Reading · London and the South East
Thermal Roof Survey in Sonning
Thermal roof surveys around Sonning, with findings in writing and pictures to back them up. Weekday and weekend visits available.
- Patches of heat loss across the roof
- Ceilings that feel colder in places
- Stains that keep coming back
Thermal roof survey in Sonning
Thermal imaging is part of our Premium Survey, which starts from £400. It also includes a drone inspection where it applies, a structural analysis and a same-day report. An in-person consultation and a 12-month follow-up are included too. To book, just ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you’ve noticed. For big commercial roofs, we quote on size and access. If you’re worried about gaps in loft insulation and damp where roofs meet walls and chimneys, a survey will tell you what’s going on, whatever the roof.
Older buildings in small places like Sonning may be listed or in a conservation area. Neither a drone survey nor a thermal survey involves any work on the roof, so it’s a gentle way to see the condition of an old roof. Check with the council before planning any work on a listed building or one in a conservation area.
You can share the report with anyone who needs it: your solicitor, the seller, your insurer, a roofer or the building’s managing agent, whichever applies.
- Where
- Sonning (RG4)
- Region
- Reading
- Cost
- From £400 inc. VAT
- Reports
- Emailed report with photos and recommendations
- When we survey
- Monday to Sunday, daytime
- Cover
- PI and public liability insurance
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
The survey, step by step
There isn’t much for you to do on the day. Show us any stains, drips or problem areas you know about, and we’ll take it from there. A typical survey takes an hour or two at most homes, and about three to four hours for a commercial roof. Older roofs in small places like Sonning can have low, tight loft spaces, so let us know about the loft hatch and any ladder. We only go where it is safe.
- First we go over the roof, the problem you’ve noticed and the conditions forecast for the visit.
- We carry out a visual inspection of the roof from wherever it can safely be seen.
- A thermal camera records how the surface temperature varies across the roof.
- We check the patterns that stand out with moisture readings where there is safe access.
- You get a report with thermal images, photographs and our recommendations.
Before we arrive
- Check we can get to the back of the property
- Make a note of anything you’d like us to look at
- Let us know about parking before the day
How to book
Thermal roof survey starts from £400, including VAT. What you pay depends on the roof’s size, access and the package, so phone 07833 053749 or drop us an email with the details.
Advice
What affects the cost of thermal roof surveys
We confirm the price for your roof before booking. This is what makes a difference:
- How big the roof is
- The shape of the roof and its details
- Whether it’s a home or a commercial building
- The number of roofs, including extensions and garages
A Basic Survey starts from £150, inc. VAT. Standard is from £250 and Premium from £400. We confirm the price for your roof before booking.
What we need to know
What helps most when you contact us:
- The kind of building and roof involved
- Photos of the roof, taken safely from ground level or a window
- Any stains, drips or damp patches you’ve seen indoors
- How the loft is reached, if there is one
To book a survey, ring 07833 053749 or email us with the address and what you’d like to know about the roof. We’ll confirm the price before you book.
When you need someone else
To be straight with you, a roof survey has limits:
- An energy rating for the building
- Clear results when the conditions on the day are poor
- Hidden layers that need to be opened up to check
If in doubt, phone 07833 053749 or send us an email and we’ll suggest the right survey. What a survey covers and does not.
What we look at
- Commercial roofs
- Insulated roof spaces
- Ceilings below the roof
- Flat roofs
- Loft conversions
- Pitched roof slopes
What we are asked to look at in Sonning
People frequently book a thermal survey when a damp patch has no obvious cause. A leak may start well away from where the stain appears. Temperature patterns can help narrow down where to look.
A survey can pick up problems such as:
- Possible trapped moisture under a flat roof covering
- Damp around roof outlets and upstands
- Thin or uneven insulation in the roof
- Stains that keep coming back
If you live in an older home near St Andrew's Church, thin or patchy insulation under an old roof frequently shows up clearly on a thermal image.
Questions to ask before booking
- Do they have a CAA Flyer ID and Operator ID for drone work?
