Kent · London and the South East
Roof Survey in Upper Harbledown
A roof condition survey for homes and buildings across Upper Harbledown, with drones and thermal imaging where they help. Call or email for a price.
- Crumbling chimney pointing or cracked flaunching
- Slipped, cracked or missing slates and tiles
- Lifted, split or missing lead flashings
What you can safely check yourself
After strong wind, take a look from the pavement or garden: pieces of tile or slate on the ground, a gap in the ridge or a lifted flashing are all worth noting. Leave anything above ground level to a survey.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Take a photo and write down when you saw it.
Roof survey in Upper Harbledown
Many homes have several roofs, not just one. Rear extensions, dormers, porches and garages often have flat roofs in felt, EPDM rubber, GRP or asphalt. They’re included alongside the main roof, including signs of standing water, splits and tired upstands. Flat roofs often need attention long before the main roof. A felt roof often lasts around 15 to 20 years, and GRP up to about 30. If you’ve noticed ridge tiles that have lifted or moved and flashings that have come away from the wall, we can find out what’s behind it.
In a small place like Upper Harbledown, many roofs stand in the open, which is hard on ridges, chimneys, flashings and gutters. Damp in old walls is slow to dry, so a small leak can do a lot of harm. A written report sets out what to deal with and in what order. Lead flashings and old chimney stacks are frequently where weather gets in first.
The written findings come by email, ready to forward to whoever needs them. Basic reports come within 48 hours, Standard within 24–48 hours and Premium on the day.
- Location
- Upper Harbledown (CT2)
- Region
- Kent
- Price
- From £150 inc. VAT
- Report
- A written report with photos, by email
- Survey days
- Weekdays and weekends
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Telephone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Upper Harbledown: your questions answered
Is Upper Harbledown within the area you cover?
Yes, we do. Our area covers London and South East England, and smaller places are part of that. The journey is planned ahead, so it helps to know about access.
Do roofs near the sea, like those around Upper Harbledown, take more of a battering?
Places near the sea get more wind and more salt in the air than inland, and both are hard on roofs. Salt corrodes metal fixings and flashings, and wind lifts loose slates, tiles and ridge pieces.
Will you fly a drone over my roof?
Where it’s applicable and safe, yes. We’re a CAA-registered drone operator (Flyer ID and Operator ID), flying a sub-250g drone. Drone inspection is part of the Drone Roof Survey and the Premium Survey, where it applies.
Is your survey a structural engineer’s report?
No. Where we see something that needs a structural engineer, the report says so. Our survey isn’t a structural engineer’s report.
Do I need to be at home?
That depends on the survey. Inside the building and in the loft, we need someone to let us in, while outside access can be discussed when booking.
Do you carry out surveys on Saturdays and Sundays?
We carry out surveys on any day of the week. To arrange a date, ring 07833 053749 or use the contact form.
Does this replace a RICS home survey?
No. Our survey is a roof survey, not a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey of the whole building. It focuses on the roof, so it sits alongside a building survey rather than replacing it.
Different roofs, different checks
Natural slate
From the loft, we check the underside of a slate roof. There may be old felt underlay, or none at all on very old roofs, and we note its condition.
Flat roof coverings
Standing water, blisters and splits all point to wear. Upstands and outlets are checked too, since leaks frequently start there.
Roof surveys around Upper Harbledown
Upper Harbledown lies within about 5 miles of the sea, where wind off the sea can be strong. A small drone can’t fly safely in strong wind or a downpour, so the weather on the day decides whether a flight goes ahead. Older houses across Kent often have handmade clay or peg tiles, and many have tile-hung walls. Oast houses and timber-framed Wealden hall houses are part of the county’s older buildings too. Whichever you have, the details that tend to fail before the covering itself get the closest look.
The streets around a church such as Church of St. Gabriel are frequently among the oldest in a place, and if your home is one of the older ones nearby, corroded nails, tired lead and weathered chimney pointing are the things to watch on older roofs. For site and facilities teams at buildings like St Edmund's School, its roofs, gutters and any chimneys need the same checks as a house’s, just on a bigger scale. Landlords with a home close to Canterbury West station may find that a roof report between tenancies helps plan work before a small defect becomes a tenant’s leak.
Upper Harbledown is about 2 miles west of Canterbury, in Kent. We carry out roof surveys in Upper Harbledown for houses, flats, blocks and commercial buildings, with a written report and photographs every time. Upper Harbledown is one of the places in Kent we cover for roof surveys.
Here we cover the CT2 postcode area for roof surveys. We offer roof surveys to properties on Roman Road, The Green and Limes Place and the roads around them. Other places close to Upper Harbledown include Rough Common (1 mile north-east), Harbledown (1 mile east), Chartham Hatch (1 mile south-west), Thanington (1 mile south-east) and Wincheap (2 miles south-east). We also work in nearby towns such as Ashford (12 miles south-west), Dover (15 miles south-east), Sittingbourne (14 miles west), Folkestone (15 miles south-east), Whitstable (5 miles north) and Faversham (7 miles west).
What’s near Upper Harbledown
We work in homes and buildings around No Man's Orchard, The Canterbury Academy and The Dog and Bear pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Upper Harbledown is Canterbury West station, about 1.8 miles east of the centre. A little further out are Canterbury Castle (1.9 miles east) and Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr (2 miles east). Not far away are Blean Woods RSPB Reserve.
What we do, step by step
Where it’s relevant and can be reached safely, the roof space is checked as well as the outside. In the loft, the signs we look for are staining, damp, daylight and sagging. All in, the survey usually takes between one and two hours for an ordinary house roof, and longer if there are extensions, dormers or several chimneys. Around Upper Harbledown, older homes can have small or awkward roof spaces, so it helps to know whether there’s a loft hatch and how easy it is to reach. We only go where it’s safe.
- You tell us the address, the type of roof and what’s worrying you.
- A visit is booked for a weekday, Saturday or Sunday.
- We look at the roof from every safe viewpoint outside.
- We then look in the loft for damp, staining and the condition of the underlay.
- You receive the report with photos and recommendations, prioritised by urgency.
Before the survey
- Let us know about parking near the property
- Check we can get to the back of the property
- If you are buying, let the agent know when we are coming
Arrange a survey
Getting a price is simple: just call 07833 053749 or use the contact form and give us a few details about the property and we’ll point you to the right survey. We confirm the price before anything is booked.
Advice
Landlords, agents and block managers in Upper Harbledown
Where a roof is shared: access has to be agreed with whoever owns or manages the building. Let us know about it as you book and we’ll plan the visit with that in mind.
We survey roofs for landlords and letting agents as well as householders. The report gives you a dated record of the roof, with photographs.
What this survey can’t tell you
No survey can tell you everything, and we’d rather be clear about that before you book. Bear these in mind:
- Faults hidden behind ceilings or boarding
- Walls, floors and services below the roof
- A structural engineer’s report
If you’re not sure which survey you need, call 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer before you book. What our survey covers.
What we check
- Chimney stacks
- Flat roofs
- Lead flashings
- Ridges, hips and valleys
- Clay and concrete tiles
- Natural slate
- The roof space
Practical tips
From years of surveys, a few habits stand out:
- Let us know about any leaks or stains you’ve seen
- Photograph stains when they appear
- Move stored items away from the loft hatch
- Include dormers, porches and garages as you book
The Premium Survey includes a 12-month follow-up. It shows how the roof has fared over the year, and whether work has done its job.
Have gutters and valleys cleared regularly, ideally after the leaves have fallen. Use a gutter contractor rather than climbing a ladder yourself. Clear gutters prevent a lot of damp.