Greater London · London and the South East
Bankside Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
Get a clear view of the roof at a property in Bankside from an independent roof surveyor. We visit on weekdays and at weekends.
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Old water stains in the roof space
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Bankside
Tall, steep or hidden roofs are hard to judge from the street. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, plus a drone inspection where applicable, along with a same-day report. Where a flight is not possible, because of airspace rules or the weather, we tell you and look from the ground, windows and the loft instead. Typical surveys look at slipped or missing slates and tiles and worn or lifted lead flashings, across chimney stacks, flat-roofed extensions and dormers and lead flashings and valleys.
In London, plenty of houses have been split into flats, extended or fitted with a dormer loft conversion. Each change adds roof details, such as flat roofs, new flashings and junctions with the original slopes. For a purchase in Bankside, or for new roofing work there, those junctions deserve a proper look. Lead work around dormers and new flat roofs is easy to get wrong and easy to miss.
If any part of the roof couldn’t be seen safely, we say so in the report. You’ll know exactly what was inspected and what wasn’t.
- Where
- Bankside (SE1, EC4Y, EC4V)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Why it’s worth a survey now in Bankside
A slow leak can go unnoticed for months. Damp can spread into timbers and ceilings before anyone sees a mark. Spotting it before you buy lets you deal with it as soon as you move in. Behind a London parapet, a blocked gutter can sit full of water without anyone seeing it. By the time a ceiling stains, the timbers underneath may have been wet for a while.
Price depends partly on the package: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 or Premium from £400, all inc. VAT. Size, height and access can affect the price too.
Why us?
- 20+ years’ experience
- Clear package prices, including VAT
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- 98% of customers satisfied
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Bankside: local notes
Inner London’s Victorian and Edwardian terraces frequently have Welsh slate roofs. From the street you may see only a parapet, with a butterfly roof and a valley gutter behind it draining to the back. In a house like that, shared stacks, party-wall upstands and lead flashings all need looking at as far as they can be seen. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new. The restricted area over the City of London, where drone flights need permission from NATS, is about 1 mile from Bankside. Where the drone is part of the survey, we check whether the address falls inside it before flying.
With Mansion House about 0.6 miles north-east, the area around Bankside has a long history. Buying a period property here means asking about the roof’s age and repairs, and about any listing or conservation area. Take an older house close to St Mary Mounthaw: the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are. Landlords with a home close to London Blackfriars station may find that a survey before purchase, or before signing off a new roof, saves surprises once a tenant moves in.
Bankside is about 1 mile north of London, in Greater London. Wherever you are in Bankside, we can carry out pre-purchase roof surveys at your property, on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, from the larger towns to small villages.
Here we cover the SE1, EC4Y and EC4V postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. Whether your property is on Bear Lane, Bush Lane and Swan Lane or a nearby road, we can help. Main roads around Bankside include the A201 and A300, which makes travel easy. If you’re just outside Bankside, we cover Blackfriars (1 mile north-west), Temple (1 mile north-west), Temple Bar (1 mile north-west), Waterloo (1 mile south-west) and Smithfield (1 mile north). Larger places within reach include Kensington (4 miles west), Walthamstow (6 miles north-east), Hampstead (5 miles north-west), Ruislip (14 miles west), Brompton (3 miles west) and Stockwell (3 miles south).
What’s near Bankside
We work in homes and buildings around St Mary-at-Hill, Bernie Spain Gardens and St Andrew's and St John's Church of England Primary School and the streets around them. Other local landmarks include Barts Health Archives (0.6 miles north), The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overy (0.5 miles south-east) and Founders Arms (under half a mile west). Bankside has its own railway station: London Blackfriars station. Nearby you will also find Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women (0.6 miles west) and Gabriel's Wharf (less than half a mile west). Green spaces nearby include Ludgate Hill and Barnsbury Wood.
Landlords, agents and block managers in Bankside
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. Recommendations are set out by urgency where it matters.
Landlords and agents in Bankside book surveys as well as householders. A report with photos gives you a clear record of the roof, useful for planning maintenance.
What we can’t see
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Anything beyond the roof, which a full home survey covers
- Whether timbers meet design loads
- What’s under the slates, tiles or felt
If you are not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or email us and we will give you a straight answer. What our survey covers.
What we look at
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Natural slate
- Gutters and downpipes
- Clay and concrete tiles
- The roof space
- Chimney stacks
How the survey works
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect what can be seen safely, and anything we can’t see is noted in the report. Most visits take between one and two hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. In converted houses and mansion blocks, the loft hatch is frequently on a shared landing. Where that is the case, access needs agreeing with whoever controls that landing. Everything else is planned around the building, not the postcode.
- After your offer is agreed, you book and share your timetable.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller, including the loft.
- The visit begins outside, from ground level and any safe vantage points.
- Inside, we check the roof space and look at the roof from windows.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
How to prepare
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with the building owner or managing agent
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
Book a survey
Booking is simple: just call 07833 053749 or drop us an email, tell us about the property and we will recommend the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple and safe from ground level. A few suggestions:
- Give your solicitor a copy of the report
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Watch for stains or fresh paint on ceilings below the roof
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
Once the home is yours, the report becomes a maintenance list. Work through the urgent items before anything else, and keep the photos to compare against later. Premium comes with a follow-up after 12 months.
Every so often, check the loft with a torch, keeping to boarded areas. Watch for stains, damp timbers and chinks of daylight. Take photos so you can show whoever looks at it.
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Bankside
Can you fly a drone over a roof in Bankside?
Normally it comes down to two things: the airspace at the address and the weather. The restricted area over the City of London, where drone flights need permission from NATS, is about 1 mile from Bankside. We check whether the address falls inside it, and if it does we apply for permission, which isn’t always given. London’s airspace includes flight restriction zones around Heathrow, London City Airport and London Heliport, and restricted areas over Hyde Park, the City of London and the Isle of Dogs. Every London address is checked against them before a flight. A small drone can’t fly safely in strong wind or heavy rain, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Bankside?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Is this the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. It’s a roof survey by an experienced roof surveyor, and you get a written report with photos. It isn’t a RICS survey and does not cover the rest of the house.
Do you go up on the roof?
Only where it’s safe to do so. We inspect from ground level, from windows and vantage points, from the loft and from the roof itself where safe. The Premium Survey adds a drone inspection where it applies.
Does someone need to be in?
If the survey includes the loft or the inside of the building, someone needs to let us in. We will talk about access when you book.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Should I get a roof survey as well as a RICS home survey?
That depends on how much you want to know about the roof. Home surveys sometimes suggest a closer look at the roof, and our survey gives you that closer look. It isn’t a replacement for a RICS survey.
Different roofs, different checks
Gutters and parapets
Gutters, downpipes and outlets carry water away from walls. We check for blockages, leaking joints and sagging runs.
Flat roofs
Repeated coatings on a flat roof can mask what’s underneath. We say when the covering would need opening up to know more.