Greater London · London and the South East
South Bank Flat Roof Survey
Surveys of flat roofs on homes, extensions and commercial buildings in South Bank. We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys across London and the South East.
- Gaps at upstands and abutments
- Cracked or split membrane
- Blistering in felt or asphalt
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
A roof problem in a let property affects your tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work.
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on, photographs included.
Flat roof surveys for homes and businesses in South Bank
Our flat roof survey checks the waterproof covering and every detail around it, from edges and upstands to outlets and rooflights. We cover felt, mastic asphalt, EPDM rubber, GRP fibreglass and single-ply roofs. It suits a small roof over an extension or garage as well as a large one over flats, offices or units. You get a written report with photographs and our recommendations. We survey EPDM rubber, single-ply membranes and felt flat roofs, and people most frequently book us about failed seals around rooflight kerbs and a sagging deck under the covering.
Across London, flat roofs are everywhere, from back additions and dormers to roof terraces, blocks of flats and offices. They’re covered in felt, asphalt, EPDM rubber, GRP fibreglass or single-ply membranes, and each fails in its own way. In South Bank, as anywhere in London, the right approach depends on what the roof is made of. Many older flat roofs are felt or asphalt, and many newer ones EPDM rubber or GRP.
The written findings come by email, easy to pass on to a roofer, an agent or an insurer. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24–48 hours for Standard and same day for Premium.
- Where
- South Bank (SE1, WC2E, WC2N)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Towns and villages near South Bank
More services for South Bank
Your questions about flat roof surveys in South Bank
Does a conservation area affect roof work in South Bank?
Your council is the best source, with Historic England’s list for listed buildings. A change of roofing material may need consent in either case.
Do you cover commercial flat roofs around South Bank?
Yes. As well as homes, we check flat roofs on offices, hotels, blocks of flats and commercial units. Larger commercial roofs are quoted for the building.
How experienced are you?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys, across London and South East England.
Will you go up on the roof?
Only when it is safe. Safety comes first, and fragile or steep roofs can’t always be walked on. We use safe viewpoints, the loft space and a drone where it applies.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not always. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
What does the report include?
A report with photographs, covering the condition of the flat roof, the defects we found and what we recommend. The Standard Survey adds moisture detection and a structural check, and the Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies and structural analysis.
What do I do with the report?
You’ll receive the report by email, and you decide the next step: raise it with a seller, send it to an insurer, brief a roofer or share it with a managing agent.
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. Notes and photos go into the written report. It usually takes an hour or two for an extension, garage or dormer roof, and around 3–4 hours for a commercial flat roof. For a visit in South Bank, parking and access are the things to plan: tell us 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 what can safely be seen from ground level, windows, the loft and, where it’s safe, the roof itself.
- We agree the roof to be surveyed, its use and any leaks you know about.
- We check the roof from ground level, windows and the roof where it’s safe.
- The covering is checked for wear, splits, blisters and standing water.
- We photograph and record the outlets, upstands, trims and rooflights.
- The report, with photos and recommendations, comes to you by email.
Preparing for the visit
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Find any records of previous roof work
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
How to book
Not sure which survey you need? It is easiest to ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We will talk you through the options and what they cost.
Read more
Flat roof surveys in South Bank: local notes
There are several hotels within about a mile and a half of South Bank. For hotels and other commercial buildings, finding the cause of a flat roof leak quickly keeps rooms in use. Many homes in inner London are Victorian and Edwardian terraces, often with Welsh slate roofs. A butterfly roof with a central valley gutter, tucked behind a parapet wall, is common on these houses. If your home in South Bank is one of them, lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are part of the picture too. Flat roofs on extensions, dormers, garages and business units are found alongside them almost everywhere.
Take an older house close to St John's Church: flat-roofed rear additions and dormers added over the years are worth checking. If you own a rental within reach of London Waterloo station, flat roofs over rear additions and dormers in rented property are worth checking between tenancies. For businesses in and around places such as Gabriel's Wharf, flat roofs over shops and units are easy to forget until water comes through a ceiling.
South Bank is about 1 mile west of London, in Greater London. In South Bank, as across Greater London, every roof gets the same careful survey. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, large and small.
Surveys in SE1, WC2E and WC2N work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether your property is on York Road, Spur Road and Lower Road or a nearby road, we can help. South Bank is on the A301 and A302, so it’s easy for us to get to. If you’re just outside South Bank, we cover Waterloo (1 mile south-east), Adelphi (1 mile north-west), Charing Cross (1 mile north-west), Temple (1 mile north-east) and Aldwych (1 mile north). Further out, we also cover Kensington (4 miles west), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east), Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Ruislip (14 miles west), Stockwell (3 miles south) and Orpington (13 miles south-east).
Landmarks near South Bank
In South Bank, that means homes and buildings near Jubilee Gardens, The Hole In The Wall pub and The BFI Reuben Library, among other places. You will also find St Andrew's and St John's Church of England Primary School (within half a mile east) and London Nautical School (within half a mile north-east). South Bank has its own railway station: London Waterloo station. Other landmarks nearby include Florence Nightingale Museum (less than half a mile south) and Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women (under half a mile north-east). The countryside around South Bank includes Barnsbury Wood and St. James's Park Lake.
When you need someone else
We only report what can safely be seen on the day, so some things are outside what a survey can do:
- Whether the deck or joists are strong enough
- Areas we can’t see or reach safely, including fragile rooflights and sheeting
- Asbestos testing, which needs a specialist asbestos surveyor
If you’re 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 does not.
What we check
- Mastic asphalt
- EPDM rubber
- GRP fibreglass
- Single-ply membranes
- Upstands and outlets
- Felt flat roofs
Should I look at the roof myself first?
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 the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Leave it or get it looked at?
For a buyer, the best time to learn about a flat roof is before contracts are exchanged. After that, the cost of any work is yours. A report gives you facts to put to the seller or agent. Many older London roofs have only old felt under the slates, or no underlay at all, so once the slates or flashings let water past, little stops it reaching ceilings. Left unchecked, water soaks into timber and plaster and the damage spreads.
Prices start from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on how big and how high the roof is, how it can safely be seen and which survey you book.
What you get with us
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Surveys on weekdays and at weekends
- Packages from £150, inc. VAT
- 98% customer satisfaction
Read what a roof survey costs or what we found on two real jobs.
Tips that help
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Treat rooflights and old sheeting as fragile
- Clear roof outlets and gutters each autumn
- Check from a window for ponding after heavy rain
- Keep people off the roof unless they need to be there
If anything in the report isn’t clear, just ask us. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation, giving you a chance to go through what we found.
Small defects are simpler to deal with while they’re still small. A flat roof that’s looked after between surveys typically lasts longer.