Surrey · London and the South East
Whitewood Pre-Purchase Roof Survey
We take a careful look at the roof at your property in Whitewood, with photographs and a written report.
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Roof slopes that look uneven or sagging
- Flashings that have lifted or split
What we do, step by step
The visit has one job: to see as much of the roof as can safely be seen and record it clearly. Notes and photographs go into the written report. The visit normally 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 Whitewood, the journey is planned ahead of time: let us know about lanes, gates and parking. On the day, we inspect whatever is safely visible, inside and out.
- You get in touch after your offer is agreed, with the address and your target exchange date.
- Access is arranged through you, the agent or the seller.
- We inspect the roof from the ground, windows, the loft and the roof itself where it is safe.
- Each part of the roof is examined and photographed.
- You receive a written report with photos and recommendations to read before exchange.
Preparing for the visit
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
Booking a survey
Most bookings start with a short call: call 07833 053749 or send us an email. You’ll have a price before anything is arranged.
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Pre-purchase roof surveys for homes and businesses in Whitewood
A roof report gives you something solid to take back to the seller or the agent. You might ask about past repairs, ask for work to be done before completion or think again about your offer. We cannot say how a seller will respond, but you will be negotiating from a clear picture rather than a hunch. It also helps you decide whether to go ahead at all. We are frequently asked to look into quick fixes on flashings and valleys and loose pots and cracked flaunching, across chimney stacks, clay and concrete tiles and the roof space.
Older buildings in small places like Whitewood may be listed or in a conservation area. If so, re-roofing in different materials may need consent, so check with the council before work starts. Whether you’re buying or signing off new roofing, it’s worth knowing where you stand, as well as what condition the roof is in. England has around 10,000 conservation areas and about 500,000 listed buildings.
It is not only a list of defects. For each finding, it explains what it is, why it matters and what we’d recommend, so you can plan your next steps.
- Place
- Whitewood (RH9)
- Wider area
- Surrey
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- Appointments
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insurance
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Checking the roof from ground level
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from the ground or a window. Overflowing water can point to a blockage or a sagging run.
A DIY look is useful, but it isn’t a survey. You will not see flashings, valleys or the backs of chimneys properly from ground level, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
How the survey changes by roof type
Chimney stacks
A leaning stack, cracked flaunching or crumbling pointing can all need work. We note them with photos so you can ask about them.
Gutters and parapets
The rainwater system keeps water off the walls. We check for blockages, leaking joints and sagging runs, along with fascias and soffits.
Buying a home or a new roof in Whitewood
Many older homes in Surrey have handmade clay tiles and tile-hung upper walls. Horsham stone slab roofs survive on some old buildings in Surrey. Material and age explain a lot of what turns up on the day, whether the roof is old or brand new. Whitewood is about 2 miles from the edge of the flight restriction zone around Redhill Aerodrome. If the drone is used for your survey, the exact boundary is checked for the address first.
For landlords with property near Godstone station, a roof report gives you a clear picture before you buy or settle up with a roofer.
Whitewood is about 4 miles east of Horley, in Surrey. We carry out pre-purchase roof surveys in Whitewood for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings. Whitewood is one of the places in Surrey we cover. You can also see our page for Crawley.
All of RH9 is within our area for pre-purchase roof surveys, from the main roads to the quietest streets. You will find streets such as Whitewood Lane and Byers Lane, and we cover them all. If you’re just outside Whitewood, we cover Horne (1 mile south-west), Blindley Heath (1 mile north-east), Newchapel (2 miles south-east), Lingfield Common (2 miles east) and Lingfield (3 miles east). Within a short drive, we also cover Epsom (13 miles north-west), Horley (4 miles west), Redhill (5 miles north-west), Ewell (14 miles north-west), Reigate (6 miles north-west) and Caterham (7 miles north).
Near you in Whitewood
Around Whitewood, our work takes us to homes and buildings near The Jolly Farmer pub and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Godstone station, roughly 2.2 miles north-east. Well-known places in the area include East Surrey Hospital (4.5 miles north-west) and Effingham Park Motor Museum (3.4 miles south). Not far away are Hedgecourt Lake and Bay Pond.
For landlords and managing agents
If the property is let, the agent or a tenant can let us in. Surveys run on weekdays and at weekends, which helps when tenants work during the week.
Landlords, agents and building managers in Whitewood and across Surrey can book any of our surveys. For a price for a let property or a block, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email.
Places near Whitewood
What else we do in Whitewood
Common questions in Whitewood
Will you come out to Whitewood?
Yes, we do. We cover the whole of London and South East England, from towns to the smallest villages. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Is my home in Whitewood listed or in a conservation area?
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.
Can you inspect my roof with a drone?
Yes, where it applies and safe. We fly a sub-250g drone and we are a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID). Drone inspection is part of the Drone Roof Survey and the Premium Survey, where applicable.
Is a roof survey worth having alongside a home survey?
They do different things. A home survey looks at the whole property, while ours looks only at the roof, in more detail. Ours sits alongside a RICS survey rather than replacing it.
Will the roof report help me negotiate with the seller?
Yes. 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.
Do you carry out surveys on Saturdays and Sundays?
Surveys can be booked for any day of the week: Monday to Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Just let us know the days that suit you.
At what stage of buying should I get the roof surveyed?
Once your offer has been accepted, and before exchange. That way you can still act on what we find, whether that means asking questions or negotiating.
Tips from our surveys
A few practical points come up again and again on our surveys. They’re worth knowing whatever the roof:
- Ask for loft access on the day
- Check the lease for roof repair responsibilities
- Watch for stains or fresh paint on ceilings below the roof
- Find out whether the roof has been replaced or patched
It’s worth sharing the report with your solicitor so questions can go to the seller’s solicitor. It can prompt questions about past roof work and any paperwork for it, especially where we have found patch repairs.
Look in the loft now and then, with care and a good torch. Watch for stains, damp timbers and chinks of daylight. Photos help if you later need a roofer or another survey.
When to book a survey in Whitewood
The fixings and underlay often fail before good slates or tiles do. Good slate can last well over a century, yet the nails holding it rust and let slates slide. That kind of wear is common on older roofs.
Problems we come across frequently include:
- A ridge or slope that dips
- Patch repairs that may hide an ongoing problem
- Signs of past leaks inside the loft
- Gutters that overflow or drip at the joints
Take an older house close to 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 anyone
- Whether VAT is in the quoted price
- When you’ll get the report
- How long they’ve been surveying roofs
- Will they check the loft as well as the outside?