Greater London · London and the South East
Chimney survey in Woolwich, Greater London
Know where you stand with the chimney stack before you decide what to do next. We carry out chimney surveys in Woolwich, with photos and a clear written report.
- Signs that a stack is leaning
- Loose, cracked or missing pots
- Frost-damaged brickwork on the stack
Woolwich questions
Do you survey roofs for landlords with property near Woolwich Dockyard station?
Of course. We just need to know who will give access, and we can send the report to you or your agent.
Is my home in Woolwich listed or in a conservation area?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it is worth checking before planning any.
What happens after the survey?
You receive the written report by email, with photos and recommendations. It’s yours to share with a seller, insurer, roofer or managing agent, whichever applies.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime. Just say which days work for you.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. It is a specialist roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 building survey. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
Is it a structural engineer’s report?
No. We note visible signs 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.
Will you walk 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.
Chimney survey in Woolwich
A chimney survey looks at the stack and everything around it: the pots and cowls, the flaunching on top, the pointing, the brickwork and the flashings where it meets the roof. Inside, we check chimney breasts and the stack in the loft where it’s safe to reach. You get a written report with photos and our recommendations. It suits a single stack on a house as well as several on a larger building. We survey lead flashings, chimney pots and cowls and chimney breasts, and common reasons people get in touch are worn or missing pointing and pots or cowls that look unsafe.
London has a great many flats in converted houses and purpose-built blocks, so roofs are often shared between several households. Whoever looks after the building needs a clear picture of the roof, chimneys and gutters, in Woolwich as anywhere. Leaks from a shared roof rarely affect just one home. A report gives everyone the same picture to plan from, with photographs.
The report is yours to share with whoever needs it: a seller or estate agent, an insurer, a roofer, a builder or a managing agent.
- Place
- Woolwich (SE18, E16, SE7)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What a chimney survey does not cover
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, and that sets some limits:
- The inside of the flue, which needs a sweep or flue specialist
- Gas safety checks, which need a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Conditions inside walls
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll recommend the right survey before you book. What our survey covers.
Roofs we survey in Woolwich
- Chimney breasts
- Lead flashings
- Brick chimney stacks
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Flaunching
What happens on the day
Before we start, tell us why you’ve booked: a purchase, a leak, a storm, new work or simply peace of mind. It helps us focus on what matters most to you. Most visits take an hour or two for most homes, a little longer where there are several stacks. In a London conversion, the way into the loft space is often from a communal landing or the top flat. Where that’s the case, access needs agreeing with whoever controls that landing. Otherwise, the visit in Woolwich runs like any other.
- First we talk through the stacks, their history and any problems.
- Each stack is inspected from safe positions outside.
- We photograph and record the pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings.
- We look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft space.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations by email.
Before the survey
- If you are buying, check with the agent that we can get in
- Keep pets in another room
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
Arrange a survey
Photos help, if you have them. Pictures from ground level or a window are fine; never climb up to get a better view. To send them or to book, call 07833 053749 or email us.
Read more
What a chimney survey looks like in Woolwich
Historic houses such as Queen's House, about 2.9 miles west, show how far back building in the area around Woolwich goes. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. If your home in Woolwich is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
Take a building like Mulgrave Primary School: a written record of a large roof helps plan work for the holidays rather than in term time. If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for example near Gallions Reach Shopping Park, knowing the roof’s condition lets you budget for work rather than pay for emergencies.
Woolwich is about 6 miles south-east of Leyton, in Greater London. Wherever you are in Woolwich, we can come and survey your property, on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday. Woolwich is one of the places in Greater London where we work. We also survey roofs in London.
Every address in SE18, E16 and SE7 is covered for chimney surveys. Local streets include Market Street, Woolwich High Street and Beresford Square Market Place, and we cover them all. If you are just outside Woolwich, we cover Plumstead (1 mile east), Charlton (1 mile west), New Charlton (1 mile west), Shooter's Hill (1 mile south) and Kidbrooke (2 miles south-west). We also work in nearby towns such as London (7 miles west), City of Westminster (9 miles west), Marylebone (9 miles west), Kensington (11 miles west), St Pancras (8 miles west) and Shoreditch (7 miles north-west).
Near you in Woolwich
We work in homes and buildings around Woolwich Common, Oasis Academy Silvertown and Oasis Academy Silvertown. Woolwich has its own railway station: Woolwich Dockyard station. Nearby you will also find Royal Artillery Museum (0.5 miles north-east) and British Hospital for Mothers and Babies (0.5 miles west). The countryside around Woolwich includes Gilbert's Pit.
When to book a survey in Woolwich
The flaunching on top of a stack holds the pots in place and sheds water. Once it cracks, water gets in and frost makes the cracks bigger. Loose pots can follow.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Damaged chimney pots and cowls
- Gaps where the stack meets the roof
- Bricks with flaking faces
- Redundant stacks capped without ventilation
For landlords with property near Woolwich Dockyard station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- When you will get the report
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?
- Their insurance cover
Places near Woolwich
What else we do in Woolwich
Useful tips for Woolwich property owners
Nothing here needs a ladder. Our suggestions:
- Photograph damp patches with the date
- Have brackets on the chimney checked
- Book a sweep for flues that are in use
- File photos of the stacks with your home records
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. It gives them a clear starting point.
Look at your chimneys from the ground now and then, especially after strong winds. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
Roof by roof
Lead flashings
Lead flashings seal the joint between the stack and the roof. We check for lifting, splits and gaps in the joints.
Rendered stacks
What’s behind the render cannot be seen without removing some, so the report explains what we could and couldn’t assess.
Can I check my roof myself?
It’s useful to keep a record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Share it with us as you book.
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, which helps when we check the roof.