Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Pre-Purchase Roof Survey in Barford St John
Find out what’s going on with the roof before you spend money on it. Pre-purchase roof surveys in Barford St John.
- Gaps where slates or tiles have come loose
- Ponding, blisters or splits on a flat roof
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Barford St John
Book after your offer is accepted and before exchange. That’s when the findings are most useful, while you are not yet committed. Visits run on weekdays and at weekends, which helps when a sale is moving quickly. The report comes within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium. Common reasons to book are roof slopes that look uneven or sagging and quick fixes on flashings and valleys, across clay and concrete tiles, gutters and downpipes and flat-roofed extensions and dormers.
Somewhere as small as Barford St John, older cottages, farmhouses and converted buildings often sit beside a few newer homes. Village roofs can be clay tile, slate, stone or even thatch on some older buildings. Each covering has its own weak points, whether the roof is old or newly laid. Older roofs may also have old felt underlay or none, and fixings that have done a long stint.
How fast the report arrives depends on the package: the Basic Survey within 48 hours, the Standard Survey in 24 to 48 hours and the Premium Survey on the same day.
- Place
- Barford St John (OX15)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Common questions in Barford St John
Will you come out to Barford St John?
We do. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one.
Do you cover Barford St John?
Yes, Barford St John is within the area we cover. We cover the whole of London and South East England. Just call 07833 053749 or email us and let us know about the property, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Will you climb onto the roof?
Where it’s safe, yes. We inspect from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the loft and from the roof itself where safe. On Premium, a drone is used where applicable.
How long does the survey visit take?
It typically takes an hour or two at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. The report follows within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium.
How experienced are you?
We have more than 20 years’ experience and have completed over 5,000 surveys.
Do I need a roof survey if I’m having a RICS survey?
They do different things. A home survey looks at the whole property, and ours concentrates on the roof alone. Ours sits alongside a RICS survey rather than replacing it.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We do not sample or test for asbestos. The report may flag materials that could contain asbestos on buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Why get it checked now?
Once you exchange, the roof’s problems become yours. Before then, you can still ask questions, ask for work to be done or reconsider. A survey after you’ve moved in tells you the same things, but with far less room to act on them. In a place like Barford St John, a barn or garage roof left to fail puts whatever is inside at risk. It’s worth including them in a survey before a winter does the damage.
Larger roofs, taller buildings and commercial roofs take longer, so they’re priced to match. You’ll know the figure before booking.
Why book with us
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
- Satisfaction rate of 98%
See what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
Honest limits
A survey is a close look at the roof, but it can’t do everything. The main limits are:
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
- Asbestos testing of any kind
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
If you’re not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What this survey covers
- The roof space
- Chimney stacks
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Natural slate
- Gutters and downpipes
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
How it works
There isn’t much for you to do on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we’ll get on with the inspection. A typical survey takes roughly 1–2 hours on an ordinary house, with bigger or more complicated roofs taking longer. Older rural homes like those around Barford St John can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints.
- You choose a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey to suit the home you are buying.
- A date is booked on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- The coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are inspected and photographed.
- Moisture detection, structural checks, thermal imaging or a drone are added where your package includes them.
- You receive the report, with findings prioritised by urgency, so you can raise them with the seller.
Preparing for the visit
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Let us know where we can park nearby
- For flats, check roof access has been agreed
How to book
Prices start from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, so call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the details.
Read more
Do you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Barford St John?
Gutter problems often look minor from the street. Overflowing water soaks walls and can rot the timber behind. Valley and parapet gutters can overflow inside the house. We check them as part of the survey.
Common reasons to book include:
- Chimney mortar that has eroded
- Old water stains in the roof space
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
For an older house near a landmark like Church of St John, the roof’s history matters as much as its looks, and a survey brings the past repairs to light.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- Whether the price includes VAT
- What follow-up you get after the report
- What they won’t be able to tell you
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
Before and after the survey
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Don’t leave it until just before exchange
- Find out whether the roof has been replaced or patched
- Ask whether there are papers for past roof work
- Tell us your exchange date when you book
After you move in, keep the report somewhere safe. Work through the urgent items before anything else, and use the photos as a record of how the roof looked when you bought. The Premium Survey includes a 12-month follow-up to see how things have changed.
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. Small repairs done quickly stop bigger problems later.
Places near Barford St John
Also in Barford St John
Barford St John homes and their roofs
Older buildings in west Oxfordshire often have Cotswold stone slate roofs, and some Oxfordshire villages still have thatch. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles. For a purchase or a newly finished roof, the materials decide which details matter most. If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
Landlords with a home close to Kings Sutton station may find that a written report helps before buying a rental or paying for a new roof on one. With Broughton Castle about 3.3 miles north, the area around Barford St John has a long history. Older homes in the area can come with listed status or conservation area rules, which affect re-roofing, so check with the council before you buy.
Barford St John is about 5 miles south of Banbury, in Oxfordshire. We survey roofs in Barford St John across London and South East England. Across Oxfordshire, we cover Barford St John. There’s also a page for Oxford.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in OX15 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We also cover Barford St Michael (1 mile south), Hempton (1 mile south-east), Deddington (2 miles south-east), Nether Worton (3 miles south) and Dane Hill (3 miles south-east). Further out, we also cover Banbury (5 miles north), Bicester (11 miles south-east), Witney (15 miles south), Kidlington (13 miles south), Bure Park (11 miles south-east) and Chipping Norton (9 miles south-west).
Around Barford St John
We work in homes and buildings around George Inn. Barford St John’s nearest station is Kings Sutton station, about 3.9 miles north-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Deddington Castle (2.3 miles south-east) and Bloxham Village Museum (1.6 miles north). Open spaces near Barford St John include Crouch Hill.
Checking the roof from the ground
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can point to a blockage or a sagging run.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. You won’t see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from ground level, and those are details a survey looks at closely.