Reading · London and the South East
Pre-Purchase Roof Survey in Trash Green
A careful look at the roof at your property in Trash Green, and put it all in a written report with photos.
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
- Cracked flaunching or crumbling chimney pointing
- Gutters choked with leaves and moss
How a pre-purchase roof survey works in Trash Green
If you are buying a flat, the roof may well be shared. The lease decides who looks after the roof, and that is often not the individual flat owner. We inspect what access allows us to see safely, and the report helps you ask your solicitor or the managing agent the right questions. Where the building has a flat roof, it is checked as far as access allows. If you’re worried about blistered or split felt on a flat roof and signs of past leaks inside the loft, a survey will tell you what’s going on, on flat-roofed extensions and dormers, lead flashings and valleys and the roof space alike.
Somewhere as small as Trash Green, older cottages, farmhouses and converted buildings frequently 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. What’s under the coverings, from old felt to the battens and nails, matters too.
You can share the report with anyone who needs it: your solicitor, the seller, your insurer, a roofer or the building’s managing agent.
- Place
- Trash Green (RG30)
- Wider area
- Reading
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Roof by roof
Chimney stacks
Our chimney check is a visual one, and it is not a flue or gas safety check. We will say if the flue needs a specialist.
Flat roofs
Ponding, blistering, splits and worn upstands are the usual warning signs. Blocked outlets are checked as well.
FAQs for Trash Green
Is Trash Green in the area you cover?
We do. The survey and report are the same in Trash Green as anywhere else, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
Will you come out to Trash Green?
We do. Villages and rural addresses get the same survey as a town house.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. We do not sample or test for asbestos. Where a material might contain it, such as old cement sheets on a building from before 2000, the report flags it, with a recommendation to have a specialist asbestos surveyor check before it’s disturbed.
Do you use drones?
Yes, where it is applicable. Flights depend on the weather on the day and airspace rules, and we check for restrictions near airports before flying. We’re a CAA-registered drone operator.
Do you need to go inside the property?
Where possible, yes. We look in the loft space where there is safe access, and views from upper windows help too. The agent or seller can arrange entry.
How long does a pre-purchase roof survey take?
Allow about 1–2 hours at the house you’re buying, depending on its size and how much of the roof can be seen. We’ll confirm what to expect when we arrange the visit.
Pre-purchase roof surveys around Trash Green
Slate and clay tile are the usual coverings on older South East houses, with concrete tiles on many later estates. The covering on a house you’re buying, or on a roof just finished, tells us where to look hardest. The wider area around Trash Green has a long history of building, with Mapledurham House about 4.7 miles north. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
Landlords with a home close to Theale station may find that the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full.
Trash Green is about 4 miles south-west of Reading, in Reading. Anywhere in Trash Green, we can carry out pre-purchase roof surveys at your property. Across Reading, we cover Trash Green.
We work across RG30 for pre-purchase roof surveys. Streets in the area include Bennett's Hill and Theale Road, and we cover them all. Other places close to Trash Green include Burghfield (1 mile south), Sheffield Bottom (1 mile north-west), Burghfield Hill (1 mile south), Sulhamstead Bannister Upper End (1 mile west) and Sulhamstead Abbots (1 mile south-west). We also work in nearby towns like Caversham (6 miles north-east), Norcot (3 miles north-east), West Reading (4 miles north-east), Tilehurst Within (3 miles north), Shinfield (5 miles east) and Arborfield Garrison (7 miles east).
Local landmarks in Trash Green
In Trash Green, that means homes and buildings near Fox & Hounds pub and The Willink School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Theale station, roughly 1.4 miles north-west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Thames Valley Police Museum (1 mile west) and Battle Hospital (3.8 miles north-east). Green spaces nearby include Hosehill Lake and Fobney Island Wetland Reserve.
Checking the roof from ground level
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from ground level or a window. Water spilling over the edge can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
A lot can be seen from ground level. With binoculars, look for slipped or missing slates and tiles, gaps along the ridge and leaning chimneys. Please do not climb up for a closer look.
Honest limits
Some things cannot be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- Asbestos testing of any kind
- A valuation or a promise of a lower price
- Walls, floors, services and rooms below the roof
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email and we will tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
What we look at
- Chimney stacks
- Gutters and downpipes
- Lead flashings and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- The roof space
- Natural slate
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers
What a survey costs
Prices vary from roof to roof, and it comes down to:
- How tall the building is and how easy the roof is to see
- Basic, Standard or Premium
- How complicated the roof is, with its valleys, chimneys and parapets
- Commercial roofs and larger buildings
Simple, low roofs take less time to survey than tall or complicated ones, and the package matters as well. We’ll give you the figure before anything is booked.
Booking your survey
Here’s what helps us most when you get in touch:
- When you need the report by
- The reason for the survey, such as buying, a leak or storm damage
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
- The type of building and roof, such as pitched or flat
We survey roofs on weekdays and at weekends. To find a date that works for you, call 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Common roof problems in Trash Green
Buildings put up or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. 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 so a specialist asbestos surveyor can check before anything is disturbed.
Common reasons to book include:
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
- Lead that has worked loose at a wall or chimney
- Old water stains in the loft space
- Slates or tiles that have slipped or gone
If you live in an older home near Church of St Mary the Virgin, ask the seller about past roof repairs, because older roofs frequently have patched valleys, replaced slates and reset ridges.
Before you book any roof surveyor
- What experience they bring
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- Are they insured for the work?
- Their report turnaround times
What happens on the day
Expect us to ask a few questions before we start, about the roof’s history, any leaks and past repairs. The inspection then takes about one to two hours at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. Cottages and farmhouses around Trash Green frequently have roofs at several levels, with lean-tos and outbuildings attached. We work round each section in turn, from the safest viewpoints.
- After your offer is agreed, you book and share your timetable.
- 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.
- We then look from upstairs windows and inside the loft where it’s safe.
- The report is emailed with photos and recommendations, ready to use before exchange.
Before we arrive
- Make sure the loft hatch can be reached
- For flats, make sure roof access has been agreed
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
Getting a price
If you have photos of the roof, send them over. Take them safely from the ground or a window, and please do not climb up for a closer look. To get started, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.