East Sussex · London and the South East
Chimney Survey in Wych Cross
Get a clear view of the chimney stack at a property in Wych Cross. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Unused flues sealed without airflow
- A stack that appears to lean
- Lifted or split lead flashings
Common questions in Wych Cross
Is my home in Wych Cross listed or in a conservation area?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it’s in a conservation area. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Do you cover smaller places like Wych Cross?
Yes, we do. Our area covers London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Are you structural engineers?
No. We’re experienced roof surveyors, and visible signs such as sagging are noted, but calculations and an engineer’s opinion are outside what we do. The report will say if you need an engineer.
How long will you be at the property?
That depends on the size and shape of the roof; most visits take an hour or two at a typical home, with bigger or more complicated roofs taking longer. The written report follows by email.
Is this a RICS survey?
No. It’s a specialist roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 building survey. It focuses on the roof and can sit alongside a RICS survey.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and every flight depends on the airspace and the weather.
What happens next?
You’ll receive the report by email, and what you do next is up to you: raise it with a seller, send it to an insurer, brief a roofer or share it with a managing agent.
About our chimney survey in Wych Cross
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 photos and findings you can take back to the seller or agent. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it. If you are worried about signs that a stack is leaning and cracked or missing flaunching, we can find out what’s behind it.
Somewhere as small as Wych Cross, homes are often older cottages and farmhouses, with outbuildings and some newer houses. Roofs there can be clay tile, slate, stone or thatch, and chimney stacks are often old. We report on what can safely be seen, and thatch is a specialist material. On older roofs, it’s usually the chimneys and lead flashings that need work first.
Every survey ends with a written report, with photographs, emailed to you. It sets out the condition of the chimney stack, any defects and our written recommendations.
- Place
- Wych Cross (RH18)
- Region
- East Sussex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Wych Cross
What else we do in Wych Cross
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 1–2 hours for most houses, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. You’re welcome to ask questions while we’re there. Somewhere like Wych Cross needs a little journey planning: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. On the day, we inspect what can be seen safely, inside and out.
- First you let us know about the chimneys, any damp on the chimney breasts and any worries.
- The stacks are looked at from the ground, from windows and from other safe vantage points.
- The pots, cowls, flaunching, pointing, brickwork and flashings are checked and photographed.
- Inside, we look for damp on chimney breasts and in the loft where there’s safe access.
- You get a written report with photos and our recommendations.
Before the survey
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- If you’re buying, check with the agent that we can get in
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Booking a survey
Once you know what you need, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email. We will suggest a package, agree the price and find a date, weekday or weekend.
Related advice
Wych Cross homes and their roofs
The wider area around Wych Cross has a long history of building, with Standen about 3.2 miles north-west. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Many older homes in Sussex have handmade clay tiles and tile-hung walls. Some old buildings in Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs, and oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of East Sussex’s older buildings. Each of these coverings has its own weak points, from fixings and valleys to flashings, chimneys and gutters.
For landlords with property near East Grinstead station, the gap between tenancies is a good time to have the roof looked at.
Wych Cross is about 4 miles south-east of East Grinstead, in East Sussex. We provide chimney surveys for householders, landlords and businesses in Wych Cross and the surrounding area. We cover towns and villages across East Sussex. Our Crawley page covers surveys nearby.
Postcode districts we cover here for chimney surveys: RH18. Whether your property is on Lewes Road and Wych Cross or anywhere close by, we can help. If you’re just outside Wych Cross, we cover Chelwood Gate (1 mile south), Forest Row (2 miles north), Birchgrove (2 miles south-west), Coleman's Hatch (2 miles north-east) and Chelwood Common (2 miles south). We also work in nearby towns like Lewes (13 miles south), Crowborough (6 miles east), Uckfield (8 miles south-east), South Malling (13 miles south), Heathfield (12 miles south-east) and Southover (14 miles south).
Around Wych Cross
Wych Cross’s nearest station is East Grinstead station, about 4.5 miles north-west of the centre. A little further out are Heaven Farm Museum (3.6 miles south) and Waterbury Castle (3.6 miles south-west). Green spaces nearby include Brickfield Meadow.
Why act early in Wych Cross
A damp chimney breast seldom dries out until the cause is found. It can stain walls and damage plaster. Knowing whether it is the flaunching, flashings, brickwork or ventilation means the right fix can be planned. For an older or listed building in a place like Wych Cross, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so leaving a defect until it’s urgent leaves less time to plan.
Price depends partly on the package: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 or Premium from £400, all including VAT. The roof’s size, height and access matter as well.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Wych Cross
- Photographs and a written report every time
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- Visits on any day of the week
Read our cost guide and our case studies.
Signs you need a chimney survey in Wych Cross
Years of fires can affect the mortar inside a stack. Mortar can deteriorate unevenly from flue gases and moisture, which is one reason stacks start to lean.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Spalled or crumbling bricks
- Flashings pulling away from the stack
- Worn or missing pointing
- Staining on walls around the chimney
Anyone responsible for a site like Greenfields School will know that long gutter runs and wide roofs on a building that size are worth checking on a regular cycle.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- Their track record with similar roofs
- Which limits apply to the survey
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
- Their insurance cover
What you can safely check yourself
It helps to keep a record: dates of leaks, photos from ground level and any work done on the roof. Share it with us when you book.
A lot can be seen from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Please do not climb up for a closer look.
Tips that help
There’s plenty you can do without going near the roof. What helps most:
- Make sure unused flues are capped with ventilation
- Keep track of stains on chimney breasts
- Have the flue swept and checked if you use the fire
- Never climb onto the roof to look at a chimney
If the report recommends a structural engineer, a sweep or a Gas Safe registered engineer, it will say why. That helps you brief them.
Look at your chimneys from the ground now and then, particularly after strong winds. With binoculars, you can often see cracked flaunching or lifted lead.
When you need someone else
A survey is a careful look at the chimney stack, but it cannot do everything. Its limits include:
- Flue inspections or sweeping
- Hidden sides of a shared stack
- Whether a gas appliance or its flue is safe
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll suggest the right survey. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What we check
- Chimney pots and cowls
- Lead flashings
- Shared and party-wall stacks
- Brick chimney stacks
- Chimney breasts
- Flaunching