West Berkshire · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Donnington, West Berkshire
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Donnington, with over 20 years’ experience behind it. You get a clear report with photos.
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
Practical tips
There’s plenty you can do without going near the roof. What helps most:
- Let us know your timetable
- Don’t leave it until just before exchange
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Look for fresh paint on upstairs ceilings at viewings
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.
Keep an eye on chimneys and flashings in your new home. Look for leaning pots, missing mortar and lifted lead. Binoculars from ground level are enough for a first look.
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Donnington
Buying a flat brings its own roof questions. The lease decides who looks after the roof, and that’s often not the individual flat owner. We look at as much of the roof as access safely allows, and the report gives you clear points to raise with your solicitor or the managing agent. Where the building has a flat roof, it is checked as far as access allows. Common reasons to book are quick fixes on flashings and valleys and chimney mortar that has eroded, across flat-roofed extensions and dormers, clay and concrete tiles and gutters and downpipes.
Being in a small place like Donnington makes no difference to the inspection itself: the journey, parking and access are simply agreed ahead of time. If there are outbuildings with roofs you want checked, mention them when you book. Buyers and owners of new roofs get the same approach as anywhere. Weekday and weekend visits are both available.
The report records the roof as we found it on the day. It is useful right away, and a good reference for later.
- Place
- Donnington (RG14)
- Wider area
- West Berkshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Donnington
Do you cover Donnington?
Yes, Donnington is within the area we cover. We survey roofs across London and South East England. You can ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and some details, and we’ll talk through which survey suits.
How do I find out if my home in Donnington is listed?
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. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. We survey the roof, not the whole building, and it is not a RICS home survey. It complements one rather than replacing it.
I live in a flat. Can you survey the roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. Roofs over flats are often shared, so whoever owns or manages the building needs to agree access. We can only inspect what we’re given access to.
Can you survey at the weekend?
We survey seven days a week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Let us know which days suit you when booking.
Do you inspect the roof from on top?
Where it’s safe, yes. Much of the inspection is done from ground level, from windows and from the roof space. On Premium, a drone is used where applicable.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Our report may flag materials that could contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
What affects the cost of pre-purchase roof surveys
Several things affect the price of a survey:
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Roof area
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
To find out what your survey will cost, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and a few details. The price is agreed before a date is set.
What to let us know when you contact us
Before you get in touch, it helps to have:
- The type of building and roof, like pitched or flat
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- Your timetable, like an exchange date
When you are ready to go ahead, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day.
How the survey works
We’ll ask a few questions first, about the roof’s history, any leaks and past repairs. The inspection then takes roughly 1–2 hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. Older roofs in small places like Donnington can have low, tight loft spaces, so it helps to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it’s safe.
- We help you pick the package that suits the property.
- A date is booked on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- 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
- Keep pets in another room
- If you’re buying, check with the agent that we can get in
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
Arrange a survey
Prices start from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so phone 07833 053749 or email us with the details.
Related advice
Places near Donnington
Other services in Donnington
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Donnington: local notes
If the drone is used for your survey, we check the Drone Safety Map for restrictions before flying. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Each material has its own typical faults, which is what a buyer or the owner of a new roof needs to know about.
Landlords with a home close to Newbury station may find that a survey before purchase, or before signing off a new roof, saves surprises once a tenant moves in. Shaw House, about 0.7 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Donnington. When you buy an older home, the roof’s age, past repairs and any listing all affect what you might spend later.
Donnington is about 1 mile north of Newbury, in West Berkshire. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Donnington for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings. Donnington is one of the places in West Berkshire we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys. For surveys nearby, see our Reading page.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in RG14 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If you need a pre-purchase roof survey at a property on The Orchids, The Redcoats and Cannon Close or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Other places close to Donnington include Speenhamland (1 mile south), Shaw (1 mile south-east), Bagnor (1 mile south-west), Speen (1 mile south-west) and Stockcross (2 miles west). Larger places within reach include Thatcham (3 miles east), Burghfield Common (12 miles east), Hungerford (8 miles west), Calcot (12 miles east), Lambourn (11 miles north-west) and Burghfield Hill (12 miles east).
Near you in Donnington
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Trinity School, Victoria Park and The Castle pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Donnington is Newbury station, roughly 1.5 miles south. Well-known places in the area include Donnington Castle (less than half a mile west) and West Berkshire Community Hospital (1.9 miles south-east). Not far away are Rack Marsh.
Can I check my roof myself?
It helps to keep a record: dates of leaks, photos from ground level and any work done on the roof. Share it with us as you book, as it helps us focus the survey.
If you have a loft with safe access, take a look inside. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
When to book a survey in Donnington
Patch repairs are common on roofs of every age. Bitumen painted over a flashing, mortar where lead should be, or a few tiles that don’t match can point to a problem that keeps coming back. Our report records them so you can ask the seller what was done and when.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
If your house is among the older ones in the streets near Parish Church of St Mary, older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- Whether the roof space is looked at, where there is one
- Whether VAT is in the quoted price
- When you’ll get the report
Why act early in Donnington
The lender’s valuation is done for the lender, not for you. Its job is to check the property’s value for the mortgage, and it will not look closely at the roof. Our survey is done for you. For an older or listed building in a place like Donnington, repairs may need matching materials and consent, so leaving a defect until it’s urgent leaves less time to plan.
Bigger, taller and commercial roofs take more time to survey, so they’re priced to match. You’ll know the figure before booking.
Why us?
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Weekday and weekend surveys
- Plain-English reports with photos
Read our cost guide or our case studies.