Greater London · London and the South East
Pre-purchase roof survey in St Helier, Greater London
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in St Helier, using drones and thermal imaging where it applies. Call or email for a price.
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- A ridge or slope that dips
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
Different roofs, different checks
Gutters and parapets
The rainwater system keeps water off the walls. We check for blockages, leaking joints and sagging runs, along with fascias and soffits.
Clay and concrete tiles
Tiled roofs frequently last half a century or longer. Cracked, slipped or missing tiles are noted, and for mismatched replacements that point to past repairs.
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in St Helier
Buying a flat brings its own roof questions. Depending on the lease, roof repairs may fall to the building owner or a management company, with costs often passed on through the service charge. We inspect what access allows us to see safely, and the report helps you ask your solicitor or the managing agent the right questions. If the building has a flat roof, we check that too where access allows. We’re often asked to look into bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs and lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney, across lead flashings and valleys, chimney stacks and the roof space.
London terraces and converted houses often share a roof line, chimney stacks and gutters with the house next door. For a purchase or a new roof in St Helier, that shapes what can be checked: only the parts we are given access to and can see safely are inspected. If it is a flat, the lease typically sets out who is responsible for the roof.
With the Standard Survey, you also get moisture detection, a structural check and a follow-up consultation. The Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable, structural analysis and an in-person consultation.
- Where
- St Helier (SM5, SM4, SM1)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Nearby places to St Helier
What else we do in St Helier
Leave it or get it looked at?
A seller may honestly not know the state of the roof. Their answers on the property forms only cover what they know about. Our survey shows you the roof as it is today. Behind a London parapet, a blocked gutter can sit full of water without anyone seeing it. By the time a ceiling stains, the timbers underneath may have been wet for a while.
Every price we give includes VAT. Our price is from £150, including VAT. You will know the price for the job before booking.
What you get with us
- Package prices that include VAT
- Drone and thermal imaging surveys available
- Covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Plain-English reports with photos
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and two real surveys.
Questions from St Helier
Is parking a problem for a survey in St Helier?
Normally it’s manageable with a little notice. Let us know what parking is available nearby, and the visit is planned around it.
Is drone flying allowed in St Helier?
It depends on the exact address and the weather on the day. 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. Every flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first, including zones around airports and prisons. The flight also waits for calm, dry weather, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
Do you go up on the roof?
When conditions and the roof make it safe, yes. We also inspect from ground level, upper windows and the loft space, and a drone is part of the Premium Survey where it applies.
At what stage of buying should I get the roof surveyed?
Once your offer has been accepted, and before exchange. That gives you time to use the findings.
How long does a pre-purchase roof survey take?
It usually 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.
Do you carry out surveys on Saturdays and Sundays?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime. Just say which days work for you.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
That depends on the survey. Inside the building and in the loft, we need someone to let us in; we will agree the details when you book.
What happens on the day
We don’t take risks to get a closer look. We inspect what can be seen safely, and anything we can’t see is noted in the report. The survey typically takes about 1–2 hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. In a London area like St Helier, the main things to sort out are parking and access: let us know about parking, the floor the property is on, any shared entrance and loft access. We then look at what can be seen safely from ground level, windows, the loft and, where it’s safe, the roof itself.
- You book once your offer is accepted and tell us the address and your timetable.
- We agree a time and how we’ll get in, including the loft.
- We look at the roof from ground level, from windows, from the loft space and from the roof where safe.
- Coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are checked and photographed.
- You receive a written report with photos and recommendations to read before exchange.
Getting ready for the survey
- Unlock side gates and any roof access doors
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
Arrange a survey
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and tell us the address and what’s prompted the survey. We’ll confirm the price before booking.
Advice
Signs you need a pre-purchase roof survey in St Helier
Asbestos was banned in UK construction in 1999. It is frequently found in cement sheets, soffits and flue pipes. We do not carry out asbestos surveys, but we flag materials that might so a specialist asbestos surveyor can check before anything is disturbed.
It’s worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Chimney mortar that has eroded
- Gaps where slates or tiles have come loose
If you let a flat or house near Sutton Common station, it’s worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- Which viewpoints they use to see the roof
Honest limits
Our findings are based on what we can see safely on the day, so there are some things a survey can’t cover:
- Whether the price should change, which is between you and the seller
- Confirmation of asbestos in cement sheets or soffits
- Whether timbers meet design loads
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will tell you. What our survey covers.
What we look at
- Lead flashings and valleys
- The roof space
- Chimney stacks
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Gutters and downpipes
- Natural slate
- Clay and concrete tiles
What a pre-purchase roof survey looks like in St Helier
Outer London has plenty of Victorian and Edwardian terraces with slate roofs, but also a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles. If your home in St Helier is one of them, bay roofs, hips and later dormers each have their own details. For a purchase or a newly finished roof, the materials decide which details matter most. Where the drone is part of the survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
Parking in St Helier, as in most of London, takes a little planning: a visitor permit or a nearby bay makes the day easier. If you live in an older home near St Peter's Church, the roof’s history matters as much as its looks, and a survey brings the past repairs to light.
St Helier is about 3 miles south-east of Wimbledon, in Greater London. Anywhere in St Helier, we can carry out pre-purchase roof surveys at your property. St Helier is one of the places in Greater London we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys. For surveys nearby, see our London page.
Here we cover the SM5, SM4 and SM1 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. That includes homes and businesses on Kelso Road, Wrythe Lane and Whitby Road and the roads around them. If you’re just outside St Helier, we cover Rosehill (1 mile north-east), Benhilton (1 mile south-west), The Wrythe (1 mile south-east), Carshalton (1 mile south-east) and Sutton (1 mile south). Larger places within reach include London (9 miles north-east), City of Westminster (9 miles north), Marylebone (9 miles north), Kensington (8 miles north), St Pancras (10 miles north) and Shoreditch (11 miles north-east).
Around St Helier
Around St Helier, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Greenshaw High School, The Cricketers Inn and Merton College. St Helier’s nearest station is Sutton Common station, about 0.8 miles south-west. Well-known places in the area include St Helier Hospital (under half a mile south) and Chessington Castle Hill (5 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Bennett's Hole and Duppas Hill.
What affects the price in St Helier
When we price a survey, we consider:
- Height and safe access
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
- Extra roofs, like extensions, dormers or garages
- Any need for thermal images or a drone flight
Pre-purchase roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on how big and how high the roof is, how it can safely be seen and which survey you book.
Booking your survey
Getting the details right at the start saves time. Please include:
- Your timetable, like an exchange date
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- The style of property, from a terrace to a block
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
Our phone lines are open seven days a week. For a price or to book, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.