Greater London · London and the South East
Force Green Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Force Green from an independent, experienced roof surveyor. More than 20 years and over 5,000 surveys.
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
The survey, step by step
On the day, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you want to find out. We then inspect everything that can safely be seen, using the ground, windows, the loft and a drone where it applies. The survey normally takes about one to two hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. In Force Green, visits are available on weekdays and at weekends. London parking is frequently by permit or pay-and-display, so it helps to know what’s near you. A back bedroom window can be the best vantage point for a rear addition, so we may ask to use one.
- 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.
- You get a photo-illustrated written report and recommendations before you exchange.
How to prepare
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- For a flat or shared roof, check access with the building owner or managing agent
- If you are buying, check with the agent that we can get in
Getting a price
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To find a date that works for you, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and the days you’d prefer.
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About our pre-purchase roof survey in Force Green
If you’re buying a flat, the roof may well be shared. 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 helps you ask your solicitor or the managing agent the right questions. Where the building has a flat roof, it is checked as far as access allows. If you’ve noticed a ridge or slope that dips and flashings that have lifted or split, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on flat-roofed extensions and dormers, gutters and downpipes and chimney stacks alike.
Homes across London range from Victorian and Edwardian terraces to interwar semis, post-war blocks and new developments, so a property in Force Green might be any of these. Whether you are 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.
Most points in the report come with a picture, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Place
- Force Green (TN16)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from Force Green
Are there drone restrictions around Force Green?
The answer turns on the exact location and the conditions on the day. Across London there are restriction zones around Heathrow, London City and London Heliport, plus 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, including zones around airports and prisons. Strong wind or a downpour also stops a small drone flying, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
Can parking be tricky for a visit in Force Green?
Parking in Force Green, as in most of London, takes a little planning: a visitor permit or a bay close to the door helps a lot.
Do you inspect the roof from on top?
Only where it’s safe to do so. Much of the inspection is done from the ground, from windows and from the roof space. On Premium, a drone is used where applicable.
Does someone need to be in?
That depends on the survey. Inside the building and in the loft, we need someone to let us in.
When will the report arrive?
The Premium Survey has a same-day report, Standard 24 to 48 hours and Basic within 48 hours. We send it by email with photos included.
Are you insured?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. It is a roof survey by an experienced roof surveyor, with a written report and photos. It doesn’t cover the rest of the property, which a RICS survey does.
What we’re asked to look at in Force Green
Asbestos was banned in UK construction in 1999. It’s frequently found in cement sheets, soffits and flue pipes. We don’t test for it or carry out asbestos surveys, but our report flags materials that could contain it and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before work starts.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Blocked or leaking gutters
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
The streets around a church such as Church of St Mary the Virgin are often among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming.
Before you book anyone
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- Whether the roof space is looked at, where there is one
- How soon the report will arrive
- What they won’t be able to tell you
When you need someone else
Our findings are based on what we can see safely on the day, so there are some things a survey cannot cover:
- A valuation or a promise of a lower price
- The condition of the rest of the house (that is a RICS home survey)
- Structural calculations (that is a structural engineer’s job)
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll tell you before you book. What our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Chimney stacks
- Natural slate
- Gutters and downpipes
- Lead flashings and valleys
- The roof space
Roof by roof
Gutters and parapets
Some older terraces have a butterfly roof with a central valley gutter. If yours does, we check that gutter and where it drains.
Flat roofs
Repeated coatings on a flat roof can mask what’s underneath. We say when the covering would need opening up to know more.
Also near Force Green
Also in Force Green
For landlords and managing agents
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too. Larger roofs take longer, and they’re priced for the size.
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on, photos included.
Checking the roof from ground level
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 is where a survey comes in, using safe viewpoints and a drone where applicable.
It helps to keep a record: dates of leaks, photos from ground level and any work done on the roof. Send it with your enquiry.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Force Green: local notes
The wider area around Force Green has a long history of building, with Quebec House about 0.8 miles south. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Alongside Victorian and Edwardian terraces, outer London has a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs of clay or concrete tiles. 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 you own a rental within reach of Oxted station, a written report helps before buying a rental or paying for a new roof on one. Force Green is in London, so parking needs planning: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space as you book, as a space near the door can’t be promised.
Force Green is about 5 miles west of Sevenoaks, in Greater London. Houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings in Force Green can all book pre-purchase roof surveys, with a written report and photographs every time. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, large and small. You can also see our page for Crawley.
Surveys in TN16 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Close by, we survey roofs in Westerham (1 mile south), South Street (2 miles north-west), Moorhouse Bank (2 miles south-west), Tatsfield (2 miles north-west) and Titsey (2 miles west). We also work in nearby towns such as Orpington (7 miles north), New Cross (14 miles north), Thornton Heath (12 miles north-west), Croydon (10 miles north-west), East Dulwich (14 miles north-west) and Plumstead (14 miles north).
Around Force Green
Typical jobs here are in homes near The Olde House At Home Public House. Force Green’s nearest station is Oxted station, about 3.8 miles south-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Tandridge Priory (2.7 miles south-west). Not far away are Dryhill Nature Reserve and Betsom's Hill.