Reading · London and the South East
Play Hatch Drone Roof Survey
Drone roof surveys for homes and businesses in Play Hatch. We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys across London and the South East.
- Cracked mortar along the ridge
- Eroded pointing on a chimney stack
- Storm damage on steep or tall roofs
Your questions about drone roof surveys in Play Hatch
How do I find out if my home in Play Hatch is listed?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Will you come out to Play Hatch?
We do. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house.
How long does the visit take?
Expect it to take between one and two hours on an ordinary house, or half a day or so for a commercial building. Pre-flight checks of the site and the weather are part of that.
What’s the best way to book?
To book, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address, the type of property and what’s prompted the survey. We will confirm the price and agree a day with you.
Are you structural engineers?
No. We point out what can be seen, such as sagging or deflection, but we’re not structural engineers and don’t carry out calculations. Where an engineer is needed, we say so in the report.
What insurance do you have?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. We look at the roof, not the whole building, and it is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. It can sit alongside a RICS survey if you want both.
Drone roof survey in Play Hatch
Drone roof surveys are available in Play Hatch and throughout London and South East England, subject to airspace checks and the weather. We fly seven days a week. We check the airspace for your address before booking a flight. The report includes the drone photos and our recommendations. To check whether your roof suits a drone survey, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form. If you’re worried about debris building up in hidden gutters and gaps where slates or tiles have gone, we can find out what’s behind it.
In a small place like Play Hatch, open ground can mean strong wind. Strong wind or heavy rain stops a small drone flying, and calm conditions also suit thermal imaging best. The visit is planned around the forecast, along with the journey and access. A change in the forecast can mean moving the visit to another day.
Findings are set out part by part, from the coverings down to the gutters. It records what’s sound as well as what is not.
- Where
- Play Hatch (RG4)
- Region
- Reading
- Prices
- From £400 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What we look for on each type of roof
Flat roofs on tall buildings
Flat roofs on tall buildings are often seen by nobody. From above, standing water, splits and tired upstands are clear.
Ridges and hips
Ridges may be bedded in mortar or mechanically fixed. We record what we see of their condition.
Also near Play Hatch
What else we do in Play Hatch
What we cannot see
Our survey isn’t a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- A flight where airspace permission is refused
- Flights in high wind or heavy rain
- What’s under the slates, tiles or felt
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll point you to the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and does not.
What this survey covers
- Chimney stacks
- Flat roofs on upper floors
- Large and complex roofs
- Fragile roofs
- Valleys and parapet gutters
- Tall and steep roofs
Why get it checked now?
A drone record gives you a baseline. Next time, you can compare and see what has moved or worn. It helps when you plan ahead. Older cottages and farmhouses around Play Hatch can have roof timbers that have been there a very long time, and water through a failed covering can rot timber if it is left.
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package you pick makes a difference too. We will give you the figure before anything is booked.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Play Hatch
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Over 5,000 surveys carried out
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and two real surveys.
DIY checks: what’s safe
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Your own check is a good start, but it isn’t a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are frequently out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
What a survey costs
Survey packages start from £150, including VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- The height of the building and how the roof can be seen safely
- The roof’s overall size
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
- House, block, shop or office
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so the price reflects that. The price is confirmed before booking.
Getting in touch
Before you get in touch, it is useful to have:
- When you need the report by
- The address and postcode of the property
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
You can call us seven days a week. For a price or to book, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Airspace, weather and Play Hatch roofs
With Mapledurham House about 4.4 miles west, Play Hatch sits in an area with a long building history. 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 the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Our drone weighs under 250g, and we hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID. Flights in the open category stay under 120 m (400 ft), with the drone kept in sight.
Take a building like St Martin's Catholic Primary School: thermal images can show where wet insulation sits under a big flat roof. The streets around a church such as St Andrew's Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if your home is one of the older ones nearby, tall stacks and steep slopes are easier to judge with close-up aerial photos than from the pavement. If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for instance near The Oracle, big, flat commercial roofs are where photos from the air and thermal images help most.
Play Hatch is about 1 mile east of Caversham, in Reading. We carry out drone roof surveys in Play Hatch for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings, with a written report and photographs every time. Across Reading, we cover Play Hatch and the places around it.
Surveys in RG4 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover properties on Dene Close, Henley Road and Foxhill Lane. If you’re just outside Play Hatch, we cover Dunsden Green (1 mile north), Caversham Park Village (1 mile west), Littlestead Green (1 mile north-west), Emmer Green (1 mile west) and Sonning (1 mile south-east). Larger places within reach include Norcot (4 miles west), West Reading (3 miles south-west), Tilehurst Within (5 miles west), Shinfield (5 miles south), Arborfield Garrison (7 miles south) and Horncastle (5 miles south-west).
Around Play Hatch
In Play Hatch, that means homes and buildings near Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre, Reading Blue Coat School and The Shoulder of Mutton pub. Play Hatch’s nearest station is Reading station, roughly 2.2 miles south-west. Other landmarks nearby include The Oracle (2.4 miles south-west) and Royal Berkshire Hospital (2.3 miles south-west). The countryside around Play Hatch includes Alder Moors and South Lake.
What we do, step by step
You do not need to do much on the day. Point out anything you’ve noticed, such as stains, drips or loose pieces, and we will get on with the inspection. The survey itself takes between one and two hours at a house, including the airspace and weather checks before take-off. Older rural homes like those around Play Hatch can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints, and anything we cannot see is noted.
- You give us the address and tell us about the roof.
- Airspace restrictions are checked and permission sought where needed.
- We assess the conditions and the take-off spot first.
- The drone photographs the roof closely, kept in sight throughout.
- We email the report with close-up photos and recommendations.
Preparing for the visit
- If it is not your property yet, arrange access through the agent
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Book a survey
We survey roofs on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. To find a date that works for you, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email.