Greater London · London and the South East
Roof leak investigation in North Sheen, Greater London
We take a careful look at the leaking roof at your property in North Sheen, with photographs and a written report.
- Damp walls below an overflowing gutter
- Water dripping from rafters or underlay
- Water that shows only in certain storms
How it works
Where it is relevant and can be reached safely, the loft space is checked as well as the outside. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging, as far as the space allows. All in, the survey usually takes roughly 1–2 hours on an ordinary house, and longer for a large or complex roof. Many London properties are flats or terraces with no side access, so rear slopes are viewed from windows, the loft or, where a flight is allowed, by drone. If the building has a managing agent or access rules, tell us when you book.
- You pick a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey.
- A visit is booked for a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- We inspect inside and out, starting from the stain.
- Where it’s useful and included, we take moisture readings and use thermal imaging.
- You get photos, the likely cause and clear recommendations.
Before the survey
- Note where any stains or damp appear
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Gather any invoices or paperwork from past roof work
How to book
Buyers should book once an offer has been accepted, so you have the findings in time to act on them before you exchange. Otherwise, simply call 07833 053749 or drop us an email whenever suits you.
Advice
How a roof leak investigation works in North Sheen
Water is good at hiding where it gets in. Water often travels along timbers or underlay before it finds a way down, so a ceiling stain is rarely directly below the cause. We follow it back towards where it starts, one likely route at a time. Patching the spot above the stain frequently misses the real cause. Tracing the route first means any work can be aimed at the right place. We survey lead flashings, chimney stacks and flat roof details, and people most frequently book us about staining where a gutter or parapet meets the wall and drips in the loft during heavy rain.
London’s Victorian and Edwardian roofs have often been repaired many times. Telling wear from a one-off event matters, because insurers typically exclude wear and tear. That is as true in North Sheen as anywhere in London. Photos and a written account give you something specific to show an insurer, a landlord or a roofer.
Report times depend on the survey you book: the Basic Survey within 48 hours, the Standard Survey in 24 to 48 hours and the Premium Survey on the same day.
- Where
- North Sheen (TW9, SW14, W4)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Signs you need a roof leak investigation in North Sheen
A chimney stack has lots of places for rain to get in. Water can enter through crumbling mortar, cracked flaunching, worn flashings or uncapped pots. It can show up on the chimney breast, nearby ceilings or in the roof space.
Things that often lead to a survey include:
- Staining where a gutter or parapet meets the wall
- Damp on a chimney breast
- Water through the ceiling under a flat roof
- Drips in the loft during heavy rain
For landlords with property near Kew Gardens station, a clear finding on where water gets in helps you brief a roofer right away.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- How soon the report will arrive
- What the survey will not cover
- Whether you get a written report with photos
- How they’ll see the roof: from the ground, the loft, the roof or by drone
FAQs for North Sheen
Do you cover North Sheen?
We do. Every survey there gets the same written report with photos, and visits run on weekdays and weekends.
How do I find out if my home in North Sheen is listed?
The council and Historic England’s list are the places to check. It is worth checking before planning roof work, as both can affect what’s allowed.
Can a leak be traced on a dry day?
In many cases, yes. Leaks leave clues, such as staining, damp timber and moisture in materials. Intermittent leaks can be harder, so photos and notes from when it leaks help a lot.
What will the report tell me?
It explains what we saw, what it means and what we’d suggest, with photographs throughout. Anything we couldn’t see safely is noted too.
Do you test for asbestos?
No. We do not sample or test for asbestos. The report may flag materials that could contain asbestos on buildings built or refurbished before 2000.
Is it a leak or condensation?
Many apparent leaks turn out to be condensation. A leak normally shows in one area and follows rain, while condensation is often widespread and worst on cold days. The report explains which it looks like and what to do.
How many surveys have you done?
We have completed more than 5,000 surveys, across 20+ years of surveying roofs.
Leaks and storm damage in North Sheen
Outer London has plenty of Victorian and Edwardian terraces with slate roofs, but also a great many interwar semis, often with hipped roofs in clay or concrete tiles. Bay roofs, hip ridges and dormers from later loft conversions are the details that set these houses apart. Each of these roof types has its own typical places for water to get in. Historic houses like Kew Palace, about 1 mile north-west, show how far back building in the area around North Sheen goes. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, like lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years.
Shop and office owners around Livat Hammersmith may find that water through a ceiling can damage stock and close a sales floor, so the source needs finding fast. The streets around a church such as The Barn Church are often among the oldest in a place, and if yours is one of the older homes nearby, the leak may come from a chimney, a valley or tired lead rather than the covering itself.
North Sheen is about 3 miles south of Acton, in Greater London. We provide roof leak investigations for homes and businesses in North Sheen and nearby. North Sheen is one of the towns and villages in Greater London we cover. There’s also a page for London.
Surveys in TW9, SW14 and W4 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We offer roof leak investigations to properties on Kent Road, Ibis Lane and The Avenue. Nearby, we also carry out roof leak investigations in Kew (1 mile north), Grove Park (1 mile north-east), Strand-on-the-Green (1 mile north), East Sheen (1 mile south-east) and Mortlake (1 mile south-east). Further out, we also cover London (8 miles east), City of Westminster (6 miles north-east), Marylebone (6 miles north-east), Kensington (4 miles north-east), St Pancras (8 miles north-east) and Shoreditch (9 miles east).
Local landmarks in North Sheen
We work in homes and buildings around Kew College Prep, Dukes Meadows and Chiswick School and the streets around them. North Sheen has its own railway station: Kew Gardens station. Well-known places in the area include Barnes Hospital (1.1 miles south-east) and Livat Hammersmith (2.5 miles north-east). For a walk, there is Kew Gardens Lake and Duke's Hollow.
What affects the cost of roof leak investigations
All our prices include VAT. What changes the price is:
- The type of building, from a house to a block or an office
- The shape of the roof and its details
- How big the roof is
- The use of thermal imaging or a drone
Price depends partly on the package: from £150 for Basic, £250 for Standard and £400 for Premium, inc. VAT. The roof’s size, height and access matter as well.
What we need to know
We will normally ask about:
- Pictures of the roof from a safe spot, if you have them
- Dates you are working to, such as exchange
- The type of building and roof, like pitched or flat
- Your postcode, so we can check access and travel
To book a survey, phone 07833 053749 or email us and tell us the address and what’s prompted the survey. We will confirm the price before booking.
Checking the roof from the ground
Watch the gutters in a downpour, from a window or the ground. Overflowing water can point to a blockage or a sagging run.
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Photograph them and note the date, which helps when we check the roof.
Landlord and commercial surveys in North Sheen
Surveys can also be booked by buyers’ agents acting for a client. Reports are emailed, so they’re easy to pass on, photographs included.
Freeholders and residents’ companies use a roof report to plan and budget.
Also near North Sheen
What else we do in North Sheen
What a roof leak investigation doesn’t cover
In fairness, a roof survey has limits:
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
- Carrying out the fix
- A structural engineer’s report
If in doubt, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll recommend the right survey before you book. What a survey covers and does not.
Roofs we survey in North Sheen
- Rooflights and dormers
- Slate and tile slopes
- Flat roof details
- Valleys and parapet gutters
- The roof space
- Chimney stacks
- Lead flashings