Greater London · London and the South East
Roof survey in Coldharbour, Greater London
Find out what’s going on with the roof before you spend money on it. We carry out roof surveys in Coldharbour.
- Water stains on rafters and ceiling joists
- Debris building up in roof valleys
- Loose chimney pots
About our roof survey in Coldharbour
Our roof surveys cover Coldharbour and the wider South East. We carry out surveys on weekdays and at weekends. We’re insured for professional indemnity and public liability. You get a written report by email, with photos and clear recommendations. Houses, flats and commercial buildings all follow the same careful process. When you are ready to book, call 07833 053749 or email us. If you’ve noticed crumbling chimney pointing or cracked flaunching and cracked or blistered flat roof coverings, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
Much of London’s housing is flats, in converted houses or purpose-built blocks, so roofs are often shared between several households. Landlords, managing agents and residents’ companies need to know what condition it’s in and what work is coming up, in Coldharbour as anywhere. A defect on a shared roof can reach more than one flat. A report gives everyone the same picture to plan from, with photos.
If any part of the roof couldn’t be seen safely, we say so in the report. You’ll know exactly what was inspected and what wasn’t.
- Place
- Coldharbour (SE9, BR7)
- Wider area
- Greater London
- Cost
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Your report
- Written, with photos, emailed to you
- Survey days
- Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Cover
- Professional indemnity and public liability
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
When to book a survey in Coldharbour
A chimney stack takes more weather than almost any other part of a roof. Mortar crumbles, the flaunching around the pots cracks and stacks can lean. Water that gets into a stack can show up as damp in the rooms below.
It’s worth booking a survey if you’ve seen:
- Cracked mortar along the ridge
- Flashings that have come away from the wall
- Cracked or blistered flat roof coverings
- Leaning or weathered chimney stacks
For site and facilities teams at buildings like Mottingham Primary School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale.
What to check before booking
- Whether the inside of the roof is included
- What experience they bring
- Their insurance cover
- Is VAT included in the price?
Rented homes, blocks and businesses
Buyers’ agents can book surveys on behalf of their clients. The report is emailed, so it can go straight to your client, photographs included.
If you own several properties, surveys can be booked for more than one address. To discuss a number of properties, phone 07833 053749 or email us.
Roof surveys in Coldharbour: local notes
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. On a semi of that age, the small roofs over the bays, the hip tiles and any later dormer each need their own look. Whatever the covering, it is often the fixings, flashings, valleys and gutters that give out first. With Eltham Palace about 1.1 miles north, Coldharbour sits in an area with a long building history. 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 any change of roofing material on a listed home needs checking with the council first.
If you live near a park like Elmstead Wood, or anywhere with mature trees, autumn leaves can block gutters and valleys, and blocked gutters overflow and soak walls. If you own a rental within reach of Mottingham station, knowing the condition of the roof, chimneys and gutters helps you plan work rather than react to complaints.
Coldharbour is about 4 miles north-west of Orpington, in Greater London. We provide roof surveys for homes and businesses in Coldharbour. Coldharbour is one of the places in Greater London where we work. We also survey roofs in London.
Postcode districts we cover here for roof surveys: SE9 and BR7. You’ll find streets such as Green Lane, Horley Road and Dorset Road, all of which we cover. We also cover the places around Coldharbour: Mottingham (1 mile west), Chinbrook (1 mile west), New Eltham (1 mile north-east), Eltham (1 mile north) and Middle Park (1 mile north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover London (8 miles north-west), City of Westminster (11 miles north-west), Marylebone (10 miles north-west), Kensington (12 miles north-west), St Pancras (10 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (9 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Coldharbour
Typical jobs here are in homes near Elmstead Wood and St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School. The nearest railway station is Mottingham station, about 0.6 miles north. A little further out are The Glades (2.4 miles south-west) and Metropolitan Police Museum (2.2 miles east). For a walk, there’s The Tarn and Summer Hill.
Roof by roof
Natural slate
Inside the loft space, we check what’s under the slates. Older roofs may have bitumen felt underlay, and very old roofs none, and we note its condition.
Concrete interlocking tiles
Concrete interlocking tiles are common on post-war and newer homes. They last well, but their surface erodes slowly, and they can crack.
What a survey costs
Not every roof costs the same to survey, and it comes down to:
- The shape of the roof and its details
- Roof area
- Whether it is a home or a commercial building
- Height and safe access
Roof survey starts from £150, including VAT. Basic starts from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, VAT included.
What to let us know when you contact us
We will usually ask about:
- Any deadline, such as an exchange date
- Where water is showing inside, if it is
- What kind of property and roof it is
- What’s prompted the survey
For a price for roof surveys in Coldharbour, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form. The address, the type of property and what you’d like to know help us give you an accurate price.
FAQs for Coldharbour
Is drone flying allowed in Coldharbour?
The answer turns on the exact location and the conditions on the day. Across London there are restriction zones around Heathrow, London City and London Heliport, plus restricted areas over Hyde Park, the City of London and the Isle of Dogs. Each address is checked against all of them before the drone goes up. Every flight is checked against the Drone Safety Map first, including zones around airports and prisons. Strong wind or heavy rain also stops a small drone flying, though the rest of the survey goes ahead either way.
I let a flat near Mottingham station. Can you check the roof?
Yes. We survey roofs for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as owners. You can phone 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you need.
How long does a roof survey take?
The visit typically takes between one and two hours for most homes, depending on how many separate roofs there are. We’ll confirm what to expect when we arrange the visit.
Do you need to get into the loft?
Where it is relevant to the survey and there’s safe access, yes. A clear path to the hatch helps.
How do I book a survey in Coldharbour?
The quickest way is to ring 07833 053749 or send us an email. Let us know the address and a little about the roof, and we’ll point you to the right survey. Surveys run on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Can you survey a shared roof?
Yes. Shared roofs just need a little more planning, with the freeholder or managing agent. Mention it when you get in touch and we’ll plan the survey around it.
Is Coldharbour in your area?
Yes, we do. Coldharbour is part of the area we cover.
Also near Coldharbour
Also in Coldharbour
How it works
The visit has one job: to look at the roof as closely as is safe and record what we find. Everything we note and photograph goes into the written report. It typically takes roughly 1–2 hours for most homes, depending on how many separate roofs there are. Surveys in Coldharbour can be booked for any day of the week. It helps if you can point us to a visitor permit or a nearby bay. Upstairs rooms at the back are useful too, as they frequently give the best view of a rear addition.
- You let us know about the property and any concerns.
- A visit is booked for a weekday or a weekend.
- We inspect from ground level, from windows, from the loft space and from the roof where safe.
- We check the coverings, ridges, hips, valleys, flashings, chimneys and gutters, and photograph what we find.
- We email a written report with photographs and recommendations.
Getting ready for the survey
- Jot down any questions you want answered
- Buyers: confirm access with the estate agent or seller
- Agree roof access with the managing agent if it is shared
Book a survey
Photos help, if you have them. Take them safely from the ground or a window, and please do not climb up for a closer look. To get started, phone 07833 053749 or email us.
Related advice
Honest limits
To be straight with you, there are limits to any roof survey:
- Structural calculations (that is a structural engineer’s job)
- Whether materials contain asbestos (that needs a specialist asbestos surveyor)
- A promise that the roof will not leak in future
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or use the contact form and we’ll suggest the right survey. What our survey covers.
What this survey covers
- Ridges, hips and valleys
- Lead flashings
- Chimney stacks
- Flat roofs
- Clay and concrete tiles
- The roof space
- Natural slate