Greater London · London and the South East
Hackney Wick Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Hackney Wick, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Call or email for a price.
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Old water stains in the roof space
Pre-purchase roof survey in Hackney Wick: what you get
With a written roof report, you can go back to the seller or agent with specifics. You can ask about the roof’s history, ask for repairs before completion or rethink the price. We cannot say how a seller will respond, but you will be asking from facts rather than guesses. It can also help you decide whether the purchase is still right for you. We survey clay and concrete tiles, gutters and downpipes and lead flashings and valleys, and common reasons people get in touch are slipped or missing slates and tiles and quick fixes on flashings and valleys.
Many London homes have been converted into flats, extended at the back or given a loft conversion with a dormer. Every alteration brings new junctions, flashings and flat-roof areas to look at. If you’re buying a flat or house in Hackney Wick, or have just had new roofing work done, those junctions are often where problems start. Lead work around dormers and new flat roofs is easy to get wrong and easy to miss.
With the Standard Survey, you also get moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey goes further, with thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Where
- Hackney Wick (E3, E9, E20)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How the survey works
We look at the roof from outside and, where it’s relevant and there’s safe access, from inside the roof space too. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging, as far as the space allows. All in, the survey normally takes about one to two hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. For a visit in Hackney Wick, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about parking, the floor the property is on, any shared entrance and loft access. 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.
- Once your offer is accepted, you let us know the address and when you hope to exchange.
- Access to the house and the loft space is agreed in advance.
- The visit begins outside, from ground level and any safe vantage points.
- We then look from upstairs windows and inside the loft where it is safe.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Before the survey
- Let us know about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
Arrange a survey
To get a price for pre-purchase roof surveys in Hackney Wick, ring 07833 053749 or email us. A few details about the property and the roof help us give you an accurate price.
Advice
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Hackney Wick: local notes
About 1.3 miles west lies Sutton House, a reminder of how long the area around Hackney Wick has been built on. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead. Many homes in inner London are Victorian and Edwardian terraces, frequently with Welsh slate roofs. A butterfly roof with a central valley gutter, tucked behind a parapet wall, is common on these houses. If your home in Hackney Wick is one of them, lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are part of the picture too. The covering on a house you’re buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest.
Landlords with a home close to Hackney Wick station may find that a survey before purchase, or before signing off a new roof, saves surprises once a tenant moves in. As a London address, Hackney Wick can be tricky for parking: let us know about parking bays, permits or a driveway when you book, as a space near the door can’t be promised.
Hackney Wick is about 1 mile west of Stratford, in Greater London. We cover Hackney Wick and the rest of Greater London. Hackney Wick is one of the towns and villages in Greater London we cover.
Postcode districts we cover here for pre-purchase roof surveys: E3, E9 and E20. Local streets include Wick Lane, Dace Road and Wyke Road, all of which we cover. Close by, we survey roofs in Fish Island (1 mile south), Donnybrook Quarter (1 mile south-west), Old Ford (1 mile south), Temple Mills (1 mile north-east) and East Village (1 mile north-east). Larger places within reach include London (4 miles south-west), City of Westminster (6 miles west), Marylebone (6 miles west), Kensington (8 miles west), St Pancras (4 miles west) and Shoreditch (3 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Hackney Wick
In Hackney Wick, that means homes and buildings near Mulberry UTC, Mabley Green and Mulberry UTC. Hackney Wick has its own railway station: Hackney Wick station. Nearby you’ll also find Tower of London (3.3 miles south-west) and V&A East (under half a mile east). Open spaces near Hackney Wick include Tower Hill and Old Ford Island.
Landlords, agents and block managers in Hackney Wick
We survey roofs for landlords and letting agents as well as householders. A photo-illustrated written report gives you a clear record of the roof.
An agent can book and manage the survey for a landlord. Access is agreed with the tenant in advance.
Nearby places to Hackney Wick
Also in Hackney Wick
How the survey changes by roof type
Flat roofs
Many homes have a flat roof somewhere, often over an extension. Felt frequently lasts around 15 to 20 years, EPDM rubber 30 to 50 and GRP up to about 30. We look for signs of age and failure.
Natural slate
Slate is common on Victorian and Edwardian houses. We look for slates that have slid, cracked or gone, plus the metal clips that show earlier patching.
Common roof problems in Hackney Wick
Rear extensions, dormers and garages often have flat roofs. Felt flat roofs often last around 15 to 20 years, and ponding, blisters and splits are common signs of age. A buyer can easily miss them, especially when they’re only visible from an upper floor.
Here are some of the things we see often:
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
The streets around a church such as St Mary of Eton are frequently 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 booking any roof surveyor
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- Their report turnaround times
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- Whether the loft space is looked at, where there is one
Hackney Wick questions
Are there drone restrictions around Hackney Wick?
It depends on the exact address and the weather on the day. The flight restriction zone around London City Airport comes within about 2 miles of Hackney Wick. The exact boundary is checked for each address before any flight, and a roof inside it needs permission before we fly. 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. The flight also waits for calm, dry weather, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
Will parking be an issue for a roof survey in Hackney Wick?
In much of London, parking needs planning: a visitor permit or a nearby bay makes the day run more smoothly.
Do I need a roof survey if I’m having a RICS survey?
They do different things. A home survey looks at the whole property, while ours looks only at the roof, in more detail. Our survey complements a RICS survey and does not replace one.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. It is a roof survey by an experienced roof surveyor, and you get a written report with photos. It does not cover the rest of the property, which a RICS survey does.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. Our report may flag materials that could contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
How long does the survey visit take?
It normally takes an hour or two at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. Report times depend on the package, from the same day for Premium to within 48 hours for Basic.
Do you need to go inside the property?
Where we can, yes. From the loft space we can see staining, timbers and underlay. If access is not possible, we note it in the report.
Why act early in Hackney Wick
The lender’s valuation is done for the lender, not for you. It looks at whether the property is suitable security for the loan, and it will not look closely at the roof. A roof survey is carried out for the buyer, and the report is written for you to use. In Hackney Wick, as across London, an overflowing gutter soaks the wall below. A blocked outlet ignored for a winter or two can mean damp walls inside.
One thing that affects the price is the package: Basic from £150, Standard from £250 or Premium from £400, all inc. VAT. Size, height and access can affect the price too.
What you get with us
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- Plain-English reports with photos
Can I check my roof myself?
It is useful to keep a record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Send it with your enquiry, as it helps us focus the survey.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, which helps when we check the roof.