Windsor and Maidenhead · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Cold Harbour, Windsor and Maidenhead
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat around Cold Harbour, with findings in writing and pictures to back them up. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Flashings that have lifted or split
FAQs for Cold Harbour
Is Cold Harbour within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. We work right across London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. The journey is planned ahead, so it’s useful to know about access.
Is drone flying allowed in Cold Harbour?
Usually it comes down to two things: the airspace at the address and the weather. Cold Harbour is about 2 miles from White Waltham Airfield, so the Drone Safety Map is checked for restrictions around it before we fly. The flight also waits for calm, dry weather.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, if the building owner or managing agent agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we are allowed to reach.
Is a roof survey worth having alongside a home survey?
It’s your choice, but the two do different jobs. 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.
Can I use the report to negotiate on price?
Yes. The report sets out what we found, with photos, so you can raise them with the seller or their agent. We can’t promise how the seller will respond.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. It is 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.
When is the best time to have the roof checked when buying?
After your offer is accepted and before you exchange contracts. That gives you time to use the findings, whether that means asking questions or negotiating.
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Cold Harbour
Older homes often have roofs that have been patched over the years. Slates slip when their nails corrode, lead valleys and flashings wear, and chimney pointing crumbles. 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. Each finding is explained in plain words, so it is clear what it means for your purchase. We are frequently asked to look into gutters that overflow or drip at the joints and cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing, on clay and concrete tiles, chimney stacks and lead flashings and valleys.
Being in a small place like Cold Harbour makes no difference to the inspection itself: it just means planning the journey and access beforehand. Mention any outbuildings, barns or garages with roofs you’d like looked at when you book, so the visit can be planned around them. Buyers and owners of new roofs get the same approach as anywhere. Visits can be booked on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
If any part of the roof couldn’t be seen safely, we say so in the report. That way, it’s clear what was covered and what wasn’t.
- Location
- Cold Harbour (SL6)
- Wider area
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
How the survey works
We will ask a few questions first, about the roof’s history, any leaks and past repairs. Then the inspection itself takes about 1–2 hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. For a village or hamlet like Cold Harbour, the journey is planned ahead of time: 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.
- 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 is 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.
Preparing for the visit
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Check pets are kept safely away
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
Arrange a survey
If you are buying, it’s useful to book soon after your offer is accepted, so there’s time to use the report before exchange. Otherwise, simply ring 07833 053749 or email us whenever suits you.
Advice
Landlord and commercial surveys in Cold Harbour
Managing agents and residents’ management companies use roof surveys to plan maintenance. The report sets out what needs attention now and what can wait, which helps with budgets and planning.
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. The report is emailed, so it can go straight to your client, photos included.
When you need someone else
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, and that sets some limits:
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
- A structural engineer’s report
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll tell you before you book. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in Cold Harbour
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Natural slate
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- The roof space
- Gutters and downpipes
- Chimney stacks
Why act early in Cold Harbour
After exchange, any roof defect is yours to deal with. 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 too late to use them in the purchase. Matching old materials, like handmade tiles or stone slates, can take time to source. That’s one more reason to find defects before they become urgent.
The Premium Survey includes thermal imaging and drone inspection where it applies, from £400 including VAT. We can help you choose the package that fits what you want to find out.
Why us?
- Customer satisfaction of 98%
- Two decades and more of roof surveys
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
DIY checks: what’s safe
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
A lot can be seen 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.
Tips that help
Nothing here needs a ladder. A few suggestions:
- Let us know your exchange date when you book
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Check the lease for roof repair responsibilities
- Ask whether there are papers for past roof work
Once the home is yours, the report becomes a maintenance list. Work through the urgent items before anything else, and use the photos as a record of how the roof looked when you bought. Premium comes with a follow-up after 12 months to see how things have changed.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Watch for gaps in the pointing, cracked flaunching and loose lead. Binoculars from the ground are enough for a first look.
Also near Cold Harbour
Also in Cold Harbour
Pre-purchase roof surveys around Cold Harbour
Older houses in the South East often have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new. The wider area around Cold Harbour has a long history of building, with Harleyford Manor about 3.3 miles north. If yours is one of the older homes, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
If you let a flat or house near Wargrave station, the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full. For an older house near a landmark such as Saint Peter, the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are.
Cold Harbour is about 3 miles west of Maidenhead, in Windsor and Maidenhead. Surveys in Cold Harbour work the same way as everywhere we cover: a careful inspection, photographs and a written report. Cold Harbour is one of the places in Windsor and Maidenhead we cover. Reading is in our area too.
We survey roofs across SL6 for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. We also cover the places around Cold Harbour: Knowl Hill (1 mile north-west), Warren Row (1 mile north-west), Bowsey Hill (2 miles west), Cockpole Green (3 miles north-west) and Wargrave (3 miles west). Further out, we also cover Maidenhead (3 miles east), Windsor (8 miles east), Boyn Hill (3 miles east), North Ascot (8 miles south-east), Cookham (5 miles north-east) and Furze Platt (3 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in Cold Harbour
Typical jobs here are in homes near Cox Green School and The Royal Oak pub, among other places. The closest station to Cold Harbour is Wargrave station, roughly 3.3 miles west. Well-known places in the area include St Mark's Hospital (2.8 miles north-east). The countryside around Cold Harbour includes Hurley Chalk Pit and Taplow Lake.