East Sussex · London and the South East
Ripe Roof Leak Investigation
Tracing where water is getting into your roof across Ripe, using drones and thermal imaging where it applies. Get in touch for a price.
- Water through the ceiling under a flat roof
- Ceiling stains that grow after rain
- Drips from nail tips in a cold loft
Roof leak investigation in Ripe: what you get
Leaks tend to begin where one part of a roof meets another. Flashings at chimneys and walls, valleys, gutters, parapets and flat roof upstands and outlets are the usual suspects. Each of these is checked in turn and follow the evidence. Every chimney, dormer and roof light adds more joints to check. We check all of them, from each safe vantage point. We’re often asked to look into drips from nail tips in a cold loft and water through the ceiling under a flat roof, on the roof space, chimney stacks and lead flashings.
Somewhere as small as Ripe, older roofs have frequently been repaired many times. That makes it hard to tell new damage from old wear, and the difference matters, especially to an insurer. We look at what can be seen safely and set out what we find. Damp in old walls and timbers is slow to dry, so the sooner the cause is found the better.
You receive the findings by email, easy to pass on to a roofer, an agent or an insurer. Basic reports come within 48 hours, Standard within 24–48 hours and Premium on the day.
- Location
- Ripe (BN8)
- Region
- East Sussex
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insurance
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Ripe: your questions answered
Is my home in Ripe listed or in a conservation area?
Start with Historic England’s list for listing and your council for conservation areas. Either can affect what roof work is allowed, so it’s worth checking before planning any.
Do you carry out roof surveys in Ripe?
Yes, Ripe is within the area we cover. We survey roofs across London and the South East. Just ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form and let us know about the property, and we will talk through which survey suits.
Can you survey at the weekend?
Visits run seven days a week in the daytime. Just say which days work for you.
Will you check the loft?
Where it’s relevant to the survey and there’s safe access, yes. Please clear anything stored under the hatch, and if the loft can’t be reached safely, the report says so.
Do you survey roofs on blocks of flats?
Yes. Shared roofs just need a little more planning. Tell us about it when booking and we will plan the survey around it.
Do you take photos of the roof?
Yes, every report has them. Pictures sit next to the findings they show, so you can see what we mean.
Is there anything I need to do before the visit?
Keep a note of when it leaks, and take photos. Move stored items away from the loft hatch. If water is near any fittings, have an electrician check them.
The survey, step by step
Safety comes first on every visit. We inspect what can safely be seen, and if part of the roof can’t be seen, the report says so. Most visits take between one and two hours, more where the leak is intermittent or the roof is large. For a village or hamlet like Ripe, the journey is planned beforehand: 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 pick a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey.
- We agree a date, including weekends.
- The investigation works from the stain back to the roof.
- Moisture detection and thermal imaging are used where your package includes them and they help.
- You get photos, the likely cause and clear recommendations.
Before the survey
- Have any paperwork from past roof work to hand
- Clear the way to the loft hatch
- Make sure we can get to the back of the property
Book a survey
Surveys can be booked for weekdays, Saturdays or Sundays. To arrange a day that suits you, phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email.
Read more
Signs you need a roof leak investigation in Ripe
A chimney stack has a good many 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.
People typically book a survey after spotting one of these:
- Water marks that spread in wet weather
- Leaks at a dormer or roof window
- Wet patches high on an inside wall
- Leaks that appear only in driving rain
Take an older house close to The Parish Church of St John the Baptist: lead flashings, valleys and old chimneys are typical places for water to get in.
Choosing a roof surveyor
- Their track record with similar roofs
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
- Will the report include photos?
- Whether you can ask questions once you have the report
Why act early in Ripe
Patching the spot above the stain often does not work. The real way in may be a metre or more away. An investigation finds the likely cause first. Where a roof is exposed, as many are in small places like Ripe, driving rain gets into any weakness, and older walls, once damp, take a long time to dry.
All our prices include VAT. Roof leak investigation starts from £150, including VAT. You’ll know the price for your roof before booking.
Why choose Independent Roof Survey in Ripe
- More than 20 years surveying roofs
- Thermal imaging and drones used where they help
- We hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
What you can safely check yourself
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from the ground or a window. Water spilling over the edge can point to a blockage or a sagging run.
The one thing to avoid is getting up close. Slates, tiles, flat roofs and rooflights can give way, and falls from height are serious. That part is for a survey.
What we can’t see
Some things cannot be seen without opening up the roof, so a survey has limits:
- A promise to find every leak on a single visit
- Defects hidden under coverings or inside walls without opening up
- Putting the leak right
Not sure which survey suits your roof? You can phone 07833 053749 or email us and we’ll tell you before you book. What a survey covers and doesn’t.
What we look at
- Rooflights and dormers
- Valleys and parapet gutters
- Slate and tile slopes
- Flat roof details
- Chimney stacks
- Lead flashings
- The roof space
Wind, rain and roofs in Ripe
In Sussex, older roofs are often handmade clay tile, frequently with tile-hanging on the walls below. Some old buildings in Sussex have Horsham stone slab roofs, and oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of East Sussex’s older buildings. Where water gets in depends a good deal on what the roof is made of and how it’s detailed. Charleston Farmhouse, about 2.3 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Ripe. Older homes in the wider area often have features worth a closer look, such as lead valleys, tall stacks and roofs that have been patched over the years, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
If you let a flat or house near Berwick (Sussex) station, a tenant living with a leak needs the cause found, not just the stain painted over.
Ripe is about 5 miles west of Hailsham, in East Sussex. We provide roof leak investigations for homes and businesses in Ripe and nearby. Ripe is one of the places in East Sussex we cover. For surveys nearby, see our Brighton page.
We work across the BN8 postcode area for roof leak investigations and the streets around it. Local streets include Carriage Mews, Channers Lane and Church Lane. We also cover the places around Ripe: Selmeston (2 miles south), Wickstreet (2 miles south-east), Laughton (2 miles north), Golden Cross (2 miles north-east) and Berwick (2 miles south). We also work in nearby towns such as Eastbourne (8 miles south-east), Bexhill-on-Sea (14 miles east), Seaford (7 miles south), Lewes (6 miles west), Hailsham (5 miles east) and Crowborough (13 miles north).
Around Ripe
We work in homes and buildings around Lamb Inn, among other places. The closest station to Ripe is Berwick (Sussex) station, roughly 2.2 miles south-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Hellingly Hospital Railway (5.1 miles east) and Museum of Agricultural Bygones (3 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Firle Beacon.
Towns and villages near Ripe
Other services in Ripe
Before and after the survey
You don’t need to be a roofer to help. What helps most:
- Let us know if there are tanks or pipes in the loft
- Clear the loft hatch so we can get in
- Let us know what has already been tried
- Put a bucket under the drip and move valuables
Once the work is done, hold on to the report. If the leak returns, it is a useful record of what was found.
Have flashings and flat roofs looked at every few years. They’re where most leaks start, and wear is easier to deal with before water gets in.