West Sussex · London and the South East
Roof leak investigation in Thorney Island, West Sussex
Tracing where water is getting into your roof for Thorney Island and the rest of West Sussex. We survey seven days a week.
- Water that shows only in certain storms
- Drips in the loft during heavy rain
- Damp underlay across a wide area
Your questions about roof leak investigations in Thorney Island
Will you come out to Thorney Island?
Yes, we do. We work right across London and the South East, and smaller places are part of that. Longer journeys are simply planned in advance.
Does a conservation area affect roof work in Thorney Island?
Your council is the best source, with Historic England’s list for listed buildings. A change of roofing material may need consent in either case, and councils can also use Article 4 directions.
Why is the stain in a different place from the leak?
Water follows the easiest path, not the shortest. On a pitched roof it frequently runs down a rafter before it shows. Tracing that path is the heart of a leak investigation.
Does someone need to be in?
Not always. If we only need the outside, we can agree that beforehand, but the loft and any rooms with damp need someone to let us in.
What happens after the survey?
You’ll receive the report by email, and you decide the next step: raise it with a seller, send it to an insurer, brief a roofer or share it with a managing agent.
How many surveys have you done?
Over 20 years and more than 5,000 surveys, across London and South East England.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes, once whoever controls the roof agrees access. On a shared roof we can only inspect the parts we’re allowed to reach.
Roof leak investigation in Thorney Island
A leak that comes and goes can be the hardest to pin down. Wind-driven rain, an overflowing gutter or snow melt may be what triggers it. Telling us when it happens helps a lot, along with any photos you’ve taken. Even on a dry day, a leak usually leaves clues: stained timbers, tide marks and damp underlay. Moisture detection shows which materials are still damp. If you are worried about water marks that spread in wet weather and staining where a gutter or parapet meets the wall, a survey will tell you what’s going on.
Roofs in small places like Thorney Island frequently stand in the open, so storms hit ridges, verges and chimneys hard. Damp in old stone, brick or timber walls is slow to dry out, so it pays to find the cause quickly. A record with photos is useful if you need to show the damage to anyone else.
Where we cannot see part of the leaking roof, the report says so. You’ll know exactly what was inspected and what wasn’t, and what we’d suggest next.
- Where
- Thorney Island (PO10)
- Wider area
- West Sussex
- Prices
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Appointments
- Weekdays and weekends
- Insured
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Different roofs, different checks
Chimney stacks
Damp on a chimney breast inside frequently starts at the top of the stack. Unused flues with open pots can let rain straight in.
Lead flashings
Lead flashings seal the joints at chimneys, walls and dormers. Lifted, split or slipped lead is a common cause, and for flashings that have been patched with bitumen.
Checking the roof from ground level
During heavy rain, look at the gutters from ground level or a window. Overflowing water can be a sign of a blockage or a gutter that has dropped.
Inside, the loft is a good place to look, with care. Take a torch and only step on boards or joists, and look for staining, damp timber or daylight coming through.
What happens on the day
The visit typically starts outside and finishes in the loft: first the slopes, edges and gutters from every safe viewpoint, then the roof space where it can be reached. All told, expect an hour or two, more where the leak is intermittent or the roof is large. Around Thorney Island, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so it is useful to know whether there is a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it is safe.
- You tell us where the water appears, when, and what the weather was doing.
- Inside, we look at the stain and the ceiling around it.
- In the loft, we follow any signs of water back towards the roof.
- We inspect the likely entry points outside, from the ground, windows and the roof where safe.
- You receive a report with the likely source, photos and recommendations.
How to prepare
- Leave a clear route to the loft
- Have keys ready for side gates, garages or roof access doors
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Arrange a survey
To book a survey, call 07833 053749 or send us an email with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. You will know the price before anything is booked.
Related advice
Why act early in Thorney Island
A leak rarely stays small. Wet timbers start to decay, plaster softens and insulation stops working. Tracing it now means less to put right later. In a place like Thorney Island, a barn or garage roof left to fail puts whatever is inside at risk. A quick look before winter can save a lot.
Every price we give includes VAT. Our price is from £150, including VAT. We confirm the exact price before booking.
What you get with us
- Thermal imaging and drone inspection where they help
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- An independent look at the roof
- Drone flown under a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
Take a look at our cost guide or what we found on two real jobs.
What we are asked to look at in Thorney Island
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. The damp may appear on a chimney breast, a ceiling or in the loft.
It’s worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Damp walls below an overflowing gutter
- Ceiling stains that grow after rain
- Wet patches on loft insulation
- Staining around the chimney inside
Living close to Eames Farm is pleasant, but mature trees mean leaves in gutters and valleys each autumn, so outlets and downpipes are worth watching.
What to check before booking
- If they fly a drone, whether they hold a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID
- What follow-up you get after the report
- What insurance they carry
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
Also near Thorney Island
What else we do in Thorney Island
For landlords and managing agents
We also survey roofs for businesses and commercial landlords. Bigger roofs take more time, so they’re priced to suit.
Freeholders and residents’ companies use a roof report to plan and budget.
Roof leak investigations around Thorney Island
The coast is about 1 mile or less from Thorney Island, where sea air brings more salt and stronger wind than inland. Driving rain off the sea can be pushed into gaps that stay dry in calmer weather, and salt air slowly wears metal fixings. Warblington Castle, about 2.1 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area around Thorney Island. On older houses around here, roofs often carry the marks of earlier repairs, from replaced slates to new lead, and a listed home or one in a conservation area may need consent for changes of material.
Take a building like Thorney Island Community Primary School: water through a big roof can travel a long way before it drips, so the search covers more than the obvious spot. The streets around a church such as The Parish Church of St Nicholas are often among the oldest in a place, and if you own one of the older houses nearby, the leak may come from a chimney, a valley or tired lead rather than the covering itself.
Thorney Island is about 4 miles south-east of Havant, in West Sussex. Bookings from Thorney Island are handled just like any other: a call or an email, a price, then a date. Across West Sussex, we cover Thorney Island. For surveys nearby, see our Portsmouth page.
All of PO10 is within our area for roof leak investigations, from the main roads to the quietest streets. We cover properties on Hunter Road, Emsworth Road and Spartan Close. Neighbouring places we cover for roof leak investigations include West Thorney (1 mile south-east), North Hayling (1 mile west), Tye (1 mile south-west), Northney (1 mile west) and Emsworth (2 miles north). Further out, we also cover Bognor Regis (11 miles east), Chichester (7 miles east), Selsey (9 miles south-east), Portfield (7 miles east), Yapton (14 miles east) and East Wittering (5 miles south-east).
Around Thorney Island
Typical jobs here are in homes near Bourne Community College and Eames Farm and the streets around them. Thorney Island’s nearest station is Southbourne station, roughly 1.8 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Havant War Memorial Hospital (3.2 miles north-west) and Emsworth Museum (1.6 miles north). Not far away are Nutborne Marshes.