Greater London · London and the South East
Foxbury Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Foxbury, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Call or email for a price.
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
Pre-purchase roof survey in Foxbury: what you get
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 helps you ask your solicitor or the managing agent the right questions. Where the building has a flat roof, it’s checked as far as access allows. We are frequently asked to look into blistered or split felt on a flat roof and signs of past leaks inside the loft, across chimney stacks, natural slate and lead flashings and valleys.
In a London terrace or conversion, the roof often joins the neighbours’ roofs and shares their stacks and gutters, with parapet walls and party-wall upstands marking where one roof ends and the next begins. For a purchase or a new roof in Foxbury, that shapes what can be checked: we inspect what we’re given access to and can see safely, which may not include a neighbour’s side. If it is a flat, the lease normally sets out who is responsible for the roof.
With the Standard Survey, you also get moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Place
- Foxbury (DA14, BR7, DA15)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What we do, step by step
The visit has one job: to see as much of the roof as can safely be seen and record it clearly. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It usually takes about 1–2 hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. From the street, a London terrace typically shows only its front slope or parapet, so a visit in Foxbury moves between viewpoints: the pavement, upstairs windows, the loft and any safe spot at the back. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Let us know who holds the keys.
- You book once your offer is accepted and let us know the address and your timetable.
- Access is arranged through you, the agent or the seller.
- The roof is inspected from each safe vantage point, inside and out.
- Each part of the roof is examined and photographed.
- We email a report with photos and recommendations, ready for you to use before exchange.
Before we arrive
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we’re looking at
How to book
You can call us seven days a week. To book or ask a question, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Advice
Surveys for landlords and agents in Foxbury
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan, putting the urgent items at the top.
Nearby places to Foxbury
What else we do in Foxbury
Questions from Foxbury
Is parking a problem for a survey in Foxbury?
Sometimes, yes. Where there are permit zones, a visitor permit or nearby pay-and-display bay works well, and a driveway is even better.
How do I find out if my home in Foxbury is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
What’s the best way to book?
Just ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address. We’ll ask a few questions, confirm the price and agree a date.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not always. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but the loft and any rooms with damp need someone to let us in.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes. Shared roofs just need a little more planning, with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it as you book and we’ll plan the survey around it.
Do you work in Foxbury?
Yes. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Foxbury, and the service is the same as everywhere else we work.
Is a roof survey worth having alongside a home survey?
That depends on how much you want to know about the roof. Home surveys sometimes suggest a closer look at the roof, and our survey gives you that closer look. It doesn’t stand in for a RICS survey.
DIY checks: what’s safe
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Your own check is a good start, but it isn’t a survey. You won’t see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from the ground.
Before and after the survey
Most of what helps is simple and safe from ground level. Our suggestions:
- Ask who repairs the roof under the lease
- Ask the agent to check the loft hatch can be opened
- Look for fresh paint on upstairs ceilings at viewings
- Let us know your exchange date when booking
It’s worth sharing the report with your solicitor so questions can go to the seller’s solicitor. Past repairs, re-roofing and any records of that work are all fair questions.
Check the roof from the garden and the street after a storm. Slipped slates, lifted ridge tiles and debris on the ground are signs to act on. Dealing with them early keeps water out.
What we are asked to look at in Foxbury
Rear extensions, dormers and garages often have flat roofs. Felt flat roofs often last around 15 to 20 years, and standing water, blisters and splits are typical signs of ageing. A buyer can easily miss them, particularly when they’re only visible from an upper floor.
We are often asked to look at:
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
Parking in Foxbury, as in most of London, takes a little planning: tell us about permits, visitor bays or off-street space as you book.
What to check before booking
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
- What happens after the report arrives
- Their insurance cover
- How soon the report will arrive
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Foxbury: local notes
If the drone is used for your survey, we check the Drone Safety Map for restrictions before flying. Eltham Palace, about 2.6 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Foxbury. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
If your home is one of the older ones in the streets near Christ Church, a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming. For landlords with property near Sidcup station, a survey before purchase, or before signing off a new roof, saves surprises once a tenant moves in.
Foxbury is about 1 mile east of Chislehurst, in Greater London. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys for homeowners, landlords and businesses in Foxbury. Foxbury is one of the towns and villages in Greater London where we work for pre-purchase roof surveys. For surveys nearby, see our London page.
We work across the DA14, BR7 and DA15 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. Streets in the area include Kemnal Road, Sydney Road and Carlton Road. Nearby, we also carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Longlands (1 mile north), Chislehurst (1 mile west), New Eltham (1 mile north-west), Elmstead (2 miles west) and Coldharbour (2 miles north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover London (10 miles north-west), City of Westminster (12 miles north-west), Marylebone (12 miles north-west), Kensington (14 miles north-west), St Pancras (12 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (10 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Foxbury
We work in homes and buildings around Chislehurst Common, Mead Road Infant School and The Bulls Head Public House and the streets around them. Foxbury’s nearest station is Sidcup station, roughly 1.2 miles north-east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find The Glades (3.3 miles west) and Queen Mary's Hospital (0.6 miles east). Open spaces near Foxbury include Summer Hill and The Tarn.
What we look for on each type of roof
Clay and concrete tiles
Many post-war houses have concrete interlocking tiles. They’re heavy and hard-wearing, but they weather and can crack, and low-pitched roofs need their laps to be right.
Chimney stacks
We inspect the outside of the stack, not a flue, gas or sweep inspection. We’ll say if the flue needs a specialist.