West Sussex · London and the South East
East Wittering Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
Pre-purchase roof surveys in East Wittering, with over 20 years’ experience behind it. You get a clear report with photos.
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Gaps where slates or tiles have come loose
Pre-purchase roof survey in East Wittering: what you get
A roof report gives you something solid to take back to the seller or the agent. You might ask about past repairs, ask for work to be done before completion or think again about your offer. We can’t say how a seller will respond, but you will be negotiating from a clear picture rather than a hunch. It can also help you decide whether the purchase is still right for you. If you’ve noticed slates or tiles that have slipped or gone and roof slopes that look uneven or sagging, we can find out what’s behind it, on chimney stacks, flat-roofed extensions and dormers and gutters and downpipes alike.
Around East Wittering, you’ll mostly find houses and bungalows of different ages. In older homes, the slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens and underlay holding them. Whether you are buying or have just had the roof replaced, that hidden layer is worth knowing about. Older roofs often have bitumen felt under the coverings, as breathable membranes only arrived in the late 1990s.
Report times depend on the survey you book: the Basic Survey within 48 hours, the Standard Survey in 24 to 48 hours and the Premium Survey on the same day.
- Place
- East Wittering (PO20)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What a survey costs
Our packages start from £150, inc. VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- If the survey needs thermal imaging or a drone
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- Building height and the viewpoints available
One thing that affects the price is the package: from £150 for Basic, £250 for Standard and £400 for Premium, with VAT included. Size, height and access can affect the price too.
Getting in touch
When you call or email, these details help:
- The property’s address and postcode
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
Most bookings start with a short call: phone 07833 053749 or email us, and we’ll ask about the building and what you need. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
East Wittering questions
Do roofs near the sea, like those around East Wittering, take more of a battering?
Places near the sea get more wind and more salt in the air than inland, and both are hard on roofs. Salt is hard on nails, clips and metal flashings, while strong wind lifts anything already loose.
Do you cover smaller places like East Wittering?
Yes, East Wittering is covered. We cover the whole of London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. The journey is planned ahead, so it helps to know about access.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and testing are not part of what we do. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before any work.
How long does the survey visit take?
Allow between one and two hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. We will confirm what to expect when we arrange the visit.
Is this the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 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.
Can I take the findings back to the seller?
Yes, you can. You will have photos and a written description of each defect, so you can raise them with the seller or their agent. We can’t promise how the seller will respond.
Will you climb onto the roof?
Only where it is safe to do so. We inspect from the ground, from windows and vantage points, from the loft and from the roof itself where safe. On Premium, a drone is used where it applies.
Towns and villages near East Wittering
More services for East Wittering
What a pre-purchase roof survey does not cover
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, and that sets some limits:
- Whether timbers meet design loads
- Faults hidden behind ceilings, boards or coverings
- The condition of the rest of the house (that is a RICS home survey)
If you are not sure which survey you need, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in East Wittering
- The roof space
- Gutters and downpipes
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Natural slate
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
What a pre-purchase roof survey looks like in East Wittering
East Wittering is within about 1 mile of the coast, and places near the sea get more salt in the air and more wind than inland. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces. Listing and conservation areas can both shape what roof work is allowed on an older home. Your council and Historic England’s list will tell you where you stand, before anyone quotes for re-roofing.
Take an older house close to St Anne: older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
East Wittering is about 6 miles south-west of Chichester, in West Sussex. From houses to flats and shops in East Wittering, the roof can be surveyed. Our West Sussex coverage includes East Wittering and the places around it. Our Portsmouth page covers surveys nearby.
We survey roofs across PO20 for pre-purchase roof surveys. Local streets include Church Road, Downview Close and Stocks Lane. East Wittering sits on or near the B2179, so getting to you is simple. If you’re just outside East Wittering, we cover Earnley (1 mile east), Somerley (2 miles north-east), West Wittering (2 miles north-west), Shipton Green (2 miles north) and Almodington (2 miles north-east). Larger places within reach include Bognor Regis (8 miles east), Chichester (6 miles north-east), Selsey (4 miles south-east), Littlehampton (15 miles east), Emsworth (7 miles north-west) and Portfield (7 miles north-east).
What’s near East Wittering
In East Wittering, that means homes and buildings near The Thatched Tavern. For a walk, there’s Pilsey Island.
The survey, step by step
Photos are taken throughout the visit, so you can see in the report what we found and where. We take close-ups from wherever is safe. Most surveys take about 1–2 hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. Being in a smaller place like East Wittering doesn’t change how the visit works: outside, inside and from any safe vantage point, in that order. It helps to show us anything you’ve already noticed.
- Once your offer has been accepted, you book and give us the address and your timescale.
- We agree a time and how we’ll get in, including the loft.
- We check the roof from ground level, from windows, from the loft space and from the roof where safe.
- Coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are checked and photographed.
- We email a photo-illustrated written report and recommendations, ready for you to use before exchange.
Before we arrive
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Leave side gates unlocked
Getting a price
Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the details.
Advice
Signs you need a pre-purchase roof survey in East Wittering
Many roofs have had quick fixes over the years. Bitumen over flashings, mortar fillets in place of lead and odd replacement tiles can point to a problem that keeps coming back. Our report records them so you can ask the seller what was done and when.
These are some of the problems a survey can pick up:
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
In and around East Wittering, as anywhere, a roof is easiest to deal with when its problems are found early.
Questions to ask before booking
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- Is VAT included in the price?
- Whether the loft is part of the inspection
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
Practical tips
There is plenty you can do without going near the roof. Here’s what helps most:
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Share the report with your solicitor
- Do not leave it until just before exchange
- Ask who repairs the roof under the lease
The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation to talk the findings through, and the Premium Survey includes an in-person consultation. Whichever package you choose, you can ask us what a finding means.
Keep the loft ventilated. Poor ventilation lets condensation build up, wetting timbers and insulation. Avoid packing insulation into the eaves so tightly that air cannot flow.
How the survey changes by roof type
Natural slate
Older slate roofs often have bitumen felt under them, and very old ones may have none. Where we can see it from the loft, we say what condition it’s in.
Lead flashings and valleys
Flashings are a common source of leaks, so we check each one closely. We photograph any that need work.