Greater London · London and the South East
Heston Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Heston, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Call or email for a price.
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
Pre-purchase roof survey in Heston: what you get
Older homes often have roofs that have been patched over the years. Corroded nails let slates slide, valley linings wear thin and chimney mortar erodes. Little of that is easy to judge from the pavement on a viewing. We look closely and record what we see, with photos so you can see it for yourself. We explain each finding in plain English, so you know what it means for the house you’re buying. We’re often asked to look into flashings that have lifted or split and chimney mortar that has eroded, across chimney stacks, clay and concrete tiles and natural slate.
Many London homes have been converted into flats, extended at the back or given a loft conversion with a dormer. Each change adds roof details, such as flat roofs, new flashings and junctions with the original slopes. For a purchase in Heston, or for new roofing work there, those junctions deserve a close look. Lead work around dormers and new flat roofs is easy to get wrong and easy to miss.
It isn’t only a list of defects. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend, so you can decide what to do next.
- Where
- Heston (TW5, UB2, TW3)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Do you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Heston?
Many roofs have had quick fixes over the years. Bitumen over flashings, mortar fillets in place of lead and odd replacement tiles can point to a problem that keeps coming back. We note what we see so you can ask about it.
People normally book a survey when they’ve noticed something like this:
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
Osterley House lies about 1.2 miles east, so building around Heston goes back a long way. When you buy an older home, the roof’s age, past repairs and any listing all affect what you might spend later.
What to check before booking
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- What the report includes, and whether it has photos
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
Places near Heston
Also in Heston
Practical tips
A little preparation and a few simple habits help. Our tips:
- Ask for any paperwork for recent roof work
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Don’t leave it until just before exchange
- Give your solicitor a copy of the report
The report gives any roofer you ask to quote a clear brief. The photos show the defects and where they are, which makes quotes easier to compare.
Keep the loft ventilated. Poor ventilation lets condensation build up, wetting timbers and insulation. Avoid packing insulation into the eaves so tightly that air cannot flow.
Landlord and commercial surveys in Heston
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in, at a time agreed beforehand. We survey on any day of the week, which helps when tenants work during the week.
A roof problem in a let property affects your tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work.
How the survey changes by roof type
Lead flashings and valleys
Lead flashings seal the joints where a roof meets a wall or chimney. We check whether they’ve lifted, split or been replaced with mortar or bitumen.
Clay and concrete tiles
Tiled roofs often last half a century or longer. Cracked, slipped or missing tiles are noted, along with odd replacement tiles that hint at earlier leaks.
Why it’s worth a survey now in Heston
It is tempting to skip the roof to keep a sale moving. We visit on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and a Premium report comes the same day, which helps it fit around your exchange date. Many older London roofs have only old felt under the slates, or no underlay at all, so a slipped slate can soon mean water inside. Left alone, that means wet timbers and plaster, which is a far bigger job than the roof fault itself.
For a price for your roof in Heston, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and tell us about the roof. We will confirm the figure before booking.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Heston
- Surveys on any day of the week
- An independent look at the roof
- 5,000+ surveys completed
- Packages from £150, with VAT included
Read what a roof survey costs or two real surveys.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Heston: local notes
Heston is about 1 mile from the edge of the flight restriction zone around Heathrow Airport. Where the drone is part of the survey, the exact boundary is checked for the address first. In outer London, interwar semis with hipped, tiled roofs sit alongside older slate-roofed terraces. If your home in Heston is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. 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 Southall station may find that the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full. Take an older house close to St Leonard's Church: the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are.
Heston is about 2 miles south of Southall, in Greater London. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Heston for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings, with a written report and photographs every time. Our area takes in places right across Greater London, from the larger towns to small villages. You can also see our page for London.
We cover every part of the TW5, UB2 and TW3 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. We offer pre-purchase roof surveys to properties on Fern Lane, Sutton Road and Eton Avenue. Main roads around Heston include the A3005, so getting to you is simple. Neighbouring places we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys include North Hyde (1 mile north), Norwood Green (1 mile north-east), Lampton (1 mile south-east), Hounslow West (1 mile south) and Osterley (1 mile east). We also work in nearby towns such as London (12 miles east), City of Westminster (10 miles east), Marylebone (10 miles east), Kensington (8 miles east), St Pancras (12 miles east) and Shoreditch (13 miles east).
What’s near Heston
In Heston, that means homes and buildings near Inwood Park, The Plough Public House and Heston Community School. For rail, the closest station is Southall station, roughly 1.4 miles north. Well-known places in the area include Museum of Army Music (2.4 miles south-east) and Treaty Centre (1.3 miles south-east). For a walk, there is Northala Fields and Crane Meadows.
The survey, step by step
Expect us to ask a few questions before we start, such as when any problem began and what work has been done before. Then the inspection itself takes roughly 1–2 hours at most homes, rising to roughly 3–4 hours on a commercial building. For a visit in Heston, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about permits, visitor bays or off-street space, which floor the property is on and how to get into the loft. We then look at whatever is safely visible from ground level, windows, the loft and, where it’s safe, the roof itself.
- You choose a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey to suit the home you’re buying.
- We agree a visit, including weekends if that helps.
- We inspect and photograph every part of the roof we can safely see.
- Moisture detection, structural checks, thermal imaging or a drone are added where your package includes them.
- We send the report with recommendations ranked by urgency, ready for you to discuss with the seller or agent.
Before we arrive
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
How to book
To arrange a survey, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We’ll confirm the price before booking.
Related advice
Common questions in Heston
Is drone flying allowed in Heston?
Typically it comes down to two things: the airspace at the address and the weather. Heston is about 1 mile from the edge of the flight restriction zone around Heathrow Airport. The exact boundary is checked for each address before any flight, and a roof inside it needs permission before we fly. London’s airspace includes flight restriction zones around Heathrow, London City Airport and London Heliport, and restricted areas over Hyde Park, the City of London and the Isle of Dogs. Every London address is checked against them before a flight. A small drone cannot fly safely in strong wind or a downpour.
How do I find out if my home in Heston is listed?
We can’t confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material, and councils can also use Article 4 directions.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Someone needs to let us in if we’re looking inside or in the loft. Access is agreed with you as you book.
How soon is the report ready?
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.
Will you need to get into the loft?
Ideally, yes. We look in the roof space where there’s safe access, and views from upper windows help too. Access is typically arranged through the agent or seller.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes, you can. You will have photos and a written description of each defect, so you can raise them with the seller or their agent. We cannot promise how the seller will respond.
Are you insured?
We are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.