Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Highmoor, Oxfordshire
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat for Highmoor, from an experienced roof surveyor. You get a clear written report with photographs.
- Old water stains in the roof space
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
Pre-purchase roof survey in Highmoor: what you get
A roof report gives you something solid to take back to the seller or the agent. You might ask about past repairs, ask for work to be done before completion or think again about your offer. We can’t say how a seller will respond, but you will be negotiating from a clear picture rather than a hunch. It also helps you decide whether to go ahead at all. Common reasons to book are patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem and damp timbers or stains in the loft, on flat-roofed extensions and dormers, natural slate and lead flashings and valleys.
Older buildings in small places like Highmoor may be listed or in a conservation area. That can affect what materials a new roof may use, so check with the council and Historic England’s list. Whether you are buying or signing off new roofing, it is worth knowing where you stand. There are about 500,000 listed buildings and around 10,000 conservation areas in England.
Every survey ends with a written report, with photographs, sent by email. It explains the condition of the roof, the defects we found and what we recommend.
- Place
- Highmoor (RG9)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Buying a home or a new roof in Highmoor
Older buildings in west Oxfordshire often have Cotswold stone slate roofs, and some Oxfordshire villages still have thatch. In this part of the South East, older roofs are mostly slate or clay tile and many newer ones concrete tile. Whether you are buying or checking new roofing work, knowing the materials helps make sense of what the inspection finds. If your survey includes the drone, we check the Drone Safety Map for restrictions before flying.
If you live in an older home near Church of St Paul, a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming. For landlords with property near Henley-On-Thames station, it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it.
Highmoor is about 4 miles north-west of Henley-on-Thames, in Oxfordshire. From houses to flats and shops in Highmoor, the roof can be surveyed on a weekday or at the weekend. We cover towns and villages across Oxfordshire, from the larger towns to small villages. Our Reading page covers surveys nearby.
All of RG9 is within our area for pre-purchase roof surveys. If you need a pre-purchase roof survey at a property on The Glebe and Holly Close or anywhere close by, we can survey it. Other places close to Highmoor include Highmoor Cross (1 mile south-east), Shepherd's Green (1 mile south-east), Catslip (1 mile north-east), Nettlebed (2 miles north) and Kingwood Common (2 miles south). Within a short drive, we also cover Didcot (11 miles west), Abingdon-on-Thames (15 miles north-west), Thame (13 miles north), Henley-on-Thames (4 miles south-east), Benson (6 miles north-west) and Chinnor (11 miles north).
Landmarks near Highmoor
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to The Dog and Duck pub and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Henley-On-Thames station, roughly 4.5 miles east. Not far away are Warburg Nature Reserve.
Signs you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Highmoor
The fixings and underlay often fail before good slates or tiles do. Good slate can last well over a century, but corroded nails let slates slip. It’s a frequent finding on older houses and easy to miss from the ground.
Look out for signs like these:
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
- Chimney mortar that has eroded
Historic houses like Greys Court, about 2 miles south-east, show how far back building around Highmoor goes. If you are buying an older home nearby, it is worth knowing whether it is listed or in a conservation area before you plan any re-roofing.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- What follow-up you get after the report
- What experience they bring
- Whether the loft space is looked at, where there is one
- Which limits apply to the survey
Landlord and commercial surveys in Highmoor
Letting agents can arrange access with tenants. Surveys run seven days a week, which helps when tenants work during the week.
For a freeholder or residents’ company, a roof report is a sound basis for a maintenance plan, with the most urgent items set out first.
Practical tips
You do not need to be a roofer to help. Here’s what helps most:
- Let us know your exchange date when booking
- Pass the findings to your conveyancer
- Look for fresh paint on upstairs ceilings at viewings
- Ask whether there are papers for past roof work
It’s worth sharing the report with your solicitor so they can raise enquiries with the seller’s side. 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. Small repairs done quickly stop bigger problems later.
Questions from Highmoor
Will you come out to Highmoor?
Yes, Highmoor is on our map. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one, with the route planned beforehand.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Highmoor?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Should I get a roof survey as well as a RICS home survey?
It depends on the roof and how confident you want to be. 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.
How long does the survey visit take?
It normally takes about 1–2 hours 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.
When is the best time to have the roof checked when buying?
Once your offer has been accepted, and before exchange. That way you can still act on what we find.
Do you need access inside the house?
If it can be arranged, yes. From the roof space we can see staining, timbers and underlay. If we cannot get in, the report says so.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it helps and the rules allow, yes. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID and fly a drone under 250g, and the airspace and weather are checked before every flight.
How the survey works
We look at the roof from outside and, where it is relevant and there is safe access, from inside the loft 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 typically takes about 1–2 hours for a house, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. Around Highmoor, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so it helps to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. Only areas that can be reached safely are inspected.
- Once your offer is accepted, you tell us the address and when you hope to exchange.
- Access to the house and the loft space is agreed beforehand.
- The visit begins outside, from ground level and any safe vantage points.
- We then look from upstairs windows and inside the loft where it’s safe.
- You get a written report with photographs and recommendations before you exchange.
How to prepare
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Book a survey
For a price for pre-purchase roof surveys in Highmoor, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form. A few details about the property and the roof help us give you an accurate price.
Related advice
Leave it or get it looked at?
A seller may honestly not know the state of the roof. Their answers on the property forms only cover what they know about. Our survey shows you the roof as it is today, whatever anyone remembers. Older and listed buildings around Highmoor may need consent and matching materials for repairs, so a defect found early gives time to plan the work properly.
Prices start from £150, inc. VAT, for a Basic Survey. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400, both inc. VAT. We confirm the price for the job before booking.
Why book us in Highmoor
- 20+ years’ experience
- Drones and thermal imaging where it applies
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
Take a look at our cost guide or what we found on two real jobs.
Places near Highmoor
Other services in Highmoor
What a pre-purchase roof survey doesn’t cover
Some things can’t be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Structural calculations (that is a structural engineer’s job)
- Whether the price should change, which is between you and the seller
- Whether materials contain asbestos (that needs a specialist asbestos surveyor)
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
Roof types and parts we check
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Natural slate
- The roof space
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Chimney stacks
- Gutters and downpipes