Kent · London and the South East
Snowdown Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A careful look at the roof at your property in Snowdown, with photos and a written report.
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
- Blocked or leaking gutters
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Snowdown
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 proper look at it before you’re committed. We look at the slates or tiles, the ridges and valleys, the flashings, the chimneys and the gutters, and the loft space where it’s safe to get in. You get a written report with photographs. If you’ve noticed gutters that overflow or drip at the joints and blistered or split felt on a flat roof, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
Some older homes in villages like Snowdown are listed or sit in a conservation area. If so, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so check with the council before work starts. For a buyer or someone with a newly finished roof, it is worth knowing which applies. England has around 10,000 conservation areas and about 500,000 listed buildings.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, so you can see each defect rather than just read about it. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Location
- Snowdown (CT15)
- Wider area
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What a pre-purchase roof survey looks like in Snowdown
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. The county’s older buildings also include oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new. Goodnestone Park, about 2 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Snowdown. 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.
If you own a rental within reach of Snowdown station, it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it. The streets around a church such as St Peter are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if your house is among the older ones nearby, older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
Snowdown is about 7 miles north-west of Dover, in Kent. Snowdown is part of the area we cover and the surrounding area as part of our work across London and South East England. Across Kent, we cover Snowdown and the places around it. We also survey roofs in Canterbury.
Surveys in CT15 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We offer pre-purchase roof surveys to properties on The Crescent, South Avenue and Weston Mews. If you’re just outside Snowdown, we cover Nonington (1 mile north-east), Woolage Village (1 mile south-west), Frogham (1 mile south-east), Ratling (1 mile north) and Barfrestone (2 miles south-east). Larger places within reach include Canterbury (7 miles north-west), Margate (14 miles north-east), Dover (7 miles south-east), Folkestone (9 miles south), Ramsgate (12 miles north-east) and Broadstairs (14 miles north-east).
Landmarks near Snowdown
Snowdown has its own railway station: Snowdown station.
Nearby places to Snowdown
What else we do in Snowdown
Tips that help
Getting the most from a pre-purchase roof survey starts before we arrive and carries on afterwards. Some tips:
- Book once your offer is accepted
- Ask the agent to make sure the loft hatch can be opened
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
You may want to pass the report to your solicitor or conveyancer so they can raise enquiries with the seller’s side. Past repairs, re-roofing and any records of that work are all fair questions.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Look for leaning pots, missing mortar and lifted lead. A pair of binoculars from the garden shows a lot.
FAQs for Snowdown
Is my home in Snowdown 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.
Do you carry out roof surveys in Snowdown?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photographs.
How long does the survey visit take?
On site, it 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. The report follows within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium.
At what stage of buying should I get the roof surveyed?
The sooner after your offer is accepted, the better. The report is most useful before exchange, while you can still ask questions and negotiate.
Do you use drones?
Where it’s applicable and safe, yes. We are a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID), flying a sub-250g drone. It’s included in the Drone Roof Survey and, where it applies, the Premium Survey.
How do I arrange a pre-purchase roof survey in Snowdown?
To book, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email and tell us the address and what you want to find out. We will confirm the price and agree a day with you.
Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Our surveys are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance. If you need details for a managing agent or a building owner, just ask.
What this survey can’t tell you
It’s a careful look at the roof, not the whole story. Its limits include:
- Structural calculations (that’s a structural engineer’s job)
- Whether the price should change, which is between you and the seller
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will tell you. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What this survey covers
- Natural slate
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- The roof space
- Gutters and downpipes
- Chimney stacks
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
Different roofs, different checks
Natural slate
Older slate roofs often have bitumen felt under them, and very old ones may have none. From inside the loft space, we report what we can see of it.
Lead flashings and valleys
Flashings close the gaps at chimneys, walls and abutments. We check whether they’ve lifted, split or been replaced with mortar or bitumen.
What affects the cost of pre-purchase roof surveys
The price reflects the time and kit the roof needs. The main factors are:
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
- Which survey package you book
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- Roof area
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how safely it can be seen. Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT.
Booking your survey
These details help when you get in touch:
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from the ground or a window
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- Any stains, drips or damp patches you’ve seen indoors
- When you need the report by
Our phone lines are open seven days a week. To book or ask a question, ring 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Why get it checked now?
A slow leak can go unnoticed for months. Damp can spread into timbers and ceilings before anyone sees a mark. Spotting it before you buy lets you deal with it as soon as you move in. For older village homes like those around Snowdown, the right replacement materials are not always easy to find quickly. That’s one more reason to find defects before they become urgent.
Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on how big and how high the roof is, access and which survey you book.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Snowdown
- Insured for professional indemnity and public liability
- Surveys on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Package prices that include VAT
- A sub-250g drone, flown with a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
See how roof surveys are priced or what we found on two real jobs.
How the survey works
After the inspection, everything we found is written up in a report with photographs, emailed to you. As for time on site, most surveys take an hour or two on an ordinary house, and more on a big or complicated roof. Older rural homes like those around Snowdown can have a main roof, lower lean-to roofs and outbuildings all joined together. Each part is looked at from wherever it can safely be seen.
- You choose a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey to suit the home you are 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.
- You receive the report, with findings prioritised by urgency, so you can raise them with the seller.
Preparing for the visit
- Show us where any leaks or stains appear
- Keep pets out of the way during the survey
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
Getting a price
Unsure which package suits your roof? The easiest way is to call 07833 053749 or send us an email and describe the roof and why you want it surveyed. We will explain the options and the price.