Greater London · London and the South East
Foots Cray Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Foots Cray, carried out by an experienced roof surveyor. You get a clear written report with photographs.
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
How it works
Every visit follows the same pattern: we listen to what’s been worrying you, inspect the roof from every safe vantage point, take photos as we go and make notes for the report. Most visits take roughly 1–2 hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. In a London conversion, the way into the loft space is often from a communal landing or the top flat. If that applies to your building, it’s useful to agree access with the neighbours or the managing agent first. Everything else is planned around the building, not the postcode.
- You choose a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey to suit the home you are buying.
- 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.
- We send the report with recommendations ranked by urgency, ready for you to discuss with the seller or agent.
How to prepare
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Leave side gates unlocked
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Book a survey
To arrange a survey, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email and let us know the address and what’s prompted the survey. We’ll confirm the price before booking.
Related advice
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Foots Cray
Buying a flat brings its own roof questions. Depending on the lease, roof repairs may fall to the building owner or a management company. We inspect what access allows us to see safely, 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 slipped or missing slates and tiles and quick fixes on flashings and valleys, on flat-roofed extensions and dormers, gutters and downpipes and the roof space.
London’s housing runs from Victorian and Edwardian terraces to interwar semis, post-war estates and new blocks of flats, and a home in Foots Cray could be any of them. Whether you’re buying or have just had a roof replaced, the details that cause trouble depend on the age of the building. Slate roofs, butterfly valleys, parapet gutters and flat-roofed rear additions each have their own weak points.
Every survey ends with a written report, with photos, emailed to you. It sets out the condition of the roof, any defects and our written recommendations.
- Where
- Foots Cray (DA14, BR5)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Letting agents and landlords in Foots Cray book surveys as well as homeowners. A written report with photos gives you a clear record of the roof.
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan, putting the urgent items at the top.
Tips that help
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Watch for stains or fresh paint on ceilings below the roof
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
- Ask who repairs the roof under the lease
- Share the report with your solicitor
With Standard, you get a follow-up consultation, while Premium includes a consultation in person. Whichever package you choose, you can ask us what a finding means.
Check the roof from the garden and the street after a storm. Pieces of slate or tile in the garden mean something has moved. Dealing with them early keeps water out.
What we look for on each type of roof
Chimney stacks
A leaning stack, cracked flaunching or crumbling pointing can all need work. We note them with photos so you can ask about them.
Gutters and parapets
Parapet and box gutters are hidden behind walls and can overflow inside. Where we can see them safely, we check the linings and outlets.
Common roof problems in Foots Cray
Many roofs have had quick fixes over the years. Bitumen painted over a flashing, mortar where lead should be, or a few tiles that do not 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.
Look out for signs like these:
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
If you own a rental within reach of Sidcup station, a written report helps before buying a rental or paying for a new roof on one.
What to check before booking
- Is VAT included in the price?
- What experience they bring
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- What exactly goes into their report
Common questions in Foots Cray
Is drone flying allowed in Foots Cray?
Typically it comes down to two things: the airspace at the address and the weather. London’s airspace includes flight restriction zones around Heathrow, London City Airport and London Heliport, and restricted areas over Hyde Park, the City of London and the Isle of Dogs. Each address is checked against all of them before the drone goes up. Every flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first. A small drone can’t fly safely in strong wind or a downpour, and the rest of the survey does not depend on the drone.
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Foots Cray?
Sometimes, yes. Where there are permit zones, a visitor permit or nearby pay-and-display bay works well.
When is the best time to have the roof checked when buying?
Once your offer has been accepted, and before exchange. That way you can still act on what we find, whether that means asking questions or negotiating.
Can I take the findings back to the seller?
Yes. The report sets out what we found, with photos, so you can raise them with the seller or their agent. We cannot promise how the seller will respond.
Does your survey replace a RICS home survey?
No. We survey the roof, not the whole building, and it is not a RICS home survey. It works alongside a home survey.
How long will you be at the property?
On site, it normally takes roughly 1–2 hours for a house, and longer for a large or complex roof. Report times depend on the package, from the same day for Premium to within 48 hours for Basic.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Just tell us the days that suit you.
Nearby places to Foots Cray
What else we do in Foots Cray
What you can safely check yourself
It helps to keep a record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Send it with your enquiry and it will help the survey.
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way, and a fall can be serious. That part is for a survey.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Foots Cray: local notes
Further from the centre, London’s housing takes in interwar semis with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles as well as slate-roofed terraces. On a semi of that age, the small roofs over the bays, the hip tiles and any later dormer each need their own look. The covering on a house you are buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest. If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
With Danson House about 2.8 miles north, the area around Foots Cray 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. Controlled parking zones are common in London, so mention any permit rules for Foots Cray, along with any off-street space.
Foots Cray is about 1 mile south-east of Sidcup, in Greater London. In Foots Cray, as across Greater London, every roof gets the same careful survey. Foots Cray is one of the towns and villages in Greater London where we work. You can also see our page for London.
Surveys in DA14 and BR5 are booked the same way as anywhere else. If you need a pre-purchase roof survey at a property on Cray Road, Evry Road and The Avenue or a nearby road, we can survey it. You will find Foots Cray on the A223, so it is easy for us to get to. Neighbouring places we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys include Ruxley (1 mile east), Albany Park (1 mile north-west), Upper Ruxley (1 mile east), Sidcup (1 mile north-west) and North Cray (2 miles north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover London (11 miles north-west), City of Westminster (13 miles north-west), Marylebone (13 miles north-west), Kensington (15 miles north-west), St Pancras (13 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (11 miles north-west).
Near you in Foots Cray
Typical jobs here are in homes near Foots Cray Meadows, Kemnal Technology College and Walsingham School and the streets around them. Foots Cray’s nearest station is Sidcup station, roughly 1.4 miles north of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Metropolitan Police Museum (1.3 miles north-west) and Queen Mary's Hospital (0.6 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Summer Hill and The Warren.