West Sussex · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Houghton, West Sussex
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Houghton, with over 20 years’ experience behind it. Every survey ends with a written report and photos.
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
Pre-purchase roof survey in Houghton
A RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey covers the whole building, and the roof is only one part of it. 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 of what we find and written recommendations. The two sit side by side. We survey gutters and downpipes, lead flashings and valleys and the roof space, and people most frequently book us about gutters choked with leaves and moss and blistered or split felt on a flat roof.
Some older homes in villages like Houghton are listed or sit in a conservation area. That can affect what materials a new roof may use, so check with the council and Historic England’s list. For a buyer or someone with a newly finished roof, it is worth knowing which applies. There are about 500,000 listed buildings and around 10,000 conservation areas in England.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. If something couldn’t be seen safely, the report is clear about it.
- Place
- Houghton (BN18)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple and safe from the ground. A few suggestions:
- Arrange the survey as soon as your offer is agreed
- Check the lease for roof repair responsibilities
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Let us know your timetable
Once the home is yours, the report becomes a maintenance list. Work through the urgent items before anything else, and keep the photographs to compare against later. The Premium Survey includes a 12-month follow-up.
After strong winds, look at the roof from ground level. Pieces of slate or tile in the garden mean something has moved. Dealing with them early keeps water out.
Why act early in Houghton
Plenty of buyers go ahead anyway, but with their eyes open. You will know which jobs are urgent and which can wait, and you can line up a roofer before small faults grow. In a small place like Houghton, homes can be exposed to wind and rain, which finds any gap, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
Simple, low roofs take less time to survey than tall or complicated ones, and the package matters as well. We will give you the figure before anything is booked.
What you get with us
- An independent look at the roof
- 98% customer satisfaction
- Drones and thermal imaging where applicable
- 5,000+ roofs surveyed
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and what we found on two real jobs.
How the survey works
Where it is relevant and can be reached safely, the loft space is checked as well as the outside. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging. The whole visit usually takes between one and two hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. Somewhere like Houghton needs a little journey planning: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. On the day, we inspect what can safely be seen, inside and out.
- After your offer is agreed, you book and share your timetable.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller, including the loft.
- The visit begins outside, from ground level and any safe vantage points.
- Inside, we check the roof space and look at the roof from windows.
- You get a written report with photos and recommendations before you exchange.
Before we arrive
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Have any questions written down, so nothing gets missed
How to book
For a price for pre-purchase roof surveys in Houghton, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email. Some details about the property and the roof help us price the survey accurately.
Advice
Landlords, agents and block managers in Houghton
Letting agents often book on a landlord’s behalf. We agree a time with the tenant beforehand.
Where a roof is shared: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it when booking and we’ll plan the visit with that in mind.
What this survey can’t tell you
A survey is a proper look at the roof, but it cannot do everything. Its limits include:
- The condition of the rest of the house (that’s a RICS home survey)
- Faults hidden behind ceilings, boards or coverings
- Structural calculations (that’s a structural engineer’s job)
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in Houghton
- Natural slate
- Gutters and downpipes
- Chimney stacks
- The roof space
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Lead flashings and valleys
Nearby places to Houghton
Other services in Houghton
Houghton homes and their roofs
Older houses across Sussex frequently have handmade clay tiles, and many have tile-hanging on their upper walls. A few old Sussex buildings still carry heavy Horsham stone slabs. The covering on a house you are buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest. With Bignor Roman Villa about 2.8 miles north-west, Houghton sits in an area with a long building history. If yours is one of the older homes, 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.
Take an older house close to The Parish Church of St Nicholas: ask the seller about past roof repairs, because older roofs frequently have patched valleys, replaced slates and reset ridges. For landlords with property near Amberley station, a roof report gives you a clear picture before you buy or settle up with a roofer.
Houghton is about 6 miles north of Littlehampton, in West Sussex. Houghton is one of many places we visit across West Sussex. Houghton is one of the places in West Sussex where we work for pre-purchase roof surveys. For surveys nearby, see our Brighton page.
Surveys in BN18 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If you’re just outside Houghton, we cover Arundel (3 miles south), Warningcamp (3 miles south-east), Crossbush (3 miles south), Tortington (4 miles south) and Poling (4 miles south-east). Larger places within reach include Worthing (8 miles south-east), Bognor Regis (9 miles south-west), Chichester (11 miles west), Selsey (15 miles south-west), Littlehampton (6 miles south) and Shoreham-by-Sea (13 miles east).
Landmarks near Houghton
Typical jobs here are in homes near Arundel Park, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Amberley station, roughly 0.5 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Arundel and District Hospital (2.7 miles south) and Amberley Castle (1.2 miles north-east). Not far away are Amberley Wild Brooks and Bignor Hill.
Common questions in Houghton
Do you carry out roof surveys in Houghton?
Yes, Houghton is within the area we cover. We cover the whole of London and South East England. You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and some details.
How do I find out if my home in Houghton is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Will you need to get into the loft?
Where possible, yes. We look in the loft space where there’s safe access, and upstairs windows give useful views. The agent or seller can arrange entry.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes. Buyers use the findings to ask questions, ask for repairs before completion or ask for a price change. What the seller agrees to is their decision.
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, whether that means asking questions or negotiating.
Are you insured?
We are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
How long will you be at the property?
It usually takes about one to two 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.
Should I look at the roof myself first?
You can learn a lot from the ground. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Never climb onto the roof to look.
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Water spilling over the edge can point to a blockage or a sagging run.