Kent · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Hartley, Kent
Know where you stand with the roof before you spend money on it. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Hartley, with photographs and a clear written report.
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Hartley
A roof report gives you something solid to take back to the seller or the agent. 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’ll be asking from facts rather than guesses. It can also help you decide whether the purchase is still right for you. We are frequently asked to look into standing water on a flat extension roof and slates or tiles that have slipped or gone, across gutters and downpipes, clay and concrete tiles and natural slate.
In a smaller place like Hartley, homes are mostly houses and bungalows, from older cottages to more recent builds. Older roofs may still have their original slates or clay tiles, with fixings and underlay that have done a long stint. For a purchase or a newly replaced roof, what’s under the coverings matters as much as what’s on top. Breathable membranes only appeared in the late 1990s, so older roofs often have bitumen felt or nothing at all.
Findings are set out part by part, from the main slopes down to the gutters and outlets. You will see the good as well as the bad.
- Where
- Hartley (DA3)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Common roof problems in Hartley
Buildings put up or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. It is often found in cement sheets, soffits and flue pipes. We don’t carry out asbestos surveys, but our report flags materials that could contain it so a specialist asbestos surveyor can check before anything is disturbed.
Signs worth acting on include:
- Old water stains in the loft space
- Chimney mortar that has eroded
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- A ridge or slope that dips
If you let a flat or house near Longfield station, it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- When you’ll get the report
- What the survey won’t cover
Places near Hartley
Also in Hartley
What a survey costs
To price your survey, we check:
- The size of the roof
- Whether you choose the Basic, Standard or Premium Survey
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- Building height and the viewpoints available
A Basic Survey starts from £150, with VAT included. The Standard Survey starts from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, both with VAT included. We confirm the price for the job before you book.
Helping us price your survey
There is no need for technical words. It’s enough to tell us:
- Where any leaks, stains or damp patches show inside
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
- Whether there’s a loft hatch, a shared roof or tricky access
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
We survey roofs on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. To find a date that works for you, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Leave it or get it looked at?
It is tempting to skip the roof to keep a sale moving. We visit on any day of the week, and the Premium Survey report arrives the same day, which helps it fit around your exchange date. In an older home around Hartley, water from a roof defect can get into timber and plaster, which is far harder to put right than the roof fault itself.
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how safely it can be seen. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT.
Why book us in Hartley
- 20+ years’ experience
- A written report with photos
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- 98% customer satisfaction
Take a look at our cost guide or our case studies.
What a pre-purchase roof survey looks like in Hartley
With Cobham College about 3.9 miles east, Hartley sits in an area with a long building history. If your home is one of the older ones, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Older houses across Kent often have handmade clay or peg tiles, and many have tile-hung walls. Oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of the county’s older buildings too. Each material has its own typical faults, which is what a buyer or the owner of a new roof needs to know about.
If you own one of the older houses in the streets near Church of Saint Mary, the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are.
Hartley is about 4 miles south-west of Northfleet, in Kent. We provide pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Hartley and the surrounding area. Our area takes in places right across Kent. Our Maidstone page covers surveys nearby.
We survey roofs across DA3 for pre-purchase roof surveys. Local streets include Church Road, Dickens Close and Stack Lane, all of which we cover. We also cover the places around Hartley: Longfield (1 mile north), New Barn (1 mile north-east), Longfield Hill (1 mile east), New Ash Green (1 mile south) and Nash Street (2 miles east). We also work in nearby towns like Maidstone (13 miles south-east), Dartford (5 miles north-west), Sevenoaks (9 miles south-west), Gravesend (4 miles north-east), Tonbridge (13 miles south) and Northfleet (4 miles north-east).
What’s near Hartley
Typical jobs here are in homes near Railway Tavern, Rectory Meadow and Longfield Academy and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Longfield station, roughly 0.8 miles north-west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Darent Valley Hospital (4 miles north-west) and Stone Castle (4.1 miles north). For a walk, there is Sawyers Lake.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Hartley
Where a roof is shared: we need access agreed with the freeholder or managing agent. Mention it when you contact us and we will plan the survey around it.
Businesses and commercial landlords can book us too, from shops and offices to industrial units. Bigger roofs take more time.
How it works
You do not need to do much on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we’ll take it from there. The survey itself takes an hour or two for a house, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. A visit to Hartley is planned like any other: the time, the access and where to park are agreed beforehand. Visits can be on weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. If there are outbuildings or garages you want looked at, mention them.
- You book once your offer is accepted and let us know the address and your timetable.
- We agree a time and how we will get in, including the loft.
- We inspect the roof from ground level, windows, the loft and the roof itself where it’s safe.
- Each part of the roof is examined and photographed.
- We email a written report with photographs and recommendations, ready for you to use before exchange.
Getting ready for the survey
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
- Let us know about parking near the property
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Book a survey
When you’re ready to go ahead, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day.
Related advice
FAQs for Hartley
Is Hartley in the area you cover?
Yes. We survey roofs across London and the South East, and Hartley is part of that. Just phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and let us know about the property.
Do you cover smaller places like Hartley?
Yes, Hartley is on our map. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and sampling aren’t something we do. Where a material might contain it, like old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it is disturbed.
What’s the best way to book?
Simply phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address. We’ll ask a few questions, confirm the price and agree a date, weekday or weekend.
How soon is the report ready?
It depends on the package: within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium. Tell us your exchange date and we’ll help you choose.
Can I use the report to negotiate on price?
Yes, you can. The report sets out what we found, with photos, which you can share with the seller or agent. How the seller responds is up to them.
Are you insured?
Our cover is professional indemnity plus public liability, and we can provide details if a managing agent needs them.
Checking the roof from the ground
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Use a torch and stay on the joists or boards, checking for stains, damp wood or chinks of daylight.
What you cannot do safely is get up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way, and falls from height are serious. That’s where a survey comes in.