Reading · London and the South East
Trench Green Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
A roof survey before you buy a house or flat in Trench Green, using drones and thermal imaging where applicable. Get in touch for a price.
- Sagging ridge lines or uneven roof slopes
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
Pre-purchase roof survey in Trench Green: what you get
A RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey covers the whole building, so the roof is one item among many. We do not offer a RICS home survey, and ours is not a substitute for one. What it adds is a closer look at the roof alone, with photos and written recommendations you can act on. The two sit side by side. If you’ve noticed roof slopes that look uneven or sagging and chimney mortar that has eroded, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
Some older homes in villages like Trench Green are listed or sit in a conservation area. If so, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so check with the council before work starts. For a buyer or someone with a newly finished roof, it is worth knowing which applies, as well as what condition the roof is in. There are about 500,000 listed buildings and around 10,000 conservation areas in England.
The report doesn’t just list problems. It explains what we found, why it matters and what we recommend.
- Where
- Trench Green (RG4)
- Wider area
- Reading
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What a survey costs
Prices always include VAT. What changes the price is:
- Extensions, dormers and garages with roofs of their own
- Whether thermal imaging or a drone is needed
- House, block, shop or office
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
Thermal imaging and drone inspection (where applicable) come with the Premium Survey, from £400 inc. VAT. We will tell you which package suits the questions you have.
Getting in touch
The more you let us know, the easier it is to price the survey. When you get in touch, it helps to mention:
- Any photos you have, taken from the ground or a window
- When you need the report by
- The address and postcode of the property
- The kind of building and roof involved
You can call us seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays. For a price or to book, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
How the survey changes by roof type
Flat roofs
Ponding, blistering, splits and worn upstands are the usual warning signs. We look at outlets too, since a blocked one leaves water sitting on the roof, and we say what we see from wherever is safe.
Lead flashings and valleys
Lead flashings seal the joints where a roof meets a wall or chimney. We look for lead that has lifted, split or been patched over.
How it works
We check the roof from outside and, where it’s relevant and there’s safe access, from inside the roof space too. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging. All in, the survey usually takes an hour or two at a typical house, with time for the loft where it can be reached. For a village or hamlet like Trench Green, the journey is planned in advance: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. The roof is looked at from the ground, from windows, from the loft where there’s safe access and from the roof where it’s safe.
- You choose a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey to suit the home you are buying.
- A date is booked on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- We inspect and photograph every part of the roof we can safely see.
- 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
- Tell us about any leaks, stains or damp patches you know of
- Leave a clear route to the loft
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it’s shared
Book a survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To arrange a day that suits you, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Related advice
For landlords and managing agents
Roof problems in a rented home affect tenants as well as the building. A survey helps you spot issues early and plan the work with less disruption.
Shared roofs need a little more planning: we need access agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Mention it when you get in touch and we will plan the survey around it.
Also near Trench Green
More services for Trench Green
Common roof problems in Trench Green
Asbestos was banned in UK construction in 1999. It’s often found in cement sheets, soffits and flue pipes. We do not 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.
Typical things we’re asked to look at include:
- Flashings that have lifted or split
- Quick fixes on flashings and valleys
- Damp timbers or stains in the loft
- Blistered or split felt on a flat roof
Historic houses such as Mapledurham House, about 1.1 miles south-west, show how far back building around Trench Green goes. 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.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Their track record with similar roofs
- Their drone registration, if they fly one
- What happens after the report arrives
- What the survey won’t cover
Questions from Trench Green
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Trench Green?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it is in a conservation area. Listed building consent is needed for changes that affect a listed building’s special interest, and conservation areas can limit changes of roofing material.
Is Trench Green in the area you cover?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photographs.
When is the best time to have the roof checked when buying?
The sooner after your offer is accepted, the better. The report is most useful before exchange, because after that the roof is yours to deal with.
Do I need a roof survey if I’m having a RICS survey?
That depends on how much you want to know about the roof. Home surveys sometimes suggest a closer look at the roof, and our survey gives you that closer look. It does not stand in for a RICS survey.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes. Shared roofs just need a little more planning, with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it as you book and we will explain what’s needed.
What insurance do you have?
We are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance, for every survey we carry out.
Can I take the findings back to the seller?
Yes. You might ask for work to be done, ask questions or ask for a change to the price. The outcome is between you and the seller, so we cannot promise any saving.
Trench Green homes and their roofs
If the drone is used for your survey, the flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new.
For landlords with property near Tilehurst station, the roof is worth checking before you add another property to a portfolio or pay a roofer in full. Take an older house close to Church of St Margaret and Bardolf Aisle: older patch repairs can hide behind a tidy front slope, and the survey looks past them.
Trench Green is about 2 miles north-west of Caversham, in Reading. Whether the building in Trench Green is a house, a flat or a commercial unit, we can survey the roof. Trench Green is one of the towns and villages in Reading we cover for pre-purchase roof surveys.
We survey roofs across RG4 for pre-purchase roof surveys and the streets around it. If you’re just outside Trench Green, we cover Chazey Heath (1 mile east), Mapledurham (1 mile south-west), Purley on Thames (2 miles south-west), Norcot (2 miles south) and Tilehurst (2 miles south). Further out, we also cover West Reading (3 miles south), Shinfield (7 miles south-east), Arborfield Garrison (9 miles south-east), Horncastle (3 miles south), Whitley Wood (6 miles south-east) and Fords Farm (4 miles south).
Landmarks near Trench Green
Locally, jobs take us to homes and businesses close to Pack Horse Public House and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Tilehurst station, about 1.7 miles south of the centre. Nearby you will also find Royal Berkshire Regiment Museum (2.6 miles south) and Battle Hospital (2.6 miles south). Open spaces near Trench Green include Moor Copse Nature Reserve and Sonning Hill.
What we cannot see
To be straight with you, there are limits to any roof survey:
- The condition of the rest of the house (that is a RICS home survey)
- Confirmation of asbestos in cement sheets or soffits
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we will tell you before booking. The full list of what we check.
Roofs we survey in Trench Green
- Lead flashings and valleys
- The roof space
- Gutters and downpipes
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Chimney stacks
- Natural slate
- Flat-roofed extensions and dormers