Greater London · London and the South East
Addiscombe Flat Roof Survey
Flat roof surveys in Addiscombe, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. Every survey ends with a written report and photos.
- Standing water left after rain
- Failed seals around rooflight kerbs
- Gaps at upstands and abutments
Your questions about flat roof surveys in Addiscombe
Do you cover Addiscombe?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photographs, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Addiscombe?
London parking needs a little planning, so let us know about permits, bays or a driveway when booking. The visit is then planned around what’s available.
Should I worry about standing water on my flat roof?
Water that lies on a flat roof for days is a sign that something needs attention. It could be the outlets, the falls or a deflecting deck. We check each of these and record what we find.
Will you photograph what you find?
Yes. The report includes photographs of what we found.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes. A shared roof needs access agreed first. Tell us about it as you book and we will explain what’s needed.
Are you insured?
Our cover is professional indemnity plus public liability, and details are available on request.
Does a flat roof survey replace a RICS survey?
No. It is a closer look at the flat roof, not a survey of the whole property. It complements a RICS home survey rather than replacing it, and it isn’t a structural engineer’s report.
Flat roof survey in Addiscombe
Flat roofs deal with rain in a very different way from pitched ones. Water lies on the surface for longer, so a small split or a blocked outlet can soon lead to a leak. The surface, the falls, the upstands and the trims are all looked at closely, and we look for signs that water has reached the deck. The aim is to find problems before they show up as a stain on a ceiling. We are often asked to look into upstands pulling away from walls and water getting in at rooflights, on mastic asphalt, upstands and outlets and felt flat roofs.
Offices, shops and blocks of flats across London often have large flat roofs with plant, rooflights and walkways. Every penetration and upstand is a place where a membrane can fail. In Addiscombe, roof access is agreed with the building manager or owner beforehand. Plant bases, rooflights and cable entries are all places where water can get in.
With the Standard Survey, you also get moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey goes further, with thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Location
- Addiscombe (CR0, SE25, CR9)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Leave it or get it looked at?
A leak over an office, shop or unit can affect the people and stock underneath. A planned survey lets you budget for work rather than deal with an emergency around the people who use the building. Blocked gutters and hoppers on London houses overflow and soak brickwork, which can lead to damp inside. A blocked outlet ignored for a winter or two can mean damp walls inside.
There are three survey packages: the Basic Survey from £150, the Standard Survey from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, with VAT included. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Why us?
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- Over 5,000 surveys carried out
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- Photos and a written report every time
Take a look at our cost guide or what we found on two real jobs.
Flat and commercial roofs around Addiscombe
Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, frequently with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. Hips, bay roofs and later loft conversions are typical of those semis, if your home is one of them. Mixed in with those pitched roofs are plenty of flat ones, over rear extensions, dormers, garages and shops. About 2 miles south-east lies Addington Palace, a reminder of how long the area around Addiscombe has been built on. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
The streets around a church such as St Mildred's Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, the flat roofs on later extensions tend to wear out long before the main roof. For landlords with property near Norwood Junction station, a flat roof over a rented flat is easy to forget until the tenant reports a leak.
Addiscombe is about 2 miles north-east of Croydon, in Greater London. We survey roofs in Addiscombe and the rest of Greater London. Addiscombe is one of the places in Greater London where we work for flat roof surveys. You can also see our page for London.
Postcode districts we cover here for flat roof surveys: CR0, SE25 and CR9. Whether your property is on Grant Road, Capri Road and Coe Avenue or a nearby road, we can survey it. Being close to the A232, Addiscombe is easy for us to reach for flat roof surveys. We also cover the places around Addiscombe: Shirley Oaks (1 mile east), Ashburton (1 mile north), Woodside (1 mile north), Shirley (1 mile east) and Monks Orchard (1 mile east). Within a short drive, we also cover London (8 miles north), City of Westminster (10 miles north), Marylebone (10 miles north), Kensington (10 miles north-west), St Pancras (10 miles north) and Shoreditch (10 miles north).
Near you in Addiscombe
We work in homes and buildings around The Woodside Academy, The Cricketers pub and Ashburton Park and the streets around them. Addiscombe’s nearest station is Norwood Junction station, roughly 1.2 miles north of the centre. Nearby you will also find St George's Walk (1.5 miles west) and Crystal Palace Museum (2.7 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Duppas Hill and Bramley Bank.
When to book a survey in Addiscombe
Flat roofs take the full force of the weather on a surface that drains slowly. In time, the covering dries out, cracks and loosens at its edges and laps. People usually call us when a leak appears, before a purchase, or when the roof may be near the end of its life.
We’re often asked to look at:
- Outlets choked with leaves and silt
- Blistering in felt or asphalt
- Water getting in at rooflights
- Failed upstands where the roof meets a wall
Controlled parking zones are common in London, so mention any permit rules for Addiscombe, along with any off-street space.
Questions to ask before booking
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- What experience they bring
- Which viewpoints they use to see the roof
- How soon the report will arrive
Different roofs, different checks
GRP fibreglass
Movement in the deck or a thin layer of resin can lead to cracks in GRP. Our report notes cracks and any sign that the deck is flexing.
Felt and built-up roofs
On felt, the upstands and edge details often fail before the main surface. Every upstand and edge is looked at, with photos of any that have lifted or cracked.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Addiscombe
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan, with the most urgent items set out first.
If you own several properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To arrange surveys for several addresses, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the addresses.
What happens on the day
The visit has one job: to see as much of the flat roof as can safely be seen and record it clearly. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It usually takes an hour or two at most homes; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. In Addiscombe, visits are available on weekdays and at weekends. London parking is often by permit or pay-and-display, so it helps to know what’s near you, and to clear a path to the loft hatch. A back bedroom window can be the best vantage point for a rear addition, so we may ask to use one.
- We start with the address and, on larger roofs, the roof area and access.
- Inside, we look for signs of water under the roof where we can reach.
- We view the roof from safe positions and never walk on fragile surfaces.
- We record every defect with a photo and its likely cause.
- The report explains the condition and recommends what to do first.
Getting ready for the survey
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
Arrange a survey
If you are buying, it helps to book soon after your offer is accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. Otherwise, simply call 07833 053749 or email us whenever suits you.
Related advice
Honest limits
This is not a RICS building survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. Other limits to bear in mind:
- Testing older roof sheets for asbestos
- A structural engineer’s assessment of the deck
- Fragile surfaces, which we do not walk on
If you are not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What we check
- EPDM rubber
- Upstands and outlets
- Mastic asphalt
- Single-ply membranes
- Felt flat roofs
- GRP fibreglass