Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Culham Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat around Culham, with findings in writing and pictures to back them up. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Old water stains in the loft space
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
Culham questions
Do you cover Culham?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photos, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
Do you cover smaller places like Culham?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We survey roofs across London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when you book.
Do I need to be at home?
Someone needs to let us in if we’re looking inside or in the loft. Access is agreed with you when booking.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Our surveys are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance. If you need details for a managing agent or a building owner, just ask.
How long have you been surveying roofs?
We have more than 20 years’ experience and have carried out more than 5,000 surveys across London and the South East.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and sampling are not something we do. Where a material might contain it, like old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes. The report sets out what we found, with photos, so you can raise them with the seller or their agent. How the seller responds is up to them.
Pre-purchase roof survey in Culham: what you get
The roof is one of the most expensive parts of a home to repair, and one of the hardest for a buyer to see. A pre-purchase roof survey looks at it closely before you’re tied in. We look at the slates or tiles, the ridges and valleys, the flashings, the chimneys and the gutters, plus the loft where there’s safe access. The findings come in a written report with photos. We survey the roof space, chimney stacks and gutters and downpipes, and people most frequently book us about sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes and gaps where slates or tiles have come loose.
Some older homes in villages like Culham are listed or sit in a conservation area. If so, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so check with the council before work starts. Whether you’re buying or signing off new roofing, it is worth knowing where you stand, as well as what condition the roof is in. England has around 10,000 conservation areas and about 500,000 listed buildings.
Every survey ends with a written report, with photos, emailed to you. It explains the condition of the roof, the defects we found and what we recommend.
- Location
- Culham (OX14)
- Region
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What affects the price in Culham
What a survey costs depends on the time and equipment it needs. The main factors are:
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- The size of the roof
- Which survey package you book
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
Prices start from £150, including VAT, for a Basic Survey. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400. We confirm the exact price before you book.
What we need to know
To price your survey accurately, we will ask about:
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
- Where the property is, with the postcode
Once you know what you need, phone 07833 053749 or email us. We will suggest a package, agree the price and find a date.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Culham
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. The report is emailed, so it can go straight to your client.
Letting agents often book on a landlord’s behalf. We agree a time with the tenant beforehand.
Before and after the survey
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Check we will be able to get into the roof space
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Let us know your timetable
- Ask who repairs the roof under the lease
We email the report to you, with photos of each finding. Basic reports come within 48 hours, Standard within 24 to 48 hours and Premium the same day. Findings are set out in plain English, and recommendations are ranked by urgency where that helps.
After you move in, have leaves and moss cleared from gutters and valleys, ideally once the leaves have dropped. Overflowing water is behind a lot of damp. Get a professional in rather than climbing up yourself.
Different roofs, different checks
Flat roofs
Many homes have a flat roof somewhere, frequently over an extension. Felt often lasts around 15 to 20 years, EPDM rubber 30 to 50 and GRP up to about 30. We check how the covering is wearing.
Clay and concrete tiles
Clay plain tiles are common on older South East homes, and some still have peg tiles. Rotten pegs let tiles slide.
Common roof problems in Culham
Viewings rarely include a proper look at the roof. You see the rooms, not the slates. Fresh decoration can also cover the marks an old leak left behind, so a closer look is worth having before you commit.
Common reasons to book include:
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
Take an older house close to Church of St Paul: the roof’s history matters as much as its looks, and a survey brings the past repairs to light.
Questions to ask before booking
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Their report turnaround times
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- Whether you get a written report with photos
How it works
Every roof is different, but as a rough guide the survey takes an hour or two at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. If you have questions on the day, just ask. In a hamlet or village like Culham, a postcode doesn’t always lead to the right gate, so a few directions, or a note of a nearby landmark, help us arrive on time. The visit itself is the same as anywhere else.
- Once your offer is accepted, you let us know the address and when you hope to exchange.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller, including the loft.
- We start outside, looking at the roof from the ground and from vantage points.
- We then look from upstairs windows and inside the loft where it is safe.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Before the survey
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it’s shared
- Let us know where we can park nearby
Arrange a survey
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Take them safely from ground level or a window; never climb up to get a better view. To send them or to book, call 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Advice
Local roofs and buyers in Culham
Older buildings in west Oxfordshire frequently have Cotswold stone slate roofs, and some Oxfordshire villages still have thatch. 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. If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
With Clifton Hampden Manor about 2.4 miles east, the area around Culham 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. Landlords with a home close to Culham station may find that a written report helps before buying a rental or paying for a new roof on one.
Culham is about 2 miles south-east of Abingdon-on-Thames, in Oxfordshire. We survey roofs in Culham and the rest of Oxfordshire. We cover towns and villages across Oxfordshire. You can also see our page for Oxford.
Postcode districts we cover here for pre-purchase roof surveys: OX14. If you need a pre-purchase roof survey at a property on Abingdon Road, Tolgate Road and The Glebe or anywhere close by, we can help. Other places close to Culham include Sutton Courtenay (1 mile south-west), Caldecott (1 mile west), Appleford-on-Thames (1 mile south-east), Abingdon-on-Thames (2 miles north-west) and Clifton Hampden (2 miles east). Larger places within reach include Oxford (7 miles north), Didcot (3 miles south), Witney (13 miles north-west), Thame (14 miles north-east), Wantage (8 miles south-west) and Grove (8 miles south-west).
What’s near Culham
In Culham, that means homes and buildings near John Mason School, Waggon and Horses pub and Albert Park. The nearest railway station is Culham station, roughly 1.2 miles east. Other landmarks nearby include Abingdon Community Hospital (1.9 miles north-west) and FitzHarris Castle (1.6 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Dry Sandford Pit and Wittenham Clumps.