Oxfordshire · London and the South East
Sutton Courtenay Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Sutton Courtenay. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- A ridge or slope that dips
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
Sutton Courtenay homes and their roofs
If your survey includes the drone, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first. With Clifton Hampden Manor about 3.2 miles east, Sutton Courtenay sits in an area with a long building history. If you own one of the older houses, expect a mix of original materials and later repairs on the roof, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
Take an older house close to All Saints' Church: a survey will show how the roof has been repaired before, which helps you judge what’s coming.
Sutton Courtenay is about 2 miles north-west of Didcot, in Oxfordshire. We provide pre-purchase roof surveys for homeowners, landlords and businesses in Sutton Courtenay. Our Oxfordshire coverage includes Sutton Courtenay. For surveys nearby, see our Oxford page.
Surveys in OX14 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. That includes homes and businesses on High Street, The Nursery and Chapel Lane. Other places close to Sutton Courtenay include Culham (1 mile north-east), Milton (1 mile south-west), Caldecott (1 mile north), Appleford-on-Thames (2 miles east) and Great Western Park (2 miles south). We also work in nearby towns such as Oxford (8 miles north), Abingdon-on-Thames (3 miles north), Witney (14 miles north-west), Thame (15 miles north-east), Wantage (7 miles south-west) and Grove (7 miles west).
Around Sutton Courtenay
Typical jobs here are in homes near UTC Oxfordshire and The Plough pub and the streets around them. Sutton Courtenay’s nearest station is Appleford station, about 1.5 miles east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include FitzHarris Castle (2.4 miles north) and Abingdon Community Hospital (2.3 miles north-west). Green spaces nearby include Wittenham Clumps and Mowbray Fields.
Pre-purchase roof survey in Sutton Courtenay: what you get
If you are buying a flat, the roof may well be shared. The lease decides who looks after the roof, and that’s often not the individual flat owner. We inspect what access allows us to see safely, and the report gives you clear points to raise with your solicitor or the managing agent. If the building has a flat roof, we check that too where access allows. We survey chimney stacks, lead flashings and valleys and flat-roofed extensions and dormers, and the problems we’re asked to look at most are signs of past leaks inside the loft and gutters choked with leaves and moss.
Around Sutton Courtenay, you’ll mostly find houses and bungalows of different ages. Older roofs may still have their original slates or clay tiles, with fixings and underlay that have done a long stint. For a purchase or a newly replaced roof, what’s under the coverings matters as much as what’s on top. Breathable membranes only appeared in the late 1990s, so older roofs often have bitumen felt or nothing at all.
We keep jargon out of it: if work is needed, the report says so clearly.
- Place
- Sutton Courtenay (OX14)
- Wider area
- Oxfordshire
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What we look for on each type of roof
Chimney stacks
Our chimney check is a visual one, and it isn’t a flue or gas safety check. We’ll say if the flue needs a specialist.
Lead flashings and valleys
Many leaks start at a flashing, so they get close attention in a pre-purchase survey. Any that need attention are photographed and explained.
Towns and villages near Sutton Courtenay
Other services in Sutton Courtenay
Checking the roof from ground level
A lot can be seen from ground level. Binoculars help you spot slipped slates or tiles, gaps along the ridge and a leaning stack. Please don’t climb up for a closer look.
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.
Honest limits
A survey is a proper look at the roof, but it cannot do everything. Its limits include:
- A structural engineer’s report
- A valuation or a promise of a lower price
- Asbestos testing of any kind
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will suggest the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
Roofs we survey in Sutton Courtenay
- Natural slate
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- The roof space
- Chimney stacks
- Gutters and downpipes
Practical tips
A little preparation and a few simple habits help. Our tips:
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Pass the findings to your conveyancer
- Find out whether the roof has been replaced or patched
- Check we’ll be able to get into the roof space
We email the report to you, with photos of each finding. Turnaround is within 48 hours for Basic, 24 to 48 hours for Standard and the same day for Premium. Each defect is explained in plain words, with recommendations prioritised by urgency where relevant.
After you move in, have leaves and moss cleared from gutters and valleys, especially after autumn. Blocked gutters cause much of the damp we see. Use a gutter contractor rather than going up a ladder yourself.
How the survey works
We do not take risks to get a closer look. Everything that can safely be seen is inspected, and anything we can’t see is noted in the report. Most visits take between one and two hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. Some parts of a survey depend on the weather, so a visit to Sutton Courtenay is booked with the forecast in mind: the parts that need calm, dry weather are planned around it.
- We help you pick the package that suits the property.
- A date is booked on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- The coverings, ridges, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters are inspected and photographed.
- Standard and Premium surveys add the extra checks they include.
- We send the report with recommendations ranked by urgency, ready for you to discuss with the seller or agent.
Preparing for the visit
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Keep pets in another room
Arrange a survey
Booking is simple: just ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and give us some details about the property and we’ll explain which survey suits. The price is agreed up front.
Advice
When to book a survey in Sutton Courtenay
Blocked or leaking gutters do damage that is not obvious at first. Overflowing water soaks walls and can rot the timber behind. Valley and parapet gutters can overflow inside the house. We check them as part of the survey.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Standing water on a flat extension roof
Landlords with a home close to Appleford station may find that the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Questions to ask before you book
- Which viewpoints they use to see the roof
- How much experience they have with roofs like yours
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- How long the report takes to arrive
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Sutton Courtenay
Do you carry out roof surveys in Sutton Courtenay?
Yes. Our area covers London and South East England, and Sutton Courtenay is part of that. Just phone 07833 053749 or email us and let us know about the property, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Do you cover smaller places like Sutton Courtenay?
Yes, we do. Our area covers London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned ahead of time.
Does your survey replace a RICS home survey?
No. It’s a dedicated roof survey, and you get a written report with photos. It isn’t a RICS survey and does not cover the rest of the house.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes. You’ll have photos and a written description of each defect, which you can share with the seller or agent. We can’t promise how the seller will respond.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. Asbestos surveys and sampling aren’t something we do. The report may flag materials that could contain asbestos on buildings built or refurbished before 2000, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it’s disturbed.
How quickly will I get the report?
Premium reports arrive the same day, Standard reports within 24 to 48 hours and Basic within 48 hours. We send it by email, with photos.
How many surveys have you done?
We have completed more than 5,000 surveys, over more than 20 years, and 98% of clients are satisfied.