Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire
Know where you stand with the roof before you spend money on it. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Hook Norton, with photos and a clear written report.
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Flashings that have lifted or split
Useful tips for Hook Norton property owners
Small things make a difference. Our tips:
- Share the report with your solicitor
- Ask the seller about past roof repairs
- Check we’ll be able to get into the loft space
- Let us know your timetable
If you want quotes for the work, roofers can work from the report. The photos show the defects and where they are, which makes quotes easier to compare.
Look in the loft now and then, with care and a good torch. Damp patches, daylight through the roof or water stains on timbers are worth noting. Take photos so you can show whoever looks at it.
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Hook Norton
A RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey covers the whole building, so the roof is one item among many. Our survey is not a RICS survey, and it does not replace one. It adds a focused look at the roof on its own, with photos and written recommendations you can act on. You can have both. If you’re worried about lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney and chimney mortar that has eroded, we can find out what’s behind it, on the roof space, gutters and downpipes and lead flashings and valleys alike.
Around Hook Norton, you’ll mostly find houses and bungalows of different ages. In older homes, the slates or tiles can outlast the nails, battens and underlay holding them. Whether you are buying or have just had the roof replaced, that hidden layer is worth knowing about. 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, each with a short note and a photograph. You’ll see the good as well as the bad.
- Where
- Hook Norton (OX15)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Hook Norton
Is Hook Norton within the area you cover?
We do. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one, with the route planned beforehand.
Do you cover Hook Norton?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photographs.
How long does a pre-purchase roof survey take?
The visit usually takes an hour or two at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. We’ll confirm what to expect when we arrange the visit.
How many surveys have you done?
Over 5,000 surveys so far, over more than 20 years, and 98% of customers are satisfied.
Will you climb onto the roof?
Only where it is safe to do so. We inspect from ground level, from windows and vantage points, from the loft and from the roof itself where safe. The Premium Survey adds a drone inspection where applicable.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
We survey seven days a week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Let us know which days suit you when booking.
Are you insured?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, and we can provide details if a managing agent needs them.
How the survey changes by roof type
Chimney stacks
A leaning stack, cracked flaunching or crumbling pointing can all need work. We photograph them so you can raise them before exchange.
Clay and concrete tiles
Older homes in the South East often have handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles on some. Rotten pegs let tiles slide, so we look for gaps along the courses.
What you can safely check yourself
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 part is for a survey.
A DIY look is useful, but it isn’t a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight.
What a pre-purchase roof survey does not cover
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Faults hidden behind ceilings, boards or coverings
- Whether materials contain asbestos (that needs a specialist asbestos surveyor)
- Whether the price should change, which is between you and the seller
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will tell you. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Lead flashings and valleys
- The roof space
- Natural slate
- Gutters and downpipes
- Chimney stacks
- Clay and concrete tiles
Why get it checked now?
The lender’s valuation is done for the lender, not for you. Its job is to check the property’s value for the mortgage, and it won’t look closely at the roof. A roof survey is carried out for the buyer, and the report is written for you to use. In a smaller place like Hook Norton, wherever a roof is exposed, a loose ridge or flashing doesn’t stay loose for long. Wind gets under it and lifts more.
Our price is from £150, including VAT. The final price depends on how big and how high the roof is, how it can be seen safely and which survey you book.
Why book with us
- Over 20 years’ experience
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
Take a look at our cost guide or what we found on two real jobs.
How the survey works
Once we have finished looking, we write up our findings in a report with photos, emailed to you. On timing, it typically takes about one to two hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to Hook Norton is booked with the forecast in mind: the parts that need calm, dry weather are planned around it.
- You book once your offer is accepted and tell us the address and your timetable.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller.
- We look at the roof from ground level, from windows, from the loft space and from the roof where safe.
- Coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are checked and photographed.
- Your report arrives by email, with photos and recommendations prioritised by urgency.
Getting ready for the survey
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- For flats, make sure roof access has been agreed
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
Arrange a survey
Our price is from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, and you can ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form to find out.
Advice
Towns and villages near Hook Norton
Other services in Hook Norton
Hook Norton homes and their roofs
With Broughton Castle about 4.8 miles north-east, Hook Norton sits in an area with a long building history. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first. Cotswold stone slates are found on older buildings in west Oxfordshire, and thatch survives in some of the county’s villages. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles. The covering on a house you are buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest.
Take an older house close to Church of St Peter: older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
Hook Norton is about 7 miles south-west of Banbury, in Oxfordshire. If you’re in Hook Norton, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: a call or an email, a price, then a date. Across Oxfordshire, we cover Hook Norton and the places around it. You can also see our page for Oxford.
Surveys in OX15 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If you need a pre-purchase roof survey at a property on High Street, Station Road and Chapel Street or a nearby road, we can survey it. Neighbouring places we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys include Swerford (2 miles south-east), Wigginton (2 miles east), South Newington (3 miles east), Little Tew (3 miles south-east) and Great Tew (4 miles south-east). Larger places within reach include Banbury (7 miles north-east), Bicester (15 miles south-east), Witney (15 miles south), Kidlington (15 miles south-east), Bure Park (15 miles south-east) and Chipping Norton (5 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Hook Norton
Around Hook Norton, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Bell Inn and the streets around them. Other landmarks nearby include Broughton Castle (4.8 miles north-east) and Old Forge Museum (Great Tew) (3.5 miles south-east). For a walk, there’s Woodford Bottom and Lamb's Pool.