Isle of Wight · London and the South East
Roof leak investigation in St Lawrence, Isle of Wight
Tracing where water is getting into your roof in St Lawrence. More than 5,000 surveys completed across London and South East England.
- Wet patches on loft insulation
- Damp underlay across a wide area
- Leaks that appear only in driving rain
FAQs for St Lawrence
Do you cover smaller places like St Lawrence?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We work right across London and the South East. Just mention lanes, gates or anything else about the route when booking.
Is the coastal weather around St Lawrence hard on roofs?
It can do. Within about 1 mile of the sea, as St Lawrence is, metal fixings wear faster and gales find any loose ridge or slate.
Will you fix the leak as part of this?
Our job here is to trace the leak and explain it, and the repair is separate. With the report, a roofer knows exactly where to look.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. It is a specialist roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 building survey. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
What happens after the survey?
The report arrives by email. The Standard Survey includes a follow-up consultation, and the Premium Survey an in-person consultation, so you can talk the findings through.
Do you look in the loft space?
If there is a loft and safe access to it, yes. The loft space can show things the outside can’t, like damp timbers, staining or daylight.
Is this an asbestos survey?
No. Asbestos surveys and testing are not part of what we do. We flag materials that could contain asbestos, such as cement sheets or soffits on pre-2000 buildings and suggest a specialist asbestos surveyor checks them before any work.
Roof leak investigation in St Lawrence: what you get
Some leaks only appear in certain weather. Driving rain from one direction, melting snow or a gutter that overflows in a downpour can all set it off. Notes on when it leaks, and what the weather was doing, help us, along with any photos you’ve taken. We look for the clues it leaves behind, like tide marks, stained timbers and damp underlay. Moisture readings show where materials are still wet. We’re frequently asked to look into damp walls below an overflowing gutter and leaks at a dormer or roof window, across slate and tile slopes, chimney stacks and rooflights and dormers.
Roofs in small places like St Lawrence often stand in the open, where storms hit ridges, verges and chimneys hardest. Once water gets into older walls, it takes a long time to dry, which makes finding the cause quickly worthwhile. A record with photos is useful if you need to show the damage to anyone else.
Pictures do a lot of the work in our reports, because a photo of a cracked flashing says more than a paragraph. Anything out of sight on the day is listed as such.
- Where
- St Lawrence (PO38)
- Region
- Isle of Wight
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- A written report with photos, by email
- When we survey
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Insured
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What you can safely check yourself
Fresh stains on ceilings or walls after rain are worth noting. Take a photo and write down when you saw it, as it helps a surveyor trace the cause.
Your own check is a good start, but it is not a survey. From ground level, valleys, flashings and the backs of chimneys are often out of sight, and those are details a survey looks at closely.
What affects the cost of roof leak investigations
The price reflects the time and kit the roof needs. That comes down to:
- How big the roof is
- Features like valleys, chimneys, dormers and parapets
- Basic, Standard or Premium
- Building height and the viewpoints available
To find out what your survey will cost, call 07833 053749 or use the contact form with the address and a few details. The price is agreed before a date is set.
Getting in touch
You do not need to know any roofing terms. Just tell us:
- Any photos you have, taken from ground level or a window
- Any marks or damp showing indoors
- Whether there is a loft hatch, a shared roof or tricky access
- Why you want a survey: buying, a leak, a storm or new work
When you are ready to go ahead, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form. From there it’s a case of choosing a package, agreeing the price and fixing a day, weekday or weekend.
Before and after the survey
There’s plenty you can do without going near the roof. Here’s what helps most:
- Move stored items away from the hatch
- Write down the wind direction and rain when it leaks
- Protect furniture and flooring under the leak
- Photograph the stain each time it appears
If the leak turns out to be condensation, the report says so, and suggest how the roof space could be better ventilated. It saves chasing a leak that is not there.
Plan a roof survey every few years. Flashings, valleys and flat roof details are frequent weak points, and wear is easier to deal with before water gets in.
