Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Chilswell Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
Find out the condition of the roof at your property in Chilswell. Visits run on weekdays and weekends, in the daytime.
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Blocked or leaking gutters
Chilswell: your questions answered
Do you cover Chilswell?
Yes. Our area covers London and the South East, and Chilswell is part of that. You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and some details, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Will you come out to Chilswell?
Yes, Chilswell is on our map. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house, with the route planned beforehand.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys.
What’s the best way to book?
Just call 07833 053749 or email us. After a few questions, we confirm the price and fix a day, weekday or weekend.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. We don’t sample or test for asbestos. Where a material might contain it, such as old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it’s disturbed.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and every flight depends on the airspace and the weather.
Do you inspect the roof from on top?
Only where it is safe. Many roofs can be seen well from windows, vantage points and the loft.
About our pre-purchase roof survey in Chilswell
The best time to book is once your offer has been accepted and before you exchange contracts. At that point you can still ask questions, because nothing is binding yet. We survey on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays, which helps when the chain is moving fast. The report comes within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium. If you are worried about ponding, blisters or splits on a flat roof and a ridge or slope that dips, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on chimney stacks, flat-roofed extensions and dormers and the roof space alike.
Somewhere as small as Chilswell, older cottages, farmhouses and converted buildings frequently sit beside a few newer homes. Older roofs there may have clay tiles, slate, stone or, in some places, thatch. 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.
Every survey ends with a written report, with photos, sent by email. It sets out the condition of the roof, any defects and our written recommendations.
- Location
- Chilswell (OX1)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What you can safely check yourself
A DIY look is useful, but it is not a survey. From the ground, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight.
Look up at the roof after a storm, from ground level: broken slates or tiles in the garden, gaps along the ridge or loose lead are signs to note. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
Practical tips
You do not need to be a roofer to help. Here’s what helps most:
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Ask for loft access on the day
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
- Give your solicitor a copy of the report
The report gives any roofer you ask to quote a clear brief. They’ll see exactly what we found, and where, which makes quotes easier to compare.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Look for leaning pots, missing mortar and lifted lead. Binoculars from the ground are enough for a first look.
Why it is worth a survey now in Chilswell
A mortgage valuation is not a roof survey. Its job is to check the property’s value for the mortgage, and it won’t look closely at the roof. A roof survey is carried out for the buyer. In a small place like Chilswell, homes can be exposed to wind and rain, which finds any gap, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
There are three survey packages: the Basic Survey from £150, the Standard Survey from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on its size, access and what you need to know.
Why us?
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Packages from £150, inc. VAT
- Plain-English reports with photos
See what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
For landlords and managing agents
Landlords, agents and building managers in Chilswell and across Oxfordshire can book any of our surveys. For a price for a let property or a block, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email.
We survey roofs for letting agents and landlords as well as homeowners. The report gives you a dated record of the roof, with photographs, which helps you plan work between tenancies.
How the survey changes by roof type
Flat roofs
Ponding, blistering, splits and worn upstands are the usual warning signs. Blocked outlets are checked as well, and we say what we see from wherever is safe.
Chimney stacks
We inspect the outside of the stack, not a flue, gas or sweep inspection. We will say if the flue needs a specialist.
The survey, step by step
On the day, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you’d like to know. We then inspect everything that can safely be seen, from the ground, from windows, in the loft space and by drone where it applies. Most surveys take about 1–2 hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. In a hamlet or village like Chilswell, a postcode does not always lead to the right gate, so a few directions are welcome. The visit itself is the same as anywhere else.
- We help you pick the package that suits the property.
- We agree a visit, including weekends if that helps.
- The coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are inspected and photographed.
- Standard and Premium surveys add the extra checks they include.
- We send the report with recommendations ranked by urgency, ready for you to discuss with the seller or agent.
Preparing for the visit
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Arrange a survey
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. For any other survey, just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form when you’re ready.
Related advice
Nearby places to Chilswell
What else we do in Chilswell
Buying a home or a new roof in Chilswell
West Oxfordshire’s older buildings often carry Cotswold stone slates, and a few villages in the county keep their thatch. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. Whether you are buying or checking new roofing work, knowing the materials helps make sense of what the inspection finds. Where the drone is part of the survey, we check the Drone Safety Map for restrictions before flying.
Take an older house close to Church of St Lawrence: the roof’s history matters as much as its looks, and a survey brings the past repairs to light. Landlords with a home close to Oxford station may find that it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it. With Holywell Manor about 2.6 miles north-east, the area around Chilswell 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.
Chilswell is about 3 miles south-west of Oxford, in Oxfordshire. From houses to flats and shops in Chilswell, we can survey the roof. We cover towns and villages across Oxfordshire, large and small.
Here we cover the OX1 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. Neighbouring places we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys include Boars Hill (1 mile south), Hinksey Hill (1 mile east), Harcourt Hill (1 mile north), South Hinksey (1 mile north-east) and Bayworth (1 mile south). Further out, we also cover Oxford (3 miles north-east), Didcot (8 miles south), Bicester (13 miles north-east), Abingdon-on-Thames (3 miles south), Witney (10 miles north-west) and Carterton (13 miles west).
What’s near Chilswell
Around Chilswell, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Raleigh Park, among other places. The nearest railway station is Oxford station, about 2 miles north of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Westgate Shopping Centre (2 miles north-east) and Radcliffe Infirmary (2.6 miles north-east). Green spaces nearby include Harcourt Hill and Lashford Lane Fen.