, 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 loft space where we can reach them.
- You get a written report with photos and our recommendations.
Before we arrive
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
Getting a price
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so there’s time to use the report before exchange. Otherwise, simply call 07833 053749 or use the contact form whenever suits you.
Advice
Tips from our surveys
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week:
- Ask for ventilated caps on redundant stacks
- Glance at the stacks from the street now and then
- Use the report as a baseline for future checks
- Ask about consent before removing a chimney on an older property
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. That helps you brief them.
Have worn pointing and cracked flaunching dealt with early. Small repairs now can save bigger work later.
What a chimney survey doesn’t cover
We only report whatever is safely visible on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- Parts of the stack that can’t be seen safely or belong to a neighbour we can’t access
- Whether the flue is safe to use
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will recommend the right survey before you book. What our survey covers.
Roofs we survey in Whitehawk
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Flaunching