Greater London · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Rotherhithe, Greater London
Pre-purchase roof surveys around Rotherhithe, with a written report you can act on. Book a weekday or weekend visit.
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
Before and after the survey
Some practical points come up on survey after survey. They apply to most roofs:
- Look for fresh paint on upstairs ceilings at viewings
- Book once your offer is accepted
- Ask for loft access on the day
- Let us know your exchange date as you book
If you want quotes for the work, roofers can work from the report. They’ll see exactly what we found, and where, so each quote covers the same ground.
Every so often, check the loft with a torch, keeping to boarded areas. Damp patches, daylight through the roof or water stains on timbers are worth noting. Photos help if you later need a roofer or another survey.
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Rotherhithe
The roof is one of the most expensive parts of a home to repair, and one of the hardest for a buyer to see. A pre-purchase roof survey looks at it closely before you are tied in. We check the coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters, and the loft space where it is safe to get in. The findings come in a written report with photos. We survey chimney stacks, lead flashings and valleys and clay and concrete tiles, and common reasons people get in touch are roof slopes that look uneven or sagging and patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem.
In London, a good many houses have been split into flats, extended or fitted with a dormer loft conversion. Every alteration brings new junctions, flashings and flat-roof areas to look at. For a purchase in Rotherhithe, or for new roofing work there, those junctions deserve a proper look. Dormer cheeks, lead work and new flat roofs are worth checking closely, as faults there are easy to miss.
The Standard Survey adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey goes further, with thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Where
- Rotherhithe (SE16, SE8, E1W)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What this survey cannot tell you
It is useful to know what a survey will not do before you book:
- Anything beyond the roof, which a full home survey covers
- Asbestos testing of any kind
- What’s under the slates, tiles or felt
If you are not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we will give you a straight answer before booking. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roof types and parts we check
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Natural slate
- Chimney stacks
- Gutters and downpipes
- The roof space
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
The survey, step by step
When we arrive, we begin with a quick chat about the roof and anything that’s worrying you. We then inspect everything that can be seen safely, from the ground, from windows, in the roof space and by drone where applicable. Most surveys take roughly 1–2 hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. In Rotherhithe, as in much of London, plenty of properties are flats or terraces without side access, so rear slopes are viewed from windows, the loft or, where a flight is allowed, by drone. Mention any building rules, key holders or managing agents as you book.
- You choose a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey to suit the home you’re buying.
- A date is booked on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- We inspect and photograph every part of the roof we can safely see.
- Standard and Premium surveys add the extra checks they include.
- We send the report with recommendations ranked by urgency, ready for you to discuss with the seller or agent.
Before we arrive
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Check pets are kept safely away
Booking a survey
Getting a price is simple: just call 07833 053749 or send us an email, let us know about the property and we will recommend the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Related advice
FAQs for Rotherhithe
How do I find out if my home in Rotherhithe is listed?
Historic England’s list shows listed buildings, and the local council can tell you about conservation areas. If a home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission.
Is drone flying allowed in Rotherhithe?
That depends on where the roof is and on the weather. The flight restriction zone around London City Airport comes within about 1 mile of Rotherhithe. The exact boundary is checked for each address before any flight, and a roof inside it needs permission before we fly. Rotherhithe is about 2 miles from the restricted area over the Isle of Dogs, where drone flights need permission from NATS. We check whether the address falls inside it, and if it does we apply for permission, which isn’t always given. Across London there are restriction zones around Heathrow, London City and London Heliport, plus restricted areas over Hyde Park, the City of London and the Isle of Dogs. Every London address is checked against them before a flight. The flight also waits for calm, dry weather, and the rest of the survey does not depend on the drone.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Asbestos surveys and sampling aren’t something we do. Where a material might contain it, like old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it is disturbed.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
We survey seven days a week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
Can I use the report to negotiate on price?
Yes. You might ask for work to be done, ask questions or ask for a change to the price. The outcome is between you and the seller.
How many surveys have you done?
We have been surveying roofs for over 20 years and have completed over 5,000 surveys.
What if it rains on the day?
A survey can usually go ahead in light rain. Heavy rain or strong wind can ground a drone and make the roof unsafe, so we will agree a new date if the weather is not suitable.
What a survey costs
Our packages start from £150, including VAT. What you pay for your roof depends on:
- The size of the roof
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- The height of the building and how the roof can be seen safely
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
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 the package you choose.
What to let us know when you get in touch
These details help when you get in touch:
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
- The property’s address and postcode
- Any stains, drips or damp patches you’ve seen indoors
- What’s prompted the survey
Most bookings start with a short call: ring 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll ask a few questions about the roof. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
Why get it checked now?
Even if you go ahead regardless, knowing the roof’s condition helps you plan. The report shows what needs doing first, and you can line up a roofer before small faults grow. London’s older roofs often have bitumen felt underlay or none at all, so a slipped slate can soon mean water inside. Left alone, that means wet timbers and plaster, which is a far bigger job than the roof fault itself.
Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. Packages run from Basic at £150 through Standard at £250 to Premium at £400, with VAT included, and we will tell you which fits.
Why book with us
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Plain-English reports with photos
- An independent look at the roof
- Clear package prices, including VAT
Read how roof surveys are priced and two real surveys.
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Rotherhithe: local notes
Historic houses such as Queen's House, about 2.1 miles south-east, show how far back building in the area around Rotherhithe goes. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material. Close to the centre of London, a great many houses are Victorian or Edwardian terraces, many of them roofed in Welsh slate. From the street you may see only a parapet, with a butterfly roof and a valley gutter behind it draining to the back. Lead flashings, party-wall upstands and shared chimney stacks are typical of these houses, if yours is one of them. For a purchase or a newly finished roof, the materials decide which details matter most.
Landlords with a home close to Canada Water station may find that the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full. If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near Holy Trinity Church, ask the seller about past roof repairs, because older roofs frequently have patched valleys, replaced slates and reset ridges. Controlled parking zones are common in London, so mention any permit rules for Rotherhithe, along with any off-street space.
Rotherhithe is about 2 miles south-east of Whitechapel, in Greater London. If you are in Rotherhithe, booking works exactly as it does anywhere else: get in touch, agree the price and pick a day. We cover towns and villages across Greater London.
Postcode districts we cover here for pre-purchase roof surveys: SE16, SE8 and E1W. Local streets include Bush Road, Gomm Road and Swan Road, all of which we cover. Being close to the A200, Rotherhithe is simple for us to get to. Other places close to Rotherhithe include Surrey Quays (1 mile south), Surrey Canal (1 mile south), South Bermondsey (1 mile south-west), Millwall (1 mile south-east) and North Greenwich (1 mile south-east). We also work in nearby towns such as City of Westminster (5 miles west), Marylebone (5 miles west), Kensington (7 miles west), St Pancras (4 miles north-west), Walthamstow (6 miles north) and Hoxton (3 miles north-west).
What’s near Rotherhithe
We work in homes and buildings around The Ship York pub, Bacon's College and Russia Dock Woodland. There is a railway station in Rotherhithe itself: Canada Water station. Other landmarks nearby include St Olave's Hospital (0.5 miles west) and Tower of London (1.6 miles north-west). Not far away are St. James's Park Lake and Tower Hill.
What you can safely check yourself
A DIY look is useful, but it is not a survey. You will not see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from ground level, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
You can learn a lot from the ground. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Never climb onto the roof to look.