Kent · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in Shipbourne, Kent
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Shipbourne, using drones and thermal imaging where applicable. Call or email for a price.
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
Pre-purchase roof survey in Shipbourne
Our packages start with the Basic Survey from £150, while Standard starts from £250 and Premium from £400, including VAT. Standard adds moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. Premium goes further, with thermal imaging, a drone where it applies and a same-day report. Choose the level that suits the home you’re buying. All three include a photo-illustrated written report and recommendations. Common reasons to book are slates or tiles that have slipped or gone and standing water on a flat extension roof, across flat-roofed extensions and dormers, chimney stacks and gutters and downpipes.
Being in a small place like Shipbourne makes no difference to the inspection itself: the journey, parking and access are simply agreed beforehand. Mention any outbuildings, barns or garages with roofs you’d like looked at as you book, so the visit can be planned around them. Buyers and owners of new roofs get the same approach as anywhere. Visits can be booked on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The report is yours to share with whoever needs it: a seller or estate agent, an insurer, a roofer, a builder or a managing agent.
- Place
- Shipbourne (TN11)
- Region
- Kent
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What affects the price in Shipbourne
When we price a survey, we consider:
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
- The roof’s overall size
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
- How many separate roofs there are, such as extensions, dormers and garages
Prices quoted always include VAT, and the written report is part of the package. Prices start from £150, including VAT. Size, height and access decide where your roof falls.
Booking your survey
The more you let us know, the easier it is to price the survey. When you contact us, tell us:
- Your timetable, like an exchange date
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
- What made you get in touch
- The kind of building and roof involved
We confirm the price for your survey before you book, so you know where you stand. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. To book, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Also near Shipbourne
Other services in Shipbourne
Roof by roof
Natural slate
Slate is common on Victorian and Edwardian houses. We look for slates that have slid, cracked or gone, plus the metal clips that show earlier patching.
Lead flashings and valleys
Lead flashings seal the joints where a roof meets a wall or chimney. We look for lead that has lifted, split or been patched over.
Shipbourne: your questions answered
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Shipbourne?
We cannot confirm that for you, but Historic England’s list and your council can. Both listing and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Is Shipbourne within the area you cover?
Yes. Shipbourne is within the area we cover, which takes in towns, villages and rural addresses. We work right across London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when you book.
What’s the best way to book?
To book, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and tell us the address and what you want to find out. We’ll confirm the price and agree a day with you.
Are you insured?
Every survey is covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. We survey the roof, not the whole building, and it isn’t a RICS home survey. It complements one rather than replacing it.
How quickly will I get the report?
The Premium Survey has a same-day report, Standard 24 to 48 hours and Basic within 48 hours. We send it by email, with photographs.
When should I book a pre-purchase roof survey?
Book as soon as your offer is agreed. The report is most useful before exchange, because after that the roof is yours to deal with.
What a pre-purchase roof survey does not cover
Every survey has limits, and it’s better to know them up front. Keep these in mind:
- Structural calculations (that is a structural engineer’s job)
- Anything beyond the roof, which a full home survey covers
- Confirmation of asbestos in cement sheets or soffits
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll point you to the right survey before booking. What a survey covers and does not.
Roofs we survey in Shipbourne
- Gutters and downpipes
- Natural slate
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks
- The roof space
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
How it works
Photos are taken throughout the visit, so the report shows exactly what we saw. We take close-ups from wherever is safe. A typical visit takes an hour or two at most homes, or half a day or so for a commercial building. In a small place like Shipbourne, access is usually the main thing to plan. Let us know about outbuildings, past repairs and any leaks you’ve noticed. Weekday and weekend visits are available.
- Once your offer is accepted, you tell us the address and when you hope to exchange.
- We arrange access with you, the agent or the seller, including the loft.
- The visit begins outside, from ground level and any safe vantage points.
- We then look from upstairs windows and inside the loft where it is safe.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
How to prepare
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Let us know where we can park nearby
- Find any records of previous roof work
Arrange a survey
For a price for pre-purchase roof surveys in Shipbourne, phone 07833 053749 or email us. The address, the type of property and what you’d like to know help us price the survey accurately.
Related advice
Practical tips
These tips come from what we see on roofs every week, before and after a survey:
- Ask for any paperwork for recent roof work
- Let us know your timetable
- Share the report with your solicitor
- Arrange the survey as soon as your offer is agreed
If the report shows work is needed, you can raise it with the seller or agent. Some buyers ask for repairs before completion, others ask for a change to the price. The outcome is between you and the seller, and we cannot promise any result.
Look in the loft now and then, with care and a good torch. Watch for stains, damp timbers and chinks of daylight. Take photos so you can show whoever looks at it.
Pre-purchase roof surveys around Shipbourne
Older houses across Kent frequently have handmade clay or peg tiles, and many have tile-hung walls. Oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of the county’s older buildings too. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new. Ightham Mote, about 1.1 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Shipbourne. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
If you live in an older home near Church of St Giles, the roof may have had decades of patch repairs, and the survey shows where they are. If you let a flat or house near Borough Green & Wrotham station, the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Shipbourne is about 3 miles north of Tonbridge, in Kent. Whether the building in Shipbourne is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, the roof can be surveyed on a weekday or at the weekend. Shipbourne is one of the places in Kent where we work for pre-purchase roof surveys. We also survey roofs in Maidstone.
All of TN11 is within our area for pre-purchase roof surveys. We offer pre-purchase roof surveys to properties on Upper Green Road, Upper Green Lane and Back Lane. Close by, we survey roofs in Budds (1 mile west), Yopps Green (1 mile north), Sheet Hill (2 miles north), Ivy Hatch (2 miles north) and Coldharbour (2 miles south-west). We also work in nearby towns such as Maidstone (11 miles east), Dartford (14 miles north), Sevenoaks (5 miles north-west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (8 miles south), Gravesend (13 miles north) and Tonbridge (3 miles south).
What’s near Shipbourne
We work in homes and buildings around Ivy Hatch Nature Reserve, Hugh Christie Technology College and The Chaser Public House, among other places. The closest station to Shipbourne is Borough Green & Wrotham station, roughly 3.3 miles north of the centre. A little further out are Ightham Court (3.3 miles north) and Hadlow Tower museum (2.8 miles south-east). Open spaces near Shipbourne include Barden Lake.
Why act early in Shipbourne
A mortgage valuation is not a roof survey. Its job is to check the property’s value for the mortgage, and it won’t look closely at the roof. A roof survey is carried out for the buyer. Around Shipbourne, older homes often have old roof timbers, and water through a failed covering can rot timber if it is left.
To find out what your survey will cost, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the address and a few details. We’ll confirm the figure before booking.
Why book with us
- Clear package prices, inc. VAT
- 5,000+ roofs surveyed
- Plain-English reports with photos
- An independent view of the roof
Take a look at our cost guide or what we found on two real jobs.