Greater London · London and the South East
Electronic leak detection in Coldharbour, Greater London
Wondering about the flat roof membrane at a property in Coldharbour? You can book electronic leak detection in Coldharbour and across Greater London, with plain-English findings.
- Stains far from any visible defect
- New membranes needing a check before handover
- Leaks through a flat roof with no obvious cause
Electronic leak detection in Coldharbour: what you get
ELD can be carried out in more than one way. Low-voltage testing is normally done with the surface wet, while high-voltage testing needs a dry, exposed membrane. The right method depends on the membrane and the build-up of the roof, and we’ll explain our choice. If neither method suits your roof, we’ll tell you before any testing starts. We are often asked to look into leaks through a flat roof with no obvious cause and damage from equipment installers, on roof terraces and balconies, liquid-applied waterproofing and commercial flat roofs.
Water getting through a flat roof in London can travel under the covering and appear some way from the hole. Upstands against parapets, outlets and the edge where flat meets pitched are common entry points. In a converted house in Coldharbour, the roof above may belong to the building rather than one flat.
The report is written in plain words, so you do not need to be a roofer to follow it. Each point is backed by a photograph where possible, and recommendations are put by urgency where it matters.
- Where
- Coldharbour (E14, SE10, E22)
- Region
- Greater London
- Price
- Quoted for your roof
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about electronic leak detection in Coldharbour
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Coldharbour?
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.
Can you look at the flat roof of a hotel or office near Coldharbour?
Yes, commercial buildings, hotels included, are part of the work. Access to the roof is sorted out with whoever manages the building before the day.
Is Coldharbour in your area?
Yes, we do. We carry out electronic leak detection in Coldharbour, and the service is the same as everywhere else we work.
How much time does ELD need?
Testing normally takes longer on a large roof than a small one, and the build-up of the roof makes a difference too.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes, once whoever controls the roof agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we are allowed to reach.
What’s the best way to book?
Just call 07833 053749 or email us. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day, weekday or weekend.
How many surveys have you done?
We’ve been surveying roofs for over 20 years and have carried out more than 5,000 surveys.
Why get it checked now?
Not every leak is in the membrane. ELD helps rule the membrane in or out so attention can go to the right place. London’s older roofs often have bitumen felt underlay or none at all, so once the slates or flashings let water past, little stops it reaching ceilings. Left alone, that means wet timbers and plaster, which is a far bigger job than the roof fault itself.
Every price we give includes VAT. Electronic leak detection is quoted for your roof, because the method depends on the roof. You’ll know the price for your roof before you book.
Why book us in Coldharbour
- 20+ years’ experience
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- 5,000+ surveys completed
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
Take a look at what a roof survey costs or two real surveys.
What we’re asked to look at in Coldharbour
When the membrane is buried, holes cannot be seen at all. ELD can work on some covered roofs though it depends on the layers.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Holes around roof penetrations
- Damp inside with no sign on the roof
- Repairs that haven’t stopped the leak
- Leaks under green or ballasted roofs
If you look after a shop, office or commercial unit, for instance near Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, the flat roofs over shops and commercial units are worth checking before a leak, not after.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- Are they insured for the work?
- Which limits apply to the survey
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
For landlords and managing agents
Landlords, agents and building managers in Coldharbour and across Greater London can book any of our surveys. To discuss a property or a block, call 07833 053749 or email us.
With a portfolio of properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To arrange surveys for several addresses, phone 07833 053749 or email us with the addresses.
What we look for on each type of roof
Liquid-applied waterproofing
Small holes in liquid waterproofing may leak. Where the roof suits it, testing can find them.
Green and ballasted roofs
Testing before planting or ballast goes on is simpler.
What electronic leak detection does not cover
This isn’t a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. Other limits to bear in mind:
- How wet the insulation is
- Roofs whose membrane or build-up isn’t suitable
- Water entering through details rather than the membrane
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll tell you. What our survey covers.
Roof types and parts we check
- Commercial flat roofs
- Green roofs
- Liquid-applied waterproofing
- Flat roof membranes
- Single-ply roofs
- Roof terraces and balconies
Nearby places to Coldharbour
Other services in Coldharbour
Local flat roofs in Coldharbour
With Queen's House about 1.5 miles south, Coldharbour sits in an area with a long building history. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. From the street you may see only a parapet, with a butterfly roof and a valley gutter behind it draining to the back. Lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are typical of these houses, if yours is one of them. Next to the main roofs there’s normally a flat roof somewhere, whether on an extension, a garage or a commercial unit.
If you run a hotel or guest house in or near Coldharbour, a roof problem can mean rooms out of use, so it is worth knowing the roof’s condition. The streets around a church such as All Saints Church are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, later flat-roofed additions are common on older houses, and their edges and upstands frequently show the first signs of wear.
Coldharbour is about 2 miles north of Greenwich, in Greater London. We cover Coldharbour and the rest of Greater London, as part of our work across London and the South East. Our area takes in places right across Greater London.
Electronic leak detection in E14, SE10 and E22 are booked the same way as anywhere else. That includes homes and businesses on Canada Square, Simpson's Road and Amsterdam Road. With the A1206 and A1261 close by, Coldharbour is simple for us to get to for electronic leak detection. If you are just outside Coldharbour, we cover Blackwall (1 mile north-east), London Docklands (1 mile west), Poplar (1 mile north-west), Canary Wharf (1 mile west) and Heron Quays (1 mile west). We also work in nearby towns such as London (4 miles west), City of Westminster (6 miles west), Marylebone (6 miles west), Kensington (8 miles west), St Pancras (5 miles west) and Shoreditch (3 miles north-west).
Near you in Coldharbour
Around Coldharbour, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Canary Wharf College 3, Mudchute Park and Farm and Tower Hamlets College. The nearest railway station is Canary Wharf station, roughly 0.5 miles north-west of the centre. A little further out are Old Royal Naval College (1.3 miles south) and Poplar Hospital (0.6 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Tower Hill and Lavender Pond.
The survey, step by step
Once we’ve finished looking, we write up our findings in a report with photographs. As for time on site, most surveys take as long as needed for the size of the roof and how it’s built, which we set out in the quote. For a visit in Coldharbour, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. We then look at everything that’s safely in view from the ground, windows, the loft and, where it’s safe, the roof itself.
- We ask about the roof, its age, its membrane and where leaks appear inside.
- The roof is assessed to see if electronic testing will work on it.
- We pick the low-voltage or high-voltage method that suits the roof.
- We test the membrane and find where current is passing through it.
- The breaches are recorded with photographs in a report for your roofer.
How to prepare
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
How to book
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and let us know the address and what’s prompted the survey. You will know the price before anything is booked.