Greater London · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Gants Hill, Greater London
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Gants Hill. We have completed more than 5,000 surveys across London and the South East.
- Chimney mortar that has eroded
- Ponding, blisters or splits on a flat roof
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
Pre-purchase roof survey in Gants Hill: what you get
The best time to book is once your offer has been accepted and before you exchange contracts. That’s when the findings are most useful, while you are not yet committed. Visits run on weekdays and at weekends, which helps when the chain is moving fast. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard within 24 to 48 hours and Premium the same day. Common reasons to book are damp timbers or stains in the loft and gutters choked with leaves and moss, across clay and concrete tiles, gutters and downpipes and chimney stacks.
London’s housing runs from Victorian and Edwardian terraces to interwar semis, post-war estates and new blocks of flats, and a home in Gants Hill could be any of them. Whether you are buying or have just had a roof replaced, the details that cause trouble depend on the age of the building. Slates, hidden valley gutters, parapets and flat roofs over back additions all need checking in their own way.
After the visit, you get a report with photos, sent by email. It sets out the condition of the roof, any defects and our written recommendations.
- Where
- Gants Hill (IG2, IG6, IG1)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Common questions in Gants Hill
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Gants Hill?
Sometimes, yes. If Gants Hill has controlled parking where you are, a visitor permit is the easiest answer.
Can you fly a drone over a roof in Gants Hill?
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. Before any flight, we check the Drone Safety Map for airspace restrictions. A small drone can’t fly safely in high wind or heavy rain, and the rest of the survey does not depend on the drone.
At what stage of buying should I get the roof surveyed?
Book as soon as your offer is agreed. The report is most useful before exchange, while you can still ask questions and negotiate.
Do I need to be at home?
That depends on the survey. For inside areas and the loft space, someone has to give us access.
What’s the best way to book?
Simply call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address. We’ll ask a few questions, confirm the price and agree a date, weekday or weekend.
Will you need to get into the loft?
If it can be arranged, yes. From the loft space we can see staining, timbers and underlay. If we cannot get in, the report says so.
How long does the survey visit take?
On site, it normally takes an hour or two at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. The report follows within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium.
What affects the price in Gants Hill
Our packages start from £150, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on:
- Basic, Standard or Premium
- House, block, shop or office
- Roof area
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
A Basic Survey starts from £150, inc. VAT. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400, both including VAT. You’ll know the price for your roof before booking.
Getting in touch
Here’s what helps us most when you get in touch:
- When you need the report by
- What’s prompted the survey
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
- The kind of building and roof involved
Our phone lines are open seven days a week. To book or ask a question, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Nearby places to Gants Hill
Other services in Gants Hill
What this survey can’t tell you
Our survey isn’t a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey, a structural engineer’s report or an asbestos survey. It also has these limits:
- How a seller will respond, or what the house is worth
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
- A structural engineer’s report
If in doubt, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll recommend the right survey before booking. The full list of what we check.
What this survey covers
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks
- The roof space
- Gutters and downpipes
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Natural slate
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
What we are asked to look at in Gants Hill
Gutter problems often look minor from the street. Water spilling over a gutter soaks brickwork and can rot fascias and rafter ends. Valley and parapet gutters can overflow inside the house. They’re part of what we look at.
A survey makes sense if you’ve noticed:
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
If you live in an older home near St George's Church, a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- What exactly goes into their report
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- What experience they bring
Pre-purchase roof surveys around Gants Hill
In outer London, interwar semis with hipped, tiled roofs sit alongside older slate-roofed terraces. If your home in Gants Hill is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. Each material has its own typical faults, which is what a buyer or the owner of a new roof needs to know about. If your survey includes the drone, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
If you let a flat or house near Ilford station, it’s worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it. Gants Hill 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.
Gants Hill is about 3 miles north-east of Forest Gate, in Greater London. We cover Gants Hill and the rest of Greater London, as part of our work across London and South East England. Our Greater London coverage includes Gants Hill and the places around it. London is in our area too.
We work across IG2, IG6 and IG1 for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. Streets in the area include Bute Road, Perth Road and Shere Road, and we cover them all. You’ll find Gants Hill on the A123, so it’s easy for us to get to. Other places close to Gants Hill include Newbury Park (1 mile east), Barkingside (1 mile north-east), Redbridge (1 mile west), Cranbrook (1 mile south-west) and Ilford (1 mile south). Further out, we also cover London (9 miles south-west), City of Westminster (11 miles south-west), Marylebone (10 miles south-west), Kensington (13 miles south-west), St Pancras (9 miles south-west) and Shoreditch (7 miles south-west).
Landmarks near Gants Hill
Around Gants Hill, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Valentines Park and Valentines High School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Ilford station, roughly 1.2 miles south of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Stratford Centre (3.9 miles south-west) and Goodmayes Hospital (1.7 miles east). Not far away are Hollow Pond and Hainault Lodge.
Tips from our surveys
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Tips:
- Ask the seller about past roof repairs
- Check the lease for roof repair responsibilities
- Watch for stains or fresh paint on ceilings below the roof
- Ask for any paperwork for recent roof work
We email the report to you, with photos of each finding. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium. Findings are set out in plain English, and recommendations are ranked by urgency where that helps.
Check the roof from the garden and the street after a storm. Pieces of slate or tile in the garden mean something has moved. Small repairs done quickly stop bigger problems later.
What we look for on each type of roof
Natural slate
Many older homes in London and South East England have slate roofs. We check for slipped, cracked and missing slates, and for clips or tingles that show past repairs.
Flat roofs
Standing water, blisters, splits and tired upstands all point to wear. Blocked outlets are checked as well, and we say what we see from wherever is safe.
What we do, step by step
Every visit follows the same pattern: we hear what you’ve seen, inspect the roof from every safe vantage point, photograph what we find and make notes for the report. Most visits take 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 a London area like Gants Hill, the main things to sort out are parking and access: tell us about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. On the day, the roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from inside the roof space and from the roof where it is 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.
- Moisture detection, structural checks, thermal imaging or a drone are added where your package includes them.
- You receive the report, with findings prioritised by urgency, so you can raise them with the seller.
Before the survey
- Let us know about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
Booking a survey
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We will confirm the price before booking.