- What’s outside the scope of the survey
- How long the report takes to arrive
- How they plan to inspect the roof safely
Common questions in Sonning
Do you cover smaller places like Sonning?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. We cover the whole of London and South East England. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when you book.
Is my home in Sonning listed or in a conservation area?
You can check whether a building is listed on Historic England’s list, and your council can tell you if it is in a conservation area. If a home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission.
How fast do I get the report?
The Premium Survey report comes the same day, the Standard within 24–48 hours and the Basic within 48 hours. Each one is emailed, ready to forward.
Is it the same as a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey?
No. Our survey looks at the roof, not the whole building. If you need a full building survey, you’ll need a RICS survey as well.
Can you check my loft insulation with a thermal camera?
The camera can point to heat loss and gaps in insulation. The survey isn’t an energy rating or a heat loss calculation, but the report shows where to look more closely.
Can you tell me if my roof has asbestos?
No. Our report may flag materials that could contain asbestos, but confirming it is a job for a specialist asbestos surveyor. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
What will the report tell me?
A report with photographs, explaining the condition of the roof, any defects and our recommendations, in order of urgency where relevant. The Standard Survey adds moisture detection and a structural check, and the Premium Survey adds thermal imaging, drone inspection where applicable and structural analysis.
What you can safely check yourself
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’s where a survey comes in, using safe viewpoints and a drone where applicable.
After heavy rain, check ceilings and the tops of walls for new stains. Photograph them and note the date, which helps when we look at the roof.
Flying and imaging in Sonning
England has around 10,000 conservation areas and about 500,000 listed buildings. If your home is listed, changes that affect its special interest need listed building consent, and in a conservation area re-roofing in different materials may need permission, so the council is the place to ask. Across the South East, older homes tend to have slate or clay tiles, and many later ones concrete tiles, and flat-roofed additions turn up almost everywhere. Older coverings on steep or tall roofs are hard to judge from below, so close-up close-up aerial shots and thermal images help.
For businesses in and around places such as The Oracle, large commercial roofs are often easiest to see from the air or with a thermal camera. If you look after a building like Sonning Church of England Primary School, big roofs are where photos from the air and thermal images show the most at once.
Sonning is about 1 mile north-west of Woodley, in Reading. Anywhere in Sonning, we can carry out thermal roof surveys at your property, on a weekday, Saturday or Sunday. Our Reading coverage includes Sonning and the places around it.
We survey roofs across RG4 for thermal roof surveys. That includes homes and businesses on High Street, Parkway Drive and Pound Lane and the roads around them. Sonning is on the B478 and B4446, so it is easy for us to get to. Neighbouring places we cover for thermal roof surveys include Play Hatch (1 mile north-west), Dunsden Green (2 miles north-west), Newtown (2 miles south-west), Caversham Park Village (2 miles north-west) and Littlestead Green (2 miles north-west). Larger places within reach include Caversham (3 miles west), Norcot (5 miles west), West Reading (4 miles west), Tilehurst Within (5 miles west), Shinfield (5 miles south-west) and Arborfield Garrison (6 miles south).
Landmarks near Sonning
Around Sonning, our work takes us to homes and buildings near Ali's Pond Local Nature Reserve, Bull Inn and Waingels College and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Twyford station, roughly 1.9 miles east of the centre. Nearby you will also find Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre Museum (2.5 miles south-west) and Royal Berkshire Hospital (2.6 miles south-west). The countryside around Sonning includes Sonning Hill and South Lake.
Nearby places to Sonning
Other services in Sonning
Why act early in Sonning
Before replacing a large flat roof, it helps to know how much of it is actually wet. Thermal imaging, checked with moisture readings, gives a clearer picture before you commit. In a place like Sonning, a barn or garage roof left to fail puts whatever is inside at risk. A quick look before winter can save a lot.
Thermal roof survey starts from £400, including VAT. Basic starts from £150, Standard from £250 and Premium from £400, VAT included, and we can help you choose.
Why book us in Sonning
- PI and public liability insurance
- 98% customer satisfaction
- Surveys seven days a week
- More than 5,000 surveys completed
See our cost guide and two real surveys.