Signs you need a roof leak investigation in St Lawrence
Blocked gutters can look like a roof leak. Parapet and box gutters are the worst for this, because when they block, water backs up and runs inside.
It’s worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Water through the ceiling under a flat roof
- Drips from nail tips in a cold loft
- A leak that comes and goes with the weather
- Water coming in around a roof light or dormer
If you look after a building like St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy, water through a big roof can travel a long way before it drips, so the search covers more than the obvious spot.
Before booking any roof surveyor
- Whether they hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Is there a chance to talk the report through?
- Whether VAT is added on top
- Which parts of the roof they’ll actually see
What we do, step by step
We will ask a few questions first, like when any problem began and what work has been done before. Then the inspection itself takes about 1–2 hours, more where the leak is intermittent or the roof is large. Older roofs in small places like St Lawrence can have low, tight loft spaces, so it’s useful to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. Only areas that can be reached safely are inspected.
- You pick a Basic, Standard or Premium Survey.
- We agree a date, including weekends.
- We inspect inside and out, starting from the stain.
- Moisture detection and thermal imaging are used where your package includes them and they help.
- You get photos, the likely cause and clear recommendations.
How to prepare
- Keep pets inside or away from the areas we’re looking at
- If the roof is shared, arrange access with whoever manages the building
- Move anything stored under the loft hatch
How to book
If you are buying, it helps to book soon after your offer is 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.
Related advice
Leaks and storm damage in St Lawrence
The coast is about 1 mile or less from St Lawrence, so there’s more wind and more salt in the air than further inland. In a coastal gale, rain is driven sideways into laps, verges and flashings, while salt slowly corrodes metal fixings and flashings. Rylstone Manor, about 3.8 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around St Lawrence. On older houses around here, roofs frequently carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead.
If you run a hotel or guest house in or near St Lawrence, a roof problem can mean rooms out of use, so it’s worth knowing the roof’s condition. Take an older house close to St Lawrence's Church: the leak may come from a chimney, a valley or tired lead rather than the covering itself.
St Lawrence is about 4 miles south-west of Shanklin, in the Isle of Wight. St Lawrence gets the same service as everywhere else we work: a close look at whatever is safely visible, photographs and a clear written report. St Lawrence is one of the towns and villages in the Isle of Wight we cover for roof leak investigations. Portsmouth is in our area too.
We survey roofs across the PO38 postcode area for roof leak investigations. We cover properties on Twining Road, Whitwell Road and Woolverton Road. Close by, we survey roofs in Steephill (1 mile east), Nettlecombe (1 mile north-west), Whitwell (1 mile north-west), Ventnor (1 mile east) and Bierley (2 miles north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Newport (8 miles north), Ryde (10 miles north), Cowes (12 miles north), Sandown (6 miles north-east), Shanklin (4 miles north-east) and East Cowes (12 miles north). If you’re somewhere remote, a little more planning is needed, so let us know when you contact us.
Near you in St Lawrence
Around St Lawrence, our work takes us to homes and buildings near St Catherine's School. The closest station to St Lawrence is Shanklin station, roughly 4.1 miles north-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Arthur Webster Memorial Hospital for Children (4.1 miles north-east) and Longshoremans Museum (1.3 miles east). Green spaces nearby include Stenbury Down.
What else we do in St Lawrence
What we cannot see
No survey can tell you everything, and it is better to know them up front. Bear these in mind:
- Structural calculations (that’s a structural engineer’s job)
- Leaks from plumbing, tanks or pipework rather than the roof
- Faults hidden behind ceilings or boarding
If you’re not sure which survey you need, ring 07833 053749 or email us and we will give you a straight answer. What a survey covers and does not.
Roof types and parts we check
- Flat roof details
- Valleys and parapet gutters
- Chimney stacks
- Slate and tile slopes
- Lead flashings
- Rooflights and dormers
- The roof space