Greater London · London and the South East
Pre-Purchase Roof Survey in Toy's Hill
Find out what’s going on with the roof before you spend money on it. Pre-purchase roof surveys in Toy's Hill, with photos and a clear written report.
- Bitumen or mortar used in place of proper repairs
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Toy's Hill
A full home survey looks at the whole property, so the roof is one item among many. We do not offer a RICS home survey, and ours is not a substitute for one. It adds a focused look at the roof on its own, with photos and written recommendations you can act on. You can have both. If you’re worried about sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes and gutters that overflow or drip at the joints, we can find out what’s behind it, whatever the roof.
Many London homes have been converted into flats, extended at the back or given a loft conversion with a dormer. Every alteration brings new junctions, flashings and flat-roof areas to look at. If you’re buying a flat or house in Toy's Hill, or have just had new roofing work done, those junctions are often where problems start. Lead work around dormers and new flat roofs is easy to get wrong and 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.
- Location
- Toy's Hill (TN16)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- A written report with photos, by email
- Appointments
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Practical tips
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They apply to most roofs:
- Let us know your exchange date when you book
- Notice patches of new decoration in top-floor rooms
- Ask for any paperwork for recent roof work
- Share the report with your solicitor
You may want to pass the report to your solicitor or conveyancer so questions can go to the seller’s solicitor. Past repairs, re-roofing and any records of that work are all fair questions, particularly where we’ve found patch repairs.
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 it works
Where it is relevant and can be reached safely, the roof space is checked as well as the outside. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging. All in, the survey normally takes roughly 1–2 hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. For a visit in Toy's Hill, parking and access are the things to plan: let us know about parking, the floor the property is on, any shared entrance and loft access. On the day, the roof is looked at from ground level, from windows, from inside the loft space and from the roof where it is safe.
- 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.
- The visit begins outside, from ground level and any safe 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.
Getting ready for the survey
- Let us know about parking near the property
- Dig out any old roof reports or invoices
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we’re looking at
Book a survey
Unsure which package suits your roof? The easiest way is to ring 07833 053749 or send us an email and describe the roof and what’s worrying you. We will talk you through the options and what they cost.
Read more
Why it’s worth a survey now in Toy's Hill
A seller may honestly not know the state of the roof. The forms they complete only show what they’re aware of. Our survey shows you the roof as it is today. London’s older roofs often have bitumen felt underlay or none at all, so once the slates or flashings let water past, little stops it reaching ceilings. Left unchecked, water soaks into timber and plaster and the damage spreads.
The cost of a survey depends on the roof: its size, its height, how many sections it has and how it can be reached and seen safely. Our price is from £150, including VAT.
Why book us in Toy's Hill
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Plain-English reports with photos
- CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID)
- Visits on any day of the week
Toy's Hill questions
How do I find out if my home in Toy's Hill is listed?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. It’s worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Can parking be tricky for a visit in Toy's Hill?
Sometimes, yes. If Toy's Hill has controlled parking where you are, a visitor permit is the easiest answer.
Do you carry out surveys on Saturdays and Sundays?
We carry out surveys on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. To find a day that suits you, ring 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Are you insured?
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
Do I need to be at home?
It depends on what we need to see. For inside areas and the roof space, someone has to give us access; we will agree the details as you book.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We can flag materials that might contain asbestos, but only a specialist asbestos surveyor can confirm it. It may be present in buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
How long does the survey visit take?
It typically takes about 1–2 hours for most houses, though large, tall or awkward roofs take more time. Report times depend on the package, from the same day for Premium to within 48 hours for Basic.
Toy's Hill homes and their roofs
Outer London has a good many Victorian and Edwardian terraces with slate roofs, but also a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles. Hips, bay roofs and later loft conversions are typical of those semis, if your home is one of them. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new. With Chartwell about 1.1 miles west, Toy's Hill sits in an area with a long building history. Period homes nearby can have lead valleys, tall chimneys and a patchwork of past repairs, and the council can say whether a home is in a conservation area.
For a London address like Toy's Hill, it’s useful to know about controlled parking before the day. Landlords with a home close to Edenbridge station may find that the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Toy's Hill is about 4 miles south-west of Sevenoaks, in Greater London. We cover Toy's Hill and the rest of Greater London, as part of our work across London and South East England. Our Greater London coverage includes Toy's Hill. For surveys nearby, see our Crawley page.
Here we cover the TN16 postcode area for pre-purchase roof surveys. We offer pre-purchase roof surveys to properties on Scords Lane and Puddledock Lane. Other places close to Toy's Hill include Ide Hill (1 mile east), Brasted Chart (1 mile north), Goathurst Common (2 miles east), Brasted (2 miles north) and Sundridge (2 miles north). Further out, we also cover Orpington (10 miles north), Thornton Heath (14 miles north-west), Croydon (12 miles north-west), Bromley (12 miles north), West Norwood (15 miles north-west) and Beckenham (13 miles north-west).
What’s near Toy's Hill
Around Toy's Hill, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Stubbs Wood Country Park and The Cock Inn, among other places. The closest station to Toy's Hill is Edenbridge station, about 3.2 miles south-west. Well-known places in the area include Hever Castle (3.9 miles south) and Tandridge Priory (3.5 miles west). Open spaces near Toy's Hill include Dryhill Nature Reserve and Betsom's Hill.
Different roofs, different checks
Clay and concrete tiles
Clay and concrete tiles commonly last 50 years or more. We check for slipped, cracked and missing tiles, and for mismatched replacements that point to past repairs.
Gutters and parapets
A butterfly roof drains to a central valley gutter, usually to the back of the house. If yours does, we check that gutter and where it drains.
Do you need a pre-purchase roof survey in Toy's Hill?
A chimney stack stands out in the wind and rain. Pointing crumbles, flaunching cracks and flashings lift. A stack may be shared with the neighbours, which can affect how any work is arranged.
Look out for signs like these:
- Ponding, blisters or splits on a flat roof
- Worn or lifted lead flashings
- Slipped or missing slates and tiles
- Blocked or leaking gutters
If yours is one of the older homes in the streets near Church of St Mary at South End of Village Green, ask the seller about past roof repairs, because older roofs frequently have patched valleys, replaced slates and reset ridges.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- What the report includes, and whether it has photos
- Which viewpoints they use to see the roof
- Whether VAT is in the quoted price
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
Surveys for landlords and agents in Toy's Hill
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on.
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in, at a time agreed in advance. We survey on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays, which helps when tenants work during the week.