Hampshire · London and the South East
Pre-Purchase Roof Survey in Horndean
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat for Horndean and the rest of Hampshire. Surveys run on weekdays and at weekends.
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
Landlord and commercial surveys in Horndean
Letting agents often book on a landlord’s behalf, with the report sent to whoever needs it. Access is agreed with the tenant in advance.
With a portfolio of properties, you can book surveys for several addresses. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Pre-purchase roof survey in Horndean: what you get
Older homes frequently have roofs that have been patched over the years. Corroded nails let slates slide, valley linings wear thin and chimney mortar erodes. Most of it cannot be seen from the street. 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 are buying. We survey gutters and downpipes, natural slate and clay and concrete tiles, and people most often book us about loose pots and cracked flaunching and signs of past leaks inside the loft.
Most homes in a town like Horndean are houses, so the roof typically belongs to the property you are buying or paying for, apart from details shared with the house next door on semis and terraces. That makes a roof defect a cost that falls on you: better found before exchange or final payment than after. A written report with photos gives you specific points to raise with the seller or the roofer.
The report doesn’t just list problems. It explains what we found, why it matters and what we recommend, so you can decide what to do next.
- Location
- Horndean (PO8, PO7)
- Region
- Hampshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
When to book a survey in Horndean
Gutter problems frequently look minor from the street. Overflowing water soaks walls and can rot the timber behind. Valley and parapet gutters can overflow inside the house. They’re part of what we check.
Problems we come across often include:
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
Warblington Castle lies about 4.8 miles south-east, so building around Horndean goes back a long way. Buying a period property here means asking about the roof’s age and repairs, and about any listing or conservation area.
Before booking anyone
- Whether the loft space is looked at, where there is one
- Will the report include photos?
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- Are they insured for the work?
Local roofs and buyers in Horndean
Horndean lies within about 5 miles of the sea, where sea air brings more salt and stronger wind than inland. Metal fixings and flashings corrode faster in salt air, and loose ridges, slates and tiles are the first to lift in a gale. Some Hampshire villages still have thatched roofs. Older houses in the South East often have slate or clay tile roofs, while many later estates have concrete tiles. For a purchase or a newly finished roof, the materials decide which details matter most.
For landlords with property near Rowlands Castle station, a roof report gives you a clear picture before you buy or settle up with a roofer. For an older house near a landmark like Saint Wilfrid's, the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are.
Horndean is about 7 miles north-east of Portsmouth, in Hampshire. Roofs in Horndean get the same thorough look as anywhere else in Hampshire. Across Hampshire, we cover Horndean and the places around it. For surveys nearby, see our Portsmouth page.
Here we cover the PO8 and PO7 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. Streets in the area include London Road, Kings Mede and Causeway Farm. Horndean is on the A3 and A3(M), which makes it simple to reach. Close by, we survey roofs in Lovedean (1 mile west), Wecock Farm (1 mile south-west), Catherington (2 miles north), Anmore (2 miles west) and Denmead (2 miles west). We also work in nearby towns such as Gosport (9 miles south-west), Havant (3 miles south), Eastleigh (15 miles west), Fareham (9 miles south-west), Hedge End (13 miles west) and Petersfield (7 miles north-east). Horndean is one of the larger places we cover in Hampshire.
Landmarks near Horndean
Around Horndean, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Horndean Infant School and Red Lion Inn, among other places. Horndean’s nearest station is Rowlands Castle station, about 2.6 miles south-east. Well-known places in the area include Havant War Memorial Hospital (3.8 miles south) and Clanfield Earthwork (3 miles north-east). The countryside around Horndean includes Windmill Hill and Southmoor Nature Reserve.
What a pre-purchase roof survey doesn’t cover
We only report what can be seen safely on the day, so there are some things a survey can’t cover:
- Asbestos testing of any kind
- Anything beyond the roof, which a full home survey covers
- Faults hidden behind ceilings, boards or coverings
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will suggest the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Horndean
- Natural slate
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- The roof space
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Gutters and downpipes
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks
Also near Horndean
More services for Horndean
Checking the roof from the ground
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Photograph them and note the date, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
Keep a simple record: when leaks happen, ground-level photos and any past roof work. Share it with us as you book, as it helps us focus the survey.
What we do, step by step
After the inspection, everything we found is written up in a report with photos, emailed to you. As for time on site, most surveys take between one and two hours at a typical home, or half a day or so for a commercial building. In Horndean, parking is rarely complicated, though it helps to know about driveways or restrictions. We check the roof from ground level and from windows, then from the loft where there is safe access.
- After your offer is agreed, you book and share your timetable.
- Access to the house and the loft space is agreed in advance.
- We start outside, looking at the roof from ground level and from vantage points.
- Inside, we check the roof space and look at the roof from windows.
- You get a photo-illustrated written report and recommendations before you exchange.
Before we arrive
- If you’re buying, check with the agent that we can get in
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
How to book
To get a price for pre-purchase roof surveys in Horndean, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email. A few details about the property and the roof help us give you an accurate price.
Advice
Horndean questions
Is my home in Horndean listed or in a conservation area?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. It matters most if you’re planning to re-roof in a different material.
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Horndean, take more of a battering?
Yes, coastal weather is harder on roofs: there is more wind, and more salt in the air. Exposed details such as ridges, verges, flashings and metal fixings are the ones to watch, and Horndean is within about 5 miles of the coast.
How experienced are you?
We’ve been surveying roofs for over 20 years and have carried out more than 5,000 surveys.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime, which suits people who work during the week. Let us know your preferred days when booking.
Do I need to be at home?
It depends on what we need to see. Inside the building and in the loft, we need someone to let us in.
Should I get a roof survey as well as a RICS home survey?
It is your choice, but the two do different jobs. A home survey looks at the whole property, while ours looks only at the roof, in more detail. Ours sits alongside a RICS survey rather than replacing it.
How the survey changes by roof type
Chimney stacks
Chimney stacks take the brunt of the weather. The pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings are all checked.
Natural slate
Older slate roofs often have bitumen felt under them, and very old ones may have none. From inside the loft space, we report what we can see of it.