Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Crowell Hill Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A careful look at the roof at your property in Crowell Hill, and put it all in a photo-illustrated written report.
- Chimney mortar that has eroded
- Gaps where slates or tiles have come loose
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
Practical tips
Over many surveys, some simple habits stand out:
- Watch for stains or fresh paint on ceilings below the roof
- Pass the findings to your conveyancer
- Ask whether there are papers for past roof work
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
After you move in, keep the report somewhere safe. Deal with the urgent items first, and keep the photographs to compare against later. Premium comes with a follow-up after 12 months.
After you move in, have leaves and moss cleared from gutters and valleys, particularly after autumn. Overflowing water is behind a lot of damp. Get a professional in rather than climbing up yourself.
Pre-purchase roof survey in Crowell Hill: what you get
Older homes frequently 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’s clear what it means for your purchase. We’re often asked to look into worn or lifted lead flashings and slipped or missing slates and tiles, on natural slate, the roof space and lead flashings and valleys.
Somewhere as small as Crowell Hill, 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. Whether you are buying or have just had a roof replaced, each material has its own checks, and thatch is a specialist material, so we report on what can be seen. Older roofs may also have old felt underlay or none, and fixings that have done a long stint.
The report works through the roof section by section, from the main slopes down to the gutters and outlets. You will see the good as well as the bad.
- Place
- Crowell Hill (OX39)
- Region
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Why act early in Crowell Hill
When a chain is moving fast, a roof survey can feel like one more delay. Weekend visits are available as well as weekdays, and the Premium Survey report arrives the same day, which helps it fit around your exchange date. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Crowell Hill, driving rain gets into any weakness, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how it can be reached and seen safely. Prices start from £150, including VAT.
Why us?
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Prices that include VAT
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Surveys on weekdays and at weekends
Take a look at what a roof survey costs or two real surveys.
What a pre-purchase roof survey does not cover
No survey can tell you everything, and it’s better to know them up front. Bear these in mind:
- What’s under the slates, tiles or felt
- Whether timbers meet design loads
- How a seller will respond, or what the house is worth
If you’re not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you book. What our survey covers.
What we look at
- The roof space
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Chimney stacks
- Gutters and downpipes
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Natural slate
- Clay and concrete tiles
FAQs for Crowell Hill
Do you carry out roof surveys in Crowell Hill?
Yes, Crowell Hill is within the area we cover. Our area covers London and the South East. Just phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and let us know about the property, and we’ll talk through which survey suits.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Crowell Hill?
We can’t confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
How many surveys have you done?
Over 5,000 surveys so far, across 20+ years of surveying roofs.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity and public liability insurance cover our surveys. If you need details for a managing agent or a building owner, just ask.
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.
Does your survey replace a RICS home survey?
No. Our survey looks at the roof only, and it is not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey. It complements one rather than replacing it.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. The roof of a block or converted house is frequently shared, so the building owner or managing agent needs to agree access. We can only inspect what we are given access to.
Signs you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Crowell Hill
Patch repairs are common on roofs of every age. Bitumen painted over a flashing, mortar where lead should be, or a few tiles that do not match can be signs that something has leaked before. We note what we see so you can ask about it.
Signs worth acting on include:
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
If you let a flat or house near Saunderton station, the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
- When you will get the report
- Is VAT included in the price?
How the survey works
Time on site depends on the size and shape of the roof; as a rough guide, the survey takes between one and two hours on an ordinary house, or half a day or so for a commercial building. If you have questions on the day, just ask. In a small place like Crowell Hill, access is typically the main thing to plan. Mention any outbuildings, barns or garages you want included, and anything about the roof you already know. Visits can be on weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays.
- 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.
- You receive the report, with findings prioritised by urgency, so you can raise them with the seller.
Before the survey
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Book a survey
We survey roofs on any day of the week. To arrange a day that suits you, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and the days you’d prefer.
Read more
Also near Crowell Hill
What else we do in Crowell Hill
Different roofs, different checks
Natural slate
On a slate roof, the underlay may be old bitumen felt, or there may be none at all on very old roofs. Where we can see it from the loft, we say what condition it is in.
Gutters and parapets
A butterfly roof drains to a central valley gutter, normally to the back of the house. If the home you are buying has one, that gutter and its outlet get a careful look.
Pre-purchase roof surveys around Crowell Hill
Cotswold stone slates are found on older buildings in west Oxfordshire, and thatch survives in some of the county’s villages. Older houses in the South East often have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles. Whether you are buying or checking new roofing work, knowing the materials helps make sense of what the inspection finds. With Adwell House about 3.9 miles west, Crowell Hill sits in an area with a long building history. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
For an older house near a landmark such as Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
Crowell Hill is about 5 miles south-east of Thame, in Oxfordshire. Bookings from Crowell Hill are handled just like any other: get in touch, agree the price and pick a day. Our Oxfordshire coverage includes Crowell Hill. For surveys nearby, see our Oxford page.
Here we cover the OX39 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. If you’re just outside Crowell Hill, we cover Crowell (1 mile north-west), Kingston Blount (1 mile north-west), Oakley (1 mile north-west), Aston Rowant (2 miles west) and Lewknor (3 miles west). Further out, we also cover Oxford (15 miles west), Didcot (15 miles west), Thame (5 miles north-west), Henley-on-Thames (10 miles south), Benson (10 miles south-west) and Headington Quarry (14 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Crowell Hill
In Crowell Hill, that means homes and buildings near Sir Charles Napier Inn. The closest station to Crowell Hill is Saunderton station, about 3.4 miles east. A little further out are Thame Community Hospital (5.2 miles north-west). Not far away are Oakley Hill nature reserve and Bald Hill.