Hampshire · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Northbrook, Hampshire
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Northbrook, carried out by an experienced roof surveyor. You get a clear written report with photographs.
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Blocked or leaking gutters
Useful tips for Northbrook property owners
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out as worth the effort:
- Watch for stains or fresh paint on ceilings below the roof
- Ask for any paperwork for recent roof work
- Arrange the survey as soon as your offer is agreed
- Check we will be able to get into the roof space
Once the home is yours, the report becomes a maintenance list. Deal with the urgent items first, and use the photos as a record of how the roof looked when you bought. The Premium Survey includes a 12-month follow-up.
Keep an eye on chimneys and flashings in your new home. Watch for gaps in the pointing, cracked flaunching and loose lead. Binoculars from the ground are enough for a first look.
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Northbrook
If you’re buying a flat, the roof may well be shared. The lease decides who looks after the roof, and that’s often not the individual flat owner, with costs often passed on through the service charge. We check as much of the roof as access safely allows, and the report helps you ask your solicitor or the managing agent the right questions. If the building has a flat roof, we look at that too where access allows. We’re often asked to look into bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs and damp timbers or stains in the loft, across chimney stacks, lead flashings and valleys and gutters and downpipes.
In a village or hamlet like Northbrook, homes are frequently older cottages and farmhouses alongside a few newer houses. Older roofs there may have clay tiles, slate, stone or, in some places, thatch. Each covering has its own weak points, whether the roof is old or newly laid, and thatch is a specialist material, so we report on what can be seen. What’s under the coverings, from old felt to the battens and nails, matters too.
We write the report in plain English, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Photographs show what each point refers to.
- Location
- Northbrook (SO21)
- Wider area
- Hampshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near Northbrook
Other services in Northbrook
The survey, step by step
Where it’s relevant and can be reached safely, the roof space is checked as well as the outside. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging. All in, the survey typically takes about one to two hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. For a village or hamlet like Northbrook, the journey is planned ahead of time: tell us about narrow lanes, gates, long drives and where we can park. The roof is looked at from the ground, from windows, from the loft where there is safe access and from the roof where it is safe.
- After your offer is agreed, you book and share your timetable.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller, including the loft.
- We start outside, looking at the roof from the ground and from vantage points.
- Inside, we check the roof space and look at the roof from windows.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Preparing for the visit
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we are looking at
Arrange a survey
Every survey is priced before it is booked, so you know where you stand. Prices start from £150, including VAT. To book, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Advice
What a pre-purchase roof survey looks like in Northbrook
What can be done to an older roof may depend on listing or a conservation area. The council is the place to check, along with Historic England’s list, ideally before any re-roofing is planned. 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 Mary, ask the seller about past roof repairs, because older roofs frequently have patched valleys, replaced slates and reset ridges.
Northbrook is about 7 miles north of Winchester, in Hampshire. If you are in Northbrook, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: get in touch, agree the price and pick a day. Northbrook is one of the towns and villages in Hampshire where we work. We also survey roofs in Southampton.
Every address in SO21 is within our area for pre-purchase roof surveys. Nearby, we also carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Micheldever (1 mile south-east), Stoke Charity (1 mile west), Hunton (2 miles west), Micheldever Station (2 miles north) and East Stratton (2 miles east). Further out, we also cover Basingstoke (11 miles north-east), Winchester (7 miles south), Eastleigh (13 miles south), Andover (10 miles north-west), Chandler's Ford (13 miles south-west) and Alton (13 miles east).
Around Northbrook
Typical jobs here are in homes near Half Moon and Spread Eagle pub. Northbrook’s nearest station is Micheldever station, roughly 2.1 miles north of the centre.
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Northbrook
Will you come out to Northbrook?
Yes, we do. Our area covers London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Is my home in Northbrook listed or in a conservation area?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Yes, where it’s applicable. Whether we can fly on the day depends on the weather and the airspace rules, and we check for restrictions near airports before flying. We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, once access has been agreed. Roofs over flats are often shared, so we need permission from the building owner or managing agent. We can only inspect what we are given access to.
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; we will agree the details when you book.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
We survey seven days a week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
Honest limits
No survey can tell you everything, and it’s better to know them up front. Keep these in mind:
- Asbestos testing of any kind
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we’ll suggest the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roof types and parts we check
- Gutters and downpipes
- Clay and concrete tiles
- The roof space
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Natural slate
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Chimney stacks
How the survey changes by roof type
Flat roofs
Repeated coatings on a flat roof can mask what’s underneath. We record what we can see and say where a closer look is needed.
Lead flashings and valleys
Flashings are a common source of leaks, so they get close attention in a pre-purchase survey. Any that need attention are photographed and explained.
Do you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Northbrook?
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 is a frequent finding on older houses.
Look out for signs like these:
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
Landlords with a home close to Micheldever station may find that it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it.
Questions to ask before booking
- Are they insured for the work?
- Whether any drone flown is registered with the CAA
- Which limits apply to the survey
- How soon the report will arrive
Leave it or get it looked at?
When a chain is moving fast, a roof survey can feel like one more delay. We visit on any day of the week, and a Premium report comes the same day, so it can fit around a tight timetable. Older cottages and farmhouses around Northbrook can have roof timbers that have been there a very long time, where water from a failed roof can cause rot if it is left.
Every price we give includes VAT, and the report isn’t charged as an extra. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. Where your roof sits in the range depends on its size, height and access.
Why book with us
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Every finding written up with photos
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
See how roof surveys are priced or what we found on two real jobs.