West Sussex · London and the South East
Portslade Electronic Leak Detection
A careful look at the flat roof membrane at your property in Portslade, with photographs and a written report.
- A flat roof leak that can’t be traced
- Breaches around outlets and penetrations
- Stains far from any visible defect
How electronic leak detection works in Portslade
Not every flat roof suits electronic testing. Some membranes conduct electricity themselves, and some build-ups lack the layer the test needs below the membrane. We will say if ELD will not work on your roof before any testing. Telling us what you know about the roof’s membrane and layers helps, including drawings, specifications or the roofer’s paperwork. It saves a wasted visit. If you’re worried about repairs that haven’t stopped the leak and punctures from foot traffic or tools, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
Outbuildings, garden rooms and garages in places like Portslade frequently have flat roofs of their own. They’re easy to forget, but water through a garage roof can spoil whatever is stored inside. If you want them looked at too, mention them when booking. Smaller roofs use the same coverings as bigger ones, from felt to rubber and GRP, and age in the same way.
After the visit, you get a photo-illustrated written report, sent by email. It explains the condition of the flat roof membrane, the defects we found and what we recommend.
- Location
- Portslade (BN41, BN3, BN42)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Cost
- Quoted for your roof
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about electronic leak detection in Portslade
Does being near the coast affect roofs in Portslade?
Places near the sea get more wind and more salt in the air than inland, and both are hard on roofs. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces.
Is my home in Portslade listed or in a conservation area?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Will I get photos?
Yes, plenty. Pictures sit next to the findings they show, so you can see what we mean.
Does ELD include fixing the breach?
No, our part is finding the breaches. The report gives your roofer the locations.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. We are experienced roof surveyors, and our survey covers the roof rather than the whole building. For the rest of the building, a RICS home survey is a separate job.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Yes, where it is applicable. Whether we can fly on the day depends on the weather and the airspace rules, including flight restriction zones near airports. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and sampling are not something we do. Where a material might contain it, like old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it.
Electronic leak detection in Portslade: local notes
The coast is about 1 mile or less from Portslade, and places near the sea get more salt in the air and more wind than inland. Coastal wind works at the edges of flat roofs, and salt air wears metal trims and fixings. Many older homes in Sussex have handmade clay tiles and tile-hung walls. Some old buildings in Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs. Flat roofs on extensions, dormers, garages and business units are found alongside them almost everywhere.
Historic houses like Portslade Manor, about 0.1 miles south-west, show how far back building around Portslade goes. On a period home nearby, any flat roof is likely to be a later addition with its own lifespan. For site and facilities teams at buildings like Peter Gladwin Primary School, large flat roofs, common on schools and other public buildings, need their outlets, upstands and coverings checked regularly.
Portslade is about 1 mile west of Brighton and Hove, in West Sussex. We cover Portslade and the rest of West Sussex, as part of our work across London and South East England. Portslade is one of the towns and villages in West Sussex where we work for electronic leak detection.
Surveys in BN41, BN3 and BN42 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. That includes homes and businesses on Mill Lane, Crown Road and Drove Road and the roads around them. Main roads around Portslade include the A293, which makes travel easy. We also cover the places around Portslade: Hangleton (1 mile north-east), Southwick (1 mile south-west), Kingston by Sea (1 mile west), Shoreham-by-Sea (2 miles west) and Old Shoreham (3 miles west). Further out, we also cover Worthing (8 miles west), Haywards Heath (12 miles north-east), Burgess Hill (9 miles north-east), Littlehampton (14 miles west), Lancing (5 miles west) and Rustington (13 miles west).
Local landmarks in Portslade
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to King's School, Benfield Hill and The Mill House, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Fishersgate station, roughly 0.7 miles south of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include British Engineerium (1.8 miles east) and Southlands Hospital (1.8 miles west). For a walk, there’s Shoreham Beach and Thundersbarrow Hill.
How the survey changes by roof type
Inverted and paved roofs
Paving and terraces cover the membrane. Suitability depends on the layers.
Bituminous membranes
ELD is frequently possible on bituminous membranes though the layers below matter.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not 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.
Also near Portslade
Other services in Portslade
Honest limits
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Carrying out the repair work
- How wet the insulation is
- Some conductive membranes
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll tell you. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Liquid-applied waterproofing
- Flat roof membranes
- Single-ply roofs
- Commercial flat roofs
- Green roofs
- Roof terraces and balconies
What we’re asked to look at in Portslade
Water travels under flat roof membranes. The leak may show some distance from where water gets in which makes it hard to find by looking.
We are often asked to look at:
- Leaking laps in the waterproofing
- Leaks at pipes, outlets or fixings
- Leaks showing away from the breach
- Waterproofing to test before it is covered
For landlords with property near Fishersgate station, flat roofs over rear additions and dormers in rented property are worth checking between tenancies.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
- Whether the price includes VAT
- How soon the report will arrive
How it works
The visit has one job: to look at the flat roof membrane as closely as is safe and record what we find. Notes and photographs go into the written report. The visit normally takes a time that depends on the membrane area and the build-up, which we’ll explain when we quote. Homes around Portslade frequently have gardens on more than one side, which gives us room to step back and see the roof. Mention any side of the property we can’t get to. Inside, the loft is looked at where it can be reached safely.
- We start by finding out what the roof is made of and where it leaks.
- We confirm whether the roof is suitable for electronic testing.
- The method depends on the membrane and what sits above and below it.
- We test the membrane and find where current is passing through it.
- The breaches are recorded with photographs in a report for your roofer.
Getting ready for the survey
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
- For flats, make sure roof access has been agreed
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
Booking a survey
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from ground level or a window. To send them or to book, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
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What affects the cost of electronic leak detection
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- Roof area
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so the price reflects that. The price is confirmed before you book.
Booking your survey
What helps most when you contact us:
- What made you get in touch
- Anything about access we should know
- The address and postcode of the property
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
We survey roofs seven days a week. To arrange a day that suits you, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email.