Greater London · London and the South East
St George in the East Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
Pre-purchase roof surveys in St George in the East, backed by more than 20 years’ experience. You get a clear report with photos.
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
For landlords and managing agents
Shared roofs need a little more planning: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you get in touch and we will plan the visit with that in mind.
Letting agents often book on a landlord’s behalf, with the report sent to whoever needs it. Access is agreed with the tenant beforehand.
About our pre-purchase roof survey in St George in the East
Some roofs can’t be seen well from the ground or from windows. Our Premium Survey includes thermal imaging and, where applicable, a drone inspection, and the report arrives the same day. If airspace rules or the weather rule out a flight, we’ll say so and inspect from every other safe vantage point. Typical surveys look at lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney and signs of past leaks inside the loft, across chimney stacks, clay and concrete tiles and gutters and downpipes.
In London, a good many houses have been split into flats, extended or fitted with a dormer loft conversion. Each change adds roof details, such as flat roofs, new flashings and junctions with the original slopes. If you’re buying a flat or house in St George in the East, or have just had new roofing work done, those junctions are frequently where problems start. 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 adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where it applies, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Where
- St George in the East (E1, E1W, SE16)
- Region
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near St George in the East
What else we do in St George in the East
Why act early in St George in the East
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. Behind a London parapet, a blocked gutter can sit full of water without anyone seeing it. When the stain finally shows, the damage underneath is frequently older than it looks.
A small, low roof with good viewpoints takes less time than a tall, complicated one, and the package matters as well. The price is always agreed first.
Why book with us
- Insured for professional indemnity and public liability
- Every finding written up with photos
- Drones and thermal imaging where applicable
- Over 20 years’ experience
How it works
After the inspection, everything we found is written up as a photo-illustrated written report, emailed to you. On timing, it normally takes between one and two hours on an ordinary house, while a commercial roof takes nearer three to four hours. In St George in the East, visits are available on weekdays and at weekends. London parking is often by permit or pay-and-display, so it is useful to know what’s near you, and to clear a path to the loft hatch. A back bedroom window can be the best vantage point for a rear addition, so we may ask to use one.
- 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.
- Inside, we check the roof space and look at the roof from windows.
- You get a written report with photographs and recommendations before you exchange.
Before the survey
- Keep pets in another room
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
- Let us know about parking before the day
Arrange a survey
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Pictures from ground level or a window are fine. To get started, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Advice
How the survey changes by roof type
Chimney stacks
A stack stands exposed above the roof line. The pots, flaunching, pointing and flashings are all checked, as far as we can see them safely.
Natural slate
On a slate roof, the underlay may be old bitumen felt, or there may be none at all on very old roofs. Where we can see it from the loft, we say what condition it’s in.
Local roofs and buyers in St George in the East
Inner London’s Victorian and Edwardian terraces often have Welsh slate roofs. Behind many of their parapets sit butterfly roofs and valley gutters that cannot be seen from the pavement. In a house like that, shared stacks, party-wall upstands and lead flashings all need looking at as far as they can be seen. Each material has its own typical faults, which is what a buyer or the owner of a new roof needs to know about. The restricted area over the City of London, where drone flights need permission from NATS, is about 2 miles from St George in the East. If your survey includes the drone, the address is checked against it before any flight.
Historic houses like Mansion House, about 1.2 miles west, show how far back building around St George in the East goes. Older homes in the area can come with listed status or conservation area rules, which affect re-roofing, so check with the council before you buy. If you live in an older home near St Peter's, a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming. Controlled parking zones are common in London, so mention any permit rules for St George in the East, along with any off-street space.
St George in the East is about 1 mile south-east of Whitechapel, in Greater London. Roofs in St George in the East get the same thorough look as anywhere else in Greater London. St George in the East is one of the places in Greater London where we work for pre-purchase roof surveys.
All of E1, E1W and SE16 is covered for pre-purchase roof surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We cover properties on Glamis Road, Redmead Lane and Wapping Lane and the roads around them. With the A1210 and A1211 close by, St George in the East is easy for us to reach. Nearby, we also carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Wapping (1 mile south-east), East End of London (1 mile north-east), Whitechapel (1 mile north-west), Tower Hill (1 mile west) and Shadwell (1 mile east). We also work in nearby towns such as City of Westminster (4 miles west), Marylebone (4 miles west), Kensington (6 miles west), St Pancras (3 miles north-west), Walthamstow (6 miles north) and Hampstead (6 miles north-west).
Landmarks near St George in the East
Typical jobs here are in homes near St Mellitus College, Mulberry School for Girls and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives. Nearby too are Town of Ramsgate pub (under half a mile south), William Curtis Ecological Park (0.7 miles west) and St Mary-at-Hill (0.9 miles west). There is a railway station in St George in the East itself: Shadwell station. Well-known places in the area include Jack the Ripper Museum (under half a mile north-west) and The Royal London Hospital (0.7 miles north). The countryside around St George in the East includes St. James's Park Lake and Tower Hill.
Common questions in St George in the East
Can you fly a drone over a roof in St George in the East?
That depends on where the roof is and on the weather. St George in the East is about 2 miles from the edge of the flight restriction zone around London City Airport. We check the exact boundary for the address before flying, and if the roof falls inside it, we ask for permission first. St George in the East is about 2 miles from the restricted area over the City of London, 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. London’s airspace includes flight restriction zones around Heathrow, London City Airport and London Heliport, and 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, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in St George in the East?
Check Historic England’s online list first, then ask the council about conservation areas and any Article 4 direction. It matters most if you are planning to re-roof in a different material.
When is the best time to have the roof checked when buying?
Once your offer has been accepted, and before exchange. That way you can still act on what we find.
Which days do you carry out surveys?
We survey seven days a week: weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
What insurance do you have?
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Can I use the report to negotiate on price?
Yes, you can. The report sets out what we found, with photos, which you can share with the seller or agent. We can’t promise how the seller will respond.
Do you go up on the roof?
Only where it’s safe. Many roofs can be seen well from windows, vantage points and the loft.
What you can safely check yourself
You can learn a lot from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Never climb onto the roof to look.
What you cannot do safely is get up close. Roofs are fragile and slippery. That part is for a survey.
Tips that help
Over many surveys, some simple habits stand out as worth the effort:
- Ask for loft access on the day
- Arrange the survey as soon as your offer is agreed
- For a flat, check who is responsible for the roof
- Ask when the roof was last worked on
It’s worth sharing the report with your solicitor so questions can go to the seller’s solicitor. It can prompt questions about past roof work and any paperwork for it, especially where we have found patch repairs.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Watch for gaps in the pointing, cracked flaunching and loose lead. Binoculars from the ground are enough for a first look.