Essex · London and the South East
Swallows Cross Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat for Swallows Cross and the rest of Essex. We survey on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
Pre-purchase roof survey in Swallows Cross
With a written roof report, you can go back to the seller or agent with specifics. You might ask about past repairs, ask for work to be done before completion or think again about your offer. What the seller agrees to is up to them, but you’ll be asking from facts rather than guesses. It can also help you decide whether the purchase is still right for you. We survey gutters and downpipes, clay and concrete tiles and lead flashings and valleys, and people most often book us about worn or lifted lead flashings and damp timbers or stains in the loft.
Somewhere as small as Swallows Cross, older cottages, farmhouses and converted buildings often sit beside a few newer homes. Older roofs there may have clay tiles, slate, stone or, in some places, thatch. Each covering has its own weak points, whether the roof is old or newly laid, and thatch is a specialist material, so we report on what can be seen. Older roofs may also have old felt underlay or none, and fixings that have done a long stint.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, because a photo of a cracked flashing says more than a paragraph. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Location
- Swallows Cross (CM15)
- Region
- Essex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about pre-purchase roof surveys in Swallows Cross
Will you come out to Swallows Cross?
Yes, Swallows Cross is covered. We cover the whole of London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. The journey is planned ahead, so it is useful to know about access.
Do you cover Swallows Cross?
Yes, Swallows Cross is within the area we cover. We work right across London and South East England. You can ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and a few details, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. Our report may flag materials that could contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
Do I need a roof survey if I’m having a RICS survey?
It is your choice, but the two do different jobs. A home survey looks at the whole property, and ours concentrates on the roof alone. Our survey complements a RICS survey and does not replace one.
Does someone need to be in?
That depends on the survey. Inside the building and in the loft, we need someone to let us in, while outside access can be discussed as you book.
Are you insured?
Our cover is professional indemnity plus public liability.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes, you can. You will have photos and a written description of each defect, so you can raise them with the seller or their agent. We cannot promise how the seller will respond.
What affects the price in Swallows Cross
Our packages start from £150, with VAT included. The price for your roof depends on:
- Chimneys, valleys, parapets and other details
- Building height and the viewpoints available
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- House, block, shop or office
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.
Booking your survey
A little information up front helps. It is useful to include:
- Your timetable, such as an exchange date
- The address and postcode of the property
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
- The kind of building and roof involved
If you are buying, it helps to book soon after your offer is accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. Otherwise, simply phone 07833 053749 or send us an email whenever suits you.
Before and after the survey
A survey works best with a little help from you, before and after. Some tips:
- Ask the seller about past roof repairs
- Mention any deadline when you contact us
- Request records of any re-roofing
- Pass the findings to your conveyancer
Once the home is yours, the report becomes a maintenance list. Deal with the urgent items first, and use the photos as a record of how the roof looked when you bought. Premium comes with a follow-up after 12 months to see how things have changed.
Chimneys and flashings need watching. Look for leaning pots, missing mortar and lifted lead. A pair of binoculars from the garden shows a lot.
How the survey works
Before we start, tell us why you’ve booked: a purchase, a leak, a storm, new work or simply peace of mind. It helps us focus on what matters most to you. The visit usually takes an hour or two at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. Cottages and farmhouses around Swallows Cross often have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints, and anything we can’t see is noted.
- 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.
- We start outside, looking at the roof from ground level and from vantage points.
- Inside, we check the loft space and look at the roof from windows.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Before we arrive
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Let us know about parking before the day
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
Book a survey
Getting a price is simple: just ring 07833 053749 or email us and give us some details about the property and we’ll recommend the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Honest limits
Without opening up the roof, some things stay hidden, so a survey has limits:
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
- Anything beyond the roof, which a full home survey covers
- Asbestos testing of any kind
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will tell you before you book. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in Swallows Cross
- Gutters and downpipes
- Natural slate
- Lead flashings and valleys
- The roof space
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
- Chimney stacks
Signs you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Swallows Cross
Rear extensions, dormers and garages often have flat roofs. Felt flat roofs frequently last around 15 to 20 years, and standing water, blisters and splits are typical signs of ageing. They’re easy to overlook on a viewing, because many can only be seen from an upstairs window.
People normally book a survey after spotting one of these:
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Ponding, blisters or splits on a flat roof
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
If you let a flat or house near Ingatestone station, it is worth knowing a roof’s condition before you buy it, or before you sign off new roofing work on it.
What to check before booking
- Their report turnaround times
- What the report includes, and whether it has photos
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- What experience they bring
Buying a home or a new roof in Swallows Cross
In Essex, older buildings are often clay-tiled, many with weatherboarding, while many towns grew with post-war and newer estates. The covering on a house you are buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest. If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first.
Ingatestone Hall lies about 2.5 miles east, so building around Swallows Cross goes back a long way. 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.
Swallows Cross is about 3 miles north-east of Brentwood, in Essex. Houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings in Swallows Cross can all book pre-purchase roof surveys. Across Essex, we cover Swallows Cross and the places around it. Our Chelmsford page covers surveys nearby.
All of CM15 is within our area for pre-purchase roof surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. You will find streets like Thoby Lane and Wyatt's Green Road, and we cover them all. If you are just outside Swallows Cross, we cover Wyatt's Green (1 mile north-west), Green Street (1 mile north-east), Mountnessing (1 mile south-east), Doddinghurst (1 mile west) and Beggar Hill (2 miles north-east). Further out, we also cover Chelmsford (8 miles north-east), Basildon (8 miles south-east), Harlow (12 miles north-west), Brentwood (3 miles south-west), Canvey Island (15 miles south-east) and Billericay (5 miles south-east).
What’s near Swallows Cross
Swallows Cross’s nearest station is Ingatestone station, about 2.3 miles east. A little further out are Brentwood Community Hospital (2.9 miles south). Not far away are Thorndon Park.
Roof by roof
Clay and concrete tiles
Clay and concrete tiles commonly last 50 years or more. Cracked, slipped or missing tiles are noted, along with odd replacement tiles that hint at earlier leaks.
Flat roofs
Flat roofs on extensions, dormers and garages are easy to forget about. Felt roofs frequently last around 15 to 20 years, rubber longer and GRP up to about 30. We look for signs of age and failure.