Reading · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Shinfield, Reading
Pre-purchase roof surveys in Shinfield, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. You get a clear report with photographs.
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
How the survey works
On the day, we start by asking what you’ve noticed and what you’d like to know. After that, we look at everything we can see safely. Most surveys take between one and two hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. With a bit of garden around a house, as there frequently is around Shinfield, the roof can be viewed from several angles. Let us know if any side is fenced off or hard to reach. Inside, the loft is checked where it can be reached safely.
- You get in touch after your offer is agreed, with the address and your target exchange date.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller.
- The roof is inspected from every safe viewpoint, inside and out.
- Coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are checked and photographed.
- We email a written report with photos and recommendations, ready for you to use before exchange.
Getting ready for the survey
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Tell us about parking before the day
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
Arrange a survey
We confirm the exact price before booking, so you know where you stand. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. For a price for your roof, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Advice
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Shinfield
The roof is one of the most expensive parts of a home to repair, and one of the hardest for a buyer to see. Our pre-purchase roof survey gives you a close look at it before you are committed. We check the coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters, and the roof space where it is safe to get in. The findings come in a written report with photos. If you’ve noticed slates or tiles that have slipped or gone and quick fixes on flashings and valleys, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
In a smaller place like Shinfield, some houses face open ground, which can mean more wind and rain on the roof. Ridges, verges and flashings are where that weather usually shows first. Whether you’re buying or signing off new work, those edges deserve a close look. On an exposed roof, a loose ridge or verge soon becomes a bigger job.
After the visit, you get a report with photographs, emailed to you. It sets out the condition of the roof, any defects and our written recommendations.
- Location
- Shinfield (RG2)
- Region
- Reading
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Tips from our surveys
Getting the most from a pre-purchase roof survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Some tips:
- Arrange the survey as soon as your offer is agreed
- Let us know your timetable
- Check the lease for roof repair responsibilities
- Look for fresh paint on upstairs ceilings at viewings
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.
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.
Leave it or get it looked at?
A mortgage valuation is not a roof survey. Its job is to check the property’s value for the mortgage, and it will not look closely at the roof. Our survey is done for you, and the report is written for you to use. With lower homes, common in places like Shinfield, there is little between a roof defect and the ceiling, so water can show inside quickly once it gets past the covering. Catching the cause first saves redecorating as well.
To find out what your survey will cost, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and some details. We’ll confirm the figure before booking.
Why book us in Shinfield
- Drone and thermal imaging surveys available
- Every finding written up with photos
- 98% customer satisfaction
- Packages from £150, with VAT included
See how roof surveys are priced and what we found on two real jobs.
Shinfield: your questions answered
Do you carry out roof surveys in Shinfield?
Yes, Shinfield is one of the places we work. The survey and report are the same in Shinfield as anywhere else, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
How do I find out if my home in Shinfield is listed?
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.
Do I need to be at home?
Not always. An outside-only look can be arranged beforehand, but the loft and any rooms with damp need someone to let us in.
Will you need to get into the loft?
Ideally, yes. We look in the loft space where there is safe access, and views from upper windows help too. Access is typically arranged through the agent or seller.
Can you survey in bad weather?
Light rain is usually fine; heavy rain and wind are different. Strong wind or heavy rain can make access unsafe and ground a drone, and we’d agree another day.
Do you survey on Saturdays and Sundays?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime. Just say which days work for you.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes, once whoever controls the roof agrees access. We check the parts we’re given access to, and the report makes that clear.
Honest limits
Every survey has limits, and we’d rather be clear about that before booking. Bear these in mind:
- Confirmation of asbestos in cement sheets or soffits
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
- What’s under the slates, tiles or felt
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll tell you. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Gutters and downpipes
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Natural slate
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- The roof space
- Chimney stacks
Also in Shinfield
How we price pre-purchase roof surveys
We confirm the price for the job before you book. This is what makes a difference:
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- The roof’s overall size
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
Every price we give includes VAT. Our price is from £150, including VAT. We confirm the exact price before booking.
What we need to know
What helps most when you contact us:
- Any photos you have, taken from ground level or a window
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
- The kind of building and roof involved
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
DIY checks: what’s safe
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
Keep a simple record: dates of leaks, photos from ground level and any work done on the roof. Share it with us when you book and it will help the survey.
Shinfield homes and their roofs
Where the drone is part of the survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first. Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new.
If you let a flat or house near Reading Green Park station, a roof report gives you a clear picture before you buy or settle up with a roofer. Stratfield Saye House, about 4.5 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Shinfield. If you are buying an older home nearby, it is worth knowing whether it is listed or in a conservation area before you plan any re-roofing. Take an older house close to Church of St Mary the Virgin: the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are.
Shinfield is about 3 miles south of Reading, in Reading. We provide pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Shinfield. Our area takes in places right across Reading.
Here we cover the RG2 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. Whether your property is on Teal Grove, Songbird Close and Skylark Way or anywhere close by, we can help. We also cover the places around Shinfield: Ryeish Green (1 mile south-west), Whitley Wood (1 mile north-west), Three Mile Cross (1 mile west), Great Lea Common (1 mile west) and Arborfield (2 miles east). We also work in nearby towns like Caversham (5 miles north), Norcot (5 miles north-west), West Reading (4 miles north-west), Tilehurst Within (5 miles north-west), Arborfield Garrison (3 miles south-east) and Caversham Heights (5 miles north). Being one of Reading’s larger places, Shinfield has homes, rented property and businesses of every kind.
Around Shinfield
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Pearman's Copse, Ryeish Green School and Oakbank and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Reading Green Park station, about 2.6 miles north-west of the centre. A little further out are Berkshire Library & Museum of Freemasonry (2.9 miles north-east) and Royal Berkshire Hospital (3.1 miles north). For a walk, there is Longwater and Sonning Hill.