Kent · London and the South East
Pre-Purchase Roof Survey in Sandway
A careful look at the roof at your property in Sandway, and put it all in a written report with photos.
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
Pre-purchase roof survey in Sandway: what you get
With a written roof report, you can go back to the seller or agent with specifics. You can ask about the roof’s history, ask for repairs before completion or rethink the price. What the seller agrees to is up to them, but you will be negotiating from a clear picture rather than a hunch. It can also help you decide whether the purchase is still right for you. We survey lead flashings and valleys, natural slate and chimney stacks, and common reasons people get in touch are slipped or missing slates and tiles and damp timbers or stains in the loft.
Somewhere as small as Sandway, older cottages, farmhouses and converted buildings frequently sit beside a few newer homes. 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. Older roofs may also have old felt underlay or none, and fixings that have done a long stint.
You receive the findings by email, easy to pass on to a roofer, an agent or an insurer. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24–48 hours for Standard and same day for Premium.
- Location
- Sandway (ME17)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What this survey cannot tell you
Some things cannot be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Whether the price should change, which is between you and the seller
- Structural calculations (that’s a structural engineer’s job)
- Anything beyond the roof, which a full home survey covers
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll tell you before booking. What our survey covers.
Roof types and parts we check
- The roof space
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks
- Gutters and downpipes
- Natural slate
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Sandway
Do you cover smaller places like Sandway?
We do. A small place gets exactly the same survey as a big one.
Is my home in Sandway listed or in a conservation area?
For listing, use Historic England’s list; for conservation areas, ask the council. The answer matters most when a change of material is on the cards.
Can you survey in bad weather?
It can, depending on the survey. Drone flights need calm, dry weather, and thermal imaging works best with a dry roof, little wind and a sunny day beforehand. If the conditions aren’t right, we’ll talk to you about another date.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime. Just say which days work for you.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes. You might ask for work to be done, ask questions or ask for a change to the price. What the seller agrees to is their decision, so we cannot promise any saving.
How do I book a survey in Sandway?
To book, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address, the type of property and what’s prompted the survey. We will confirm the price and agree a day with you.
Will you need to get into the loft?
Ideally, yes. We look in the loft space where there is safe access, and upstairs windows give useful views. Access is typically arranged through the agent or seller.
How the survey works
We will ask a few questions first, such as when any problem began and what work has been done before. The inspection then takes between one and two hours for a house, or half a day or so for a commercial building. Around Sandway, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so it helps to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it is safe.
- Once your offer is accepted, you let us know the address and when you hope to exchange.
- 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.
- We then look from upstairs windows and inside the loft where it’s safe.
- You get a report with photographs and recommendations before you exchange.
Preparing for the visit
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
- Tell us about parking before the day
How to book
When you are ready to go ahead, ring 07833 053749 or email us. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day, weekday or weekend.
Read more
Different roofs, different checks
Natural slate
Natural slate can last 100 years or more, but the nails holding it corrode long before that. Slipped or missing slates are a sign of ‘nail fatigue’, and we note how widespread it looks.
Gutters and parapets
Some older terraces have a butterfly roof with a central valley gutter. If yours does, we check that gutter and where it drains.
Towns and villages near Sandway
More services for Sandway
What a pre-purchase roof survey looks like in Sandway
The wider area around Sandway has a long history of building, with Leeds Castle about 3.3 miles north-west. If your house is among the older ones, 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. Many older homes in Kent have handmade clay tiles, including Kent peg tiles held by pegs through two holes, and tile-hanging on their upper walls. Oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of the county’s older buildings too. The covering on a house you’re buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest.
The streets around a church like St Mary's Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are. If you own a rental within reach of Lenham station, a written report helps before buying a rental or paying for a new roof on one.
Sandway is about 8 miles east of Maidstone, in Kent. Wherever you are in Sandway, we can come and survey your property, on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday. We cover towns and villages across Kent, from the larger towns to small villages. Maidstone is in our area too.
We cover every part of the ME17 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. Streets in the area include Headcorn Road, Sandway Road and Old Ham Lane. Close by, we survey roofs in Platt's Heath (1 mile south-west), Liverton Street (1 mile south-west), Boughton Malherbe (1 mile south), Marley (1 mile north-west) and Harrietsham (1 mile north-west). We also work in nearby towns such as Maidstone (8 miles west), Ashford (9 miles south-east), Sittingbourne (8 miles north), Faversham (10 miles north-east), Minster (14 miles north) and Kings Hill (13 miles west).
Around Sandway
Typical jobs here are in homes near Kiln Wood, The Lenham School and Wishful Thinker pub, among other places. Sandway’s nearest station is Lenham station, about 0.5 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include The Dog Collar Museum (3.2 miles north-west) and Coldbridge Castle (2.1 miles south).
Why get it checked now?
A slow leak can go unnoticed for months. By the time a stain shows, timber or plaster may already be damp. Spotting it before you buy lets you deal with it as soon as you move in. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Sandway, driving rain gets into any weakness, and damp in older walls is slow to dry out.
Prices start from £150, inc. VAT, for a Basic Survey. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400, both including VAT. We confirm the price for your survey before you book.
Why book us in Sandway
- 5,000+ roofs surveyed
- Prices that include VAT
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
Tips that help
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Let us know your exchange date when booking
- Book once your offer is accepted
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Ask who repairs the roof under the lease
Once the home is yours, the report becomes a maintenance list. Deal with the urgent items first, and keep the photographs to compare against later. Premium comes with a follow-up after 12 months to see how things have changed.
Check the roof from the garden and the street after a storm. Slipped slates, lifted ridge tiles and debris on the ground are signs to act on. Dealing with them early keeps water out.
Landlords, agents and block managers in Sandway
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 with less disruption.
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords, from shops and offices to industrial units. Larger roofs take longer.