Buckinghamshire · London and the South East
Pre-Purchase Roof Survey in Ashendon
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Ashendon, carried out by an experienced roof surveyor. Every survey comes with a written report and photographs.
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
How we price pre-purchase roof surveys
What a survey costs depends on the time and equipment it needs. That comes down to:
- The roof’s overall size
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT.
What we need to know
A little information up front helps. Please include:
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
- Anything about access we should know
When you are ready to go ahead, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form. We’ll suggest a package, agree the price and find a date.
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Ashendon
Older homes often have roofs that have been patched over the years. Corroded nails let slates slide, valley linings wear thin and chimney mortar erodes. Little of that is easy to judge from the pavement on a viewing. We look closely and record what we see, with photos so you can see it for yourself. We explain each finding in plain English, so it’s clear what it means for your purchase. Common reasons to book are worn or lifted lead flashings and cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing, on flat-roofed extensions and dormers, gutters and downpipes and lead flashings and valleys.
Some older homes in villages like Ashendon are listed or sit in a conservation area. If so, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so check with the council before work starts. For a buyer or someone with a newly finished roof, it’s worth knowing which applies, as well as what condition the roof is in. There are about 500,000 listed buildings and around 10,000 conservation areas in England.
The report doesn’t just list problems. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend, so you can plan your next steps.
- Where
- Ashendon (HP18)
- Wider area
- Buckinghamshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Ashendon: local notes
Waddesdon Manor, about 2.3 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Ashendon. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as 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. If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
The streets around a church such as Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin are often among the oldest in a place, and if your home is one of the older ones nearby, ask the seller about past roof repairs, because older roofs often have patched valleys, replaced slates and reset ridges.
Ashendon is about 5 miles north of Thame, in Buckinghamshire. We visit Ashendon as part of our work across Buckinghamshire, for houses, flats and commercial buildings. Our Buckinghamshire coverage includes Ashendon. We also survey roofs in Oxford.
Surveys in HP18 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover properties on Main Street, Lower End and The Close and the roads around them. Nearby, we also carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Nether Winchendon (2 miles south-east), Westcott (2 miles north-east), Upper Winchendon (2 miles east), Waddesdon (3 miles north-east) and Wormstone (3 miles north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Aylesbury (7 miles east), Buckingham (12 miles north), Elmhurst (7 miles east), Southcourt (7 miles east), Princes Risborough (9 miles south-east) and Haydon Hill (6 miles east).
Around Ashendon
The nearest railway station is Haddenham & Thame Parkway station, about 3.9 miles south-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Dinton Castle (4.1 miles south-east) and St John's Hospital (4.6 miles east). For a walk, there’s Snakemoor.
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Ashendon
Do you cover Ashendon?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photos, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
How do I find out if my home in Ashendon is listed?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it is in a conservation area. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Does someone need to be in?
That depends on the survey. For inside areas and the loft space, someone has to give us access.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We do not carry out asbestos surveys or testing. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, like cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. It’s a roof survey by an experienced roof surveyor, with a written report and photos. It doesn’t cover the rest of the property, which a RICS survey does.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Yes, where it’s applicable. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
How many surveys have you done?
We’ve completed more than 5,000 surveys, over more than 20 years, with 98% customer satisfaction.
Leave it or get it looked at?
Leaving it means judging the roof from the street. That rarely shows the back slope, the valleys or the top of the chimney. We fill that gap before you are tied in. Outbuildings and barns around Ashendon are easy to forget, but a failed roof there can spoil what’s stored inside. A quick look before winter can save a lot.
Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. Basic starts from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, VAT included, and we will tell you which fits.
Why book with us
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- Insured for professional indemnity and public liability
- A written report with photos
Practical tips
Some practical points come up on survey after survey. They apply to most roofs:
- Book once your offer is accepted
- Ask whether there are papers for past roof work
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
Your report arrives by email, with photographs of what we found. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium. Findings are set out in plain English, with recommendations prioritised by urgency where relevant.
Check the roof from the garden and the street after a storm. Slipped slates, lifted ridge tiles and debris on the ground are signs to act on. Dealing with them early keeps water out.
How the survey works
Photos are taken throughout the visit, so the report shows exactly what we saw. Close-ups come from the safest viewpoint available. A typical visit takes about 1–2 hours at most homes; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. Somewhere like Ashendon needs a little journey planning: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. The roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from the loft where there’s safe access and from the roof where it’s safe.
- After your offer is agreed, you book and share your timetable.
- Access to the house and the roof space is agreed ahead of time.
- We start outside, looking at the roof from the ground and from vantage points.
- Inside, we check the loft space and look at the roof from windows.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Preparing for the visit
- Let us know about parking near the property
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
- Make sure the loft hatch can be reached
Booking a survey
You can call us seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays. To book or ask a question, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Advice
Should I look at the roof myself first?
It helps to keep a record: dates of leaks, photos from the ground and any work done on the roof. Share it with us when booking, as it helps us focus the survey.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Common roof problems in Ashendon
Slates and tiles can outlast the nails, battens and underlay that hold them. Natural slate can last 100 years or more, but corroded nails let slates slip. That kind of wear is common on older roofs.
Look out for signs like these:
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Old water stains in the roof space
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
If you own a rental within reach of Haddenham & Thame Parkway station, the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- What exactly goes into their report
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
- Whether VAT is added on top
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection