West Sussex · London and the South East
Tilgate Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Tilgate, using drones and thermal imaging where applicable. Get in touch for a price.
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
Pre-purchase roof survey in Tilgate
The best time to book is once your offer has been accepted and before you exchange contracts. That is when the findings are most useful, because nothing is binding yet. We survey on any day of the week, which helps when the chain is moving fast. Basic reports arrive within 48 hours, Standard within 24 to 48 hours and Premium the same day. If you’ve noticed slates or tiles that have slipped or gone and signs of past leaks inside the loft, we can find out what’s behind it, whatever the roof.
In a smaller place like Tilgate, some houses face open ground, so their roofs may take more wind and driving rain. Loose ridge tiles, lifted coverings and tired flashings are the kind of things that show it. Whether you’re buying or signing off new work, those edges deserve a close look. On an exposed roof, a loose ridge or verge soon becomes a bigger job.
We write the report in plain English, so it makes sense without any roofing background. Photos show what each point refers to.
- Location
- Tilgate (RH10, RH11)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
How it works
The visit has one job: to see as much of the roof as can be seen safely and record it clearly. Notes and photographs go into the written report. It usually takes about 1–2 hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. Being in a smaller place like Tilgate does not change how the visit works: outside, inside and from any safe vantage point, in that order. It helps to show us anything you’ve already noticed.
- 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 ground level and from vantage points.
- Inside, we check the roof space and look at the roof from windows.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Before the survey
- Check the loft hatch can be reached
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- Find any records of previous roof work
Getting a price
For a price for pre-purchase roof surveys in Tilgate, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. The address, the type of property and what you’d like to know help us give you an accurate price.
Related advice
Why get it checked now?
Small roof defects let water in slowly. 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. Tradespeople may need to travel further to a smaller place like Tilgate, so it is useful to plan roof work rather than call someone out in a hurry. A survey gives you that notice.
What a survey costs comes down to the roof itself: how big it is, how high it is, the number of separate roofs and how safely it can be seen. Our price is from £150, including VAT.
Why book us in Tilgate
- Independent findings on the roof’s condition
- Photographs and a written report every time
- Over 5,000 surveys carried out
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
Take a look at what a roof survey costs and our case studies.
Questions from Tilgate
Should a flat-roofed garage or porch in Tilgate be checked too?
Yes, if you’d like it included, mention it when booking. On buildings from before 2000, cement sheet roofs may contain asbestos and should be checked by a specialist asbestos surveyor before anyone disturbs them.
Is drone flying allowed in Tilgate?
It depends on the exact address and the weather on the day. Tilgate is about 1 mile from the edge of the flight restriction zone around Gatwick Airport. We check the exact boundary for the address before flying, and if the roof falls inside it, we ask for permission first. A small drone can’t fly safely in high wind or heavy rain, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
Is your roof survey a RICS survey?
No. We survey the roof, not the whole building, and it is not a RICS home survey. It works alongside a home survey.
Do I have to be there for the survey?
Not necessarily. If we only need the outside, we can agree that ahead of time, but anything inside needs someone there to give access.
Is Tilgate in your area?
Yes. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Tilgate, and the service is the same as everywhere else we work.
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, and a drone is part of the Premium Survey where it applies.
How long will you be at the property?
The visit typically takes between one and two hours at a typical home, or half a day or so for a commercial building. We’ll give you an idea of timing as you book.
Checking the roof from the ground
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.
Your own check is a good start, but it isn’t a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
Nearby places to Tilgate
Other services in Tilgate
Common roof problems in Tilgate
Asbestos was banned in UK construction in 1999. It’s frequently found in cement sheets, soffits and flue pipes. We don’t test for it or carry out asbestos surveys, but we flag materials that might and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before work starts.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
- Loose pots and cracked flaunching
If you own a rental within reach of Crawley station, the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- What they won’t be able to tell you
- Whether the price includes VAT
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
Roof by roof
Chimney stacks
Leaning stacks, loose pots and eroded mortar are common findings. We photograph them so you can raise them before exchange.
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.
What a survey costs
To price your survey, we check:
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
- The package you choose: Basic, Standard or Premium
- The shape of the roof and its details
Prices start from £150, including VAT. What you pay depends on how big and how high the roof is, access and which survey you book.
Helping us price your survey
To price your survey accurately, we will ask about:
- Access details, such as a loft hatch or a shared roof
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
Most bookings start with a short call: call 07833 053749 or drop us an email. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Buying a home or a new roof in Tilgate
With Tyes Place about 4.6 miles south, Tilgate sits in an area with a long building history. Older roofs in the wider area can hide decades of patch repairs, so the detail matters, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area. Older houses across Sussex frequently have handmade clay tiles, and many have tile-hanging on their upper walls. A few old Sussex buildings still carry heavy Horsham stone slabs. Whether you’re buying or checking new roofing work, knowing the materials helps make sense of what the inspection finds.
For an older house near a landmark like Holy Trinity, older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
Tilgate is about 1 mile south-east of Crawley, in West Sussex. Roofs in Tilgate get the same thorough look as anywhere else in West Sussex. Our area takes in places right across West Sussex.
Postcode districts we cover here for pre-purchase roof surveys: RH10 and RH11. Streets in the area include York Road, Nash Road and Cook Road, all of which we cover. Close by, we survey roofs in Southgate (1 mile west), Crawley (1 mile north-west), Three Bridges (1 mile north-east), Maidenbower (1 mile east) and West Green (1 mile north-west). Larger places within reach include Horsham (7 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (8 miles south-east), Burgess Hill (10 miles south), East Grinstead (7 miles east), Billingshurst (13 miles south-west) and Roffey (6 miles west).
Around Tilgate
In Tilgate, that means homes and buildings near Thomas Bennett Community College, The Grasshopper pub and Tilgate Park and the streets around them. Tilgate’s nearest station is Crawley station, roughly 0.6 miles north-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include County Mall (0.7 miles north-west) and Crawley Hospital (1.2 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Tilgate Lake.