Essex · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Balls Green, Essex
Get a clear view of the roof at a property in Balls Green from an independent roof surveyor. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
Leave it or get it looked at?
Plenty of buyers go ahead anyway, but with their eyes open. The report shows what needs doing first, and you can line up a roofer before small faults grow. For older village homes like those around Balls Green, the right replacement materials aren’t always easy to find quickly. That’s one more reason to find defects before they become urgent.
A Basic Survey starts from £150, with VAT included. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400. You will know the price for your survey before booking.
Why book us in Balls Green
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
Read what a roof survey costs or what we found on two real jobs.
Pre-purchase roof survey in Balls Green
A roof report gives you something solid to take back to the seller or the agent. You might ask about past repairs, ask for work to be done before completion or think again about your offer. What the seller agrees to is up to them, but you will be asking from facts rather than guesses. It also helps you decide whether to go ahead at all. We’re often asked to look into slipped or missing slates and tiles and roof slopes that look uneven or sagging, on clay and concrete tiles, natural slate and gutters and downpipes.
In a village or hamlet like Balls Green, homes are frequently older cottages and farmhouses alongside a few newer houses. Village roofs can be clay tile, slate, stone or even thatch on some older buildings. Whether you’re buying or have just had a roof replaced, each material has its own checks. What’s under the coverings, from old felt to the battens and nails, matters too.
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 it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Location
- Balls Green (CO7)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What you can safely check yourself
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
You can learn a lot from the ground. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Never climb onto the roof to look.
What happens on the day
Every visit follows the same pattern: we hear what you’ve seen, inspect the roof from every safe viewpoint, photograph what we find and record our findings for the written report. Most visits take an hour or two at a typical home, and about three to four hours for a commercial roof. Somewhere like Balls Green needs a little journey planning: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. The roof is looked at from the ground, from windows, from the loft where there is safe access and from the roof where it’s safe.
- Once your offer has been accepted, you book and give us the address and your timescale.
- Access is arranged through you, the agent or the seller.
- We inspect the roof from ground level, windows, the loft and the roof itself where it’s safe.
- We check and photograph the slates or tiles, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters.
- You receive a written report with photos and recommendations to read before exchange.
How to prepare
- Point out any leaks or damp patches
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
Arrange a survey
Booking is simple: just ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form, tell us about the property and we’ll recommend the right survey. The price is agreed up front.
Read more
Surveys for landlords and agents in Balls Green
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with the freeholder or managing agent. Let us know about it as you book and we will plan the survey around it.
With a portfolio of properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To arrange surveys for several addresses, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Local roofs and buyers in Balls Green
Balls Green is within about 4 miles of the coast, where sea air brings more salt and stronger wind than inland. Corroded clips and nails and lifted ridge pieces are typical of exposed roofs near the sea. If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
If you own a rental within reach of Great Bentley station, it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it. Around Balls Green, as everywhere, small roof faults are simplest to sort before they let water in.
Balls Green is about 6 miles east of Colchester, in Essex. We visit Balls Green as part of our work across Essex. Across Essex, we cover Balls Green. Chelmsford is in our area too.
We survey roofs across the CO7 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. You’ll find streets such as Frating Road, Chapel Lane and Brundells Road. Nearby, we also carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Hare Green (1 mile north), Frating Green (1 mile south), Cowey Green (1 mile north), Frating (1 mile south-west) and Great Bromley (1 mile north). Within a short drive, we also cover Colchester (6 miles west), Clacton-on-Sea (7 miles south-east), Harwich (10 miles east), Camulodunum (7 miles west), Greenstead (4 miles west) and Tiptree (13 miles west).
Local landmarks in Balls Green
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Snooty Fox pub, among other places. The closest station to Balls Green is Great Bentley station, roughly 2.1 miles south-east. Other landmarks nearby include Wivenhoe Chapel Museum (3.3 miles west). Open spaces near Balls Green include Cockaynes Wood.
Questions from Balls Green
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Balls Green, take more of a battering?
Frequently, yes. Balls Green is within about 4 miles of the sea, and coastal roofs tend to see faster wear on metal parts and more wind lifting loose pieces.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Balls Green?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you’re planning to re-roof in a different material.
How many surveys have you done?
Over 5,000 surveys so far, over more than 20 years, with 98% customer satisfaction.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Someone needs to let us in if we are looking inside or in the loft. Access is agreed with you as you book.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes. Shared roofs just need a little more planning, with the freeholder or managing agent. Mention it when you get in touch and we’ll explain what’s needed.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Can I use the report to negotiate on price?
Yes. Buyers use the findings to ask questions, ask for repairs before completion or ask for a price change. The outcome is between you and the seller, so we can’t promise any saving.
Practical tips
Here are a few things we’d tell any owner:
- Pass the findings to your conveyancer
- For a flat, check who is responsible for the roof
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
- Book once your offer is accepted
The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation to talk the findings through, and the Premium Survey includes an in-person consultation. Whichever package you choose, you can ask us what a finding means.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Watch for gaps in the pointing, cracked flaunching and loose lead. A pair of binoculars from the garden shows a lot.
Honest limits
Every survey has limits, and we’d rather be clear about that before you book. Keep these in mind:
- The condition of the rest of the house (that is a RICS home survey)
- How a seller will respond, or what the house is worth
- A structural engineer’s report
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will tell you. What our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Lead flashings and valleys
- The roof space
- Natural slate
- Gutters and downpipes
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks