Greater London · London and the South East
North Cheam Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in North Cheam, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Call or email for a price.
- Gaps where slates or tiles have come loose
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
About our pre-purchase roof survey in North Cheam
Older homes frequently have roofs that have been patched over the years. Slates slip when their nails corrode, lead valleys and flashings wear, and chimney pointing crumbles. Little of that is easy to judge from the pavement on a viewing. Our survey picks it out, 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. Common reasons to book are slates or tiles that have slipped or gone and lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney, across natural slate, flat-roofed extensions and dormers and chimney stacks.
London terraces and converted houses often share a roof line, chimney stacks and gutters with the house next door, with parapet walls and party-wall upstands marking where one roof ends and the next begins. For a purchase or a new roof in North Cheam, that shapes what can be checked: only the parts we are given access to and can see safely are inspected. If it’s a flat, the lease normally sets out who is responsible for the roof.
You receive the findings by email, ready to forward to whoever needs them. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24–48 hours for Standard and same day for Premium.
- Location
- North Cheam (SM3, KT4, SM1)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
FAQs for North Cheam
Does a conservation area affect roof work in North Cheam?
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.
Can you fly a drone over a roof in North Cheam?
That depends on where the roof is and on the weather. 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. Each address is checked against all of them before the drone goes up. Before any flight, we check the Drone Safety Map for airspace restrictions, including zones around airports and prisons. A small drone can’t fly safely in high wind or heavy rain, and the rest of the survey does not depend on the drone.
Are you insured?
Our cover is professional indemnity plus public liability, and details are available on request.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. We don’t carry out asbestos surveys or testing. If we see materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement roof sheets or soffits on buildings from before 2000, we flag them, and recommend a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before they’re disturbed.
Do you inspect the roof from on top?
Only where it is safe. We also inspect from ground level, upper windows and the roof space, and a drone is part of the Premium Survey where it applies.
What’s the best way to book?
To arrange a survey, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and let us know the address and what you’d like to know. We’ll confirm the price and agree a day with you.
What if it rains on the day?
A survey can typically go ahead in light rain, and it can even help show where water is getting in. High wind or heavy rain can stop drone flights and make roof access unsafe, so we will agree a new date if the weather is not suitable.
Do you need a pre-purchase roof survey in North Cheam?
A chimney stack stands out in the wind and rain. Pointing crumbles, flaunching cracks and flashings lift. A stack may be shared with the neighbours, which can affect how any work is arranged.
It’s worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Old water stains in the roof space
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
The streets around a church such as St Oswald Church are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are.
Questions to ask before booking
- Whether the price includes VAT
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- What follow-up you get after the report
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
Towns and villages near North Cheam
Also in North Cheam
Surveys for landlords and agents in North Cheam
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey shows what needs attention, so you can plan the work around your tenants.
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with the building owner or managing agent. Mention it when you get in touch and we will plan the visit with that in mind.
What we do, step by step
We’ll ask a few questions first, about the roof’s history, any leaks and past repairs. Then the inspection itself takes an hour or two at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. London terraces rarely offer a view of the whole roof from one spot, so a visit in North Cheam moves between viewpoints: the pavement, upstairs windows, the loft and any safe spot at the back. Shared stairs or a basement flat? Tell us who holds the keys.
- You get in touch after your offer is agreed, with the address and your target exchange date.
- We agree a time and how we’ll get in, including the loft.
- We inspect the roof from the ground, windows, the loft and the roof itself where it’s safe.
- Each part of the roof is examined and photographed.
- We email a written report with photographs and recommendations, ready for you to use before exchange.
Preparing for the visit
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
Book a survey
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Pictures from ground level or a window are fine, and please don’t climb up for a closer look. To get started, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Advice
Local roofs and buyers in North Cheam
Outer London has lots of Victorian and Edwardian terraces with slate roofs, but also a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles. Hips, bay roofs and later loft conversions are typical of those semis, if your home is one of them. The covering on a house you are buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest. If the drone is used for your survey, we check the Drone Safety Map for restrictions before flying.
Nonsuch Mansion lies about 1 mile south, so building around North Cheam goes back a long way. Older homes in the area can come with listed status or conservation area rules, which affect re-roofing, so check with the council before you buy. Controlled parking zones are common in London, so mention any permit rules for North Cheam, along with any off-street space.
North Cheam is about 3 miles north-east of Epsom, in Greater London. We survey roofs in North Cheam as part of our work across London and the South East. North Cheam is one of the places in Greater London we cover. There is also a page for London.
We work across SM3, KT4 and SM1 for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. Streets in the area include Glyn Road, Covey Road and Lloyd Road, and we cover them all. If you are just outside North Cheam, we cover Cuddington (1 mile south-west), Lower Morden (1 mile north), Sutton Common (1 mile north-east), Stoneleigh (1 mile south-west) and Morden (2 miles north). Larger places within reach include London (10 miles north-east), City of Westminster (10 miles north), Marylebone (11 miles north), Kensington (9 miles north), St Pancras (12 miles north) and Shoreditch (12 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in North Cheam
Typical jobs here are in homes near The Nonsuch Inn, Sutton College of Learning for Adults and Nonsuch Park and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is West Sutton station, about 0.8 miles south-east. Nearby you’ll also find Chessington Castle Hill (3.2 miles west) and St. Anthony's Hospital (0.6 miles north). The countryside around North Cheam includes Henman Hill and Derwent Floodwash.
Why act early in North Cheam
A seller may honestly not know the state of the roof. Their answers on the property forms only cover what they know about. An independent look tells you how the roof is now. Any roof job in North Cheam means planning around parking, neighbours and access. That is a good reason to find problems early, while there is time to plan, rather than in a rush after a leak.
We offer three survey packages: the Basic Survey from £150, the Standard Survey from £250 and the Premium Survey from £400, all including VAT. What your roof costs depends on its size, access and what you want to find out.
What you get with us
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- Plain-English reports with photos
- Satisfaction rate of 98%
Read our cost guide or two real surveys.
Roof by roof
Chimney stacks
We inspect the outside of the stack, and it is not a flue or gas safety check. We will say if the flue needs a specialist.
Lead flashings and valleys
Flashings are a common source of leaks, so they get close attention in a pre-purchase survey. We photograph any that need work.
What affects the cost of pre-purchase roof surveys
Prices always include VAT. The things that change the price are:
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how it can be reached and seen safely. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT.
What we need to know
If you can, have these to hand when you contact us:
- What kind of property and roof it is
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
A quick phone call is typically the easiest start: phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll ask a few questions about the roof. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.