Hampshire · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Dean, Hampshire
Independent pre-purchase roof surveys in Dean. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Ponding, blisters or splits on a flat roof
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
About our pre-purchase roof survey in Dean
Buying a flat brings its own roof questions. The lease decides who looks after the roof, and that is often not the individual flat owner, with costs often passed on through the service charge. We check as much of the roof as access safely allows, and the report helps you ask your solicitor or the managing agent the right questions. If the building has a flat roof, we check that too where access allows. Typical surveys look at gaps where slates or tiles have come loose and sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes, across chimney stacks, lead flashings and valleys and gutters and downpipes.
Somewhere as small as Dean, 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. What’s under the coverings, from old felt to the battens and nails, matters too.
We write the report in plain English, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Photographs show what each point refers to, with the urgent items made clear.
- Place
- Dean (SO32)
- Wider area
- Hampshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Dean: your questions answered
Is my home in Dean listed or in a conservation area?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it is in a conservation area. If a home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission.
Do you carry out roof surveys in Dean?
Yes, Dean is one of the places we work. Every survey there gets the same written report with photographs, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
What if it rains on the day?
It depends on the weather and the survey. Strong wind or a downpour can make access unsafe and ground a drone, and we’d agree another day.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Yes, where it’s applicable. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity and public liability insurance cover our surveys. Ask if you need details for a managing agent or building owner.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, as long as access is agreed. Roofs over flats are often shared, so we need permission from the building owner or managing agent. We can only inspect what we are given access to.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tell us which days suit you as you book.
What you can safely check yourself
You can learn a lot from ground level. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Please don’t climb up for a closer look.
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Take a photo and write down when you saw it.
What a survey costs
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- Height and safe access
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
- The size of the roof
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
There are three survey packages: the Basic Survey from £150, the Standard Survey from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, all including VAT. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
Booking your survey
A little information up front helps. Please include:
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- What kind of property and roof it is
- The reason for the survey, like buying, a leak or storm damage
Not sure which survey you need? The easiest way is to ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We’ll explain the options and the price.
Tips that help
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Look for fresh paint on upstairs ceilings at viewings
- Don’t leave it until just before exchange
- Ask the agent to check the loft hatch can be opened
- Tell us your exchange date when you book
Your report arrives by email, with photos of what we found. Basic reports come within 48 hours, Standard within 24 to 48 hours and Premium the same day. Each defect is explained in plain words, with recommendations prioritised by urgency where relevant.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Look for leaning pots, missing mortar and lifted lead. Binoculars from the ground are enough for a first look.
Leave it or get it looked at?
Small roof defects let water in slowly. By the time a stain shows, timber or plaster may already be damp. Spotting it before you buy lets you deal with it as soon as you move in. For an older or listed building in a place like Dean, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so leaving a defect until it’s urgent leaves less time to plan.
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package matters as well. The price is always agreed first.
What you get with us
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- Satisfaction rate of 98%
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Visits on any day of the week
See what a roof survey costs or what we found on two real jobs.
How the survey works
On the day, we begin with a quick chat about the roof and anything that’s worrying you. We then inspect everything that can safely be seen. Most surveys take roughly 1–2 hours at most homes; commercial roofs usually need 3–4 hours. For a village or hamlet like Dean, the journey is planned ahead of time: let us know about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. On the day, we inspect everything that’s safely in view, inside and out.
- You book once your offer is accepted and tell us the address and your timetable.
- We agree a time and how we’ll get in, including the loft.
- We look at the roof from ground level, from windows, from the loft space and from the roof where safe.
- Each part of the roof is examined and photographed.
- Your report arrives by email, with photos and recommendations prioritised by urgency.
Preparing for the visit
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we’re looking at
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
How to book
Prices start from £150, including VAT. The exact figure depends on the roof and the package, so ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the details.
Advice
Towns and villages near Dean
What else we do in Dean
For landlords and managing agents
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it as you book and we will plan the visit with that in mind.
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work around your tenants.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Dean: local notes
A number of Hampshire villages keep thatched roofs on their older buildings. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles. Each material has its own typical faults, which is what a buyer or the owner of a new roof needs to know about. There are about 500,000 buildings on England’s list of listed buildings, and around 10,000 conservation areas. If your home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission, so check with the council.
For landlords with property near Botley station, a roof report gives you a clear picture before you buy or settle up with a roofer. Take an older house close to Church of St Peter: a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming.
Dean is about 6 miles north-east of Hedge End, in Hampshire. We provide pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Dean and the surrounding area. Our Hampshire coverage includes Dean and the places around it. You can also see our page for Southampton.
Postcode districts we cover here for pre-purchase roof surveys: SO32. Local streets include Dean Lane, Little Ashton Lane and Limekiln Lane. We also cover The Hangers (1 mile east), Upper Swanmore (2 miles south-east), Swanmore (2 miles south), Hill Grove (2 miles south-east) and Droxford (3 miles east). Within a short drive, we also cover Winchester (8 miles north-west), Gosport (12 miles south), Havant (12 miles south-east), Eastleigh (6 miles west), Fareham (8 miles south) and Horndean (9 miles south-east).
Landmarks near Dean
Around Dean, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Swanmore College of Technology and the streets around them. The closest station to Dean is Botley station, about 4.6 miles south-west. Other landmarks nearby include Bishop's Waltham Museum (1.4 miles south-west). Not far away are Bishops Waltham Branch LNR and Beacon Hill.