Roof and chimney surveys in Lewisham
Sometimes you do not need work doing. You need to know what condition things are actually in, and what it would cost to put right — before you buy, before you sell, or before you decide whether to worry.
A roof and chimney condition survey is exactly that: someone who works on these roofs going up, looking properly, and telling you what they find in writing. No obligation to have the work done, and no incentive for us to tell you it is worse than it is.
When a survey is the right thing to ask for
Your homebuyer report flagged the roof or chimney
This is the most common reason people call us. A RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey will very often note that the chimney needs repointing, that the flaunching is cracked, or that slates are slipping — and then recommend that you obtain a quotation from a specialist contractor before proceeding. That is what surveyors are supposed to do, but it leaves you holding an unquantified risk on a purchase.
Surveyors inspect from ground level and from within the loft. They rarely go onto the roof. We can look at the specific items the report raised and tell you what they mean in money.
You are buying a period property
Much of Lewisham's housing is over a hundred years old with original stacks. The difference between a chimney that needs repointing and one that needs rebuilding is several thousand pounds, and it is not visible from the pavement. Knowing which you are buying is worth establishing before exchange.
You are selling
Knowing what a buyer's surveyor is likely to find gives you the choice of fixing it, pricing it in, or being ready with a quotation when it is raised. Being surprised by it during a negotiation is the expensive option.
After a storm
Wind damage is often partial and hard to see — a lifted flashing, a cracked pot, ridge tiles that have moved but not fallen. An inspection establishes what has happened, which matters both for repair and for any insurance claim. See emergency roof repairs if something is actively wrong now.
You have had conflicting advice
If you have had one contractor tell you the roof needs replacing and another say it needs a repair, an independent assessment is worth having. This is particularly worth doing if the "you need a new roof" verdict came from someone who knocked on your door.
Recurring damp you cannot pin down
Where damp keeps returning and nobody has established why, a proper look at the roof, the chimney and the junctions between them frequently finds it. See damp around a chimney breast and roof leak repair.
What we look at
The chimney
- Brickwork condition — spalling, erosion, previous repairs
- Mortar joints: depth, hardness, whether cement has been used on soft brick
- Flaunching and pots
- Flashing and the chase it sits in
- Whether the stack is plumb, and any signs of movement
- Evidence of sulphate attack — horizontal cracking, one-sided expansion
- Spalling, and whether hard cement pointing caused it
- Whether the stack is shared, and its condition on the neighbour's side
The roof
- Covering condition — slipped, broken, delaminating or missing units
- Whether slippage is isolated damage or a nail-fatigue pattern
- Ridge, hip and verge bedding
- Valleys and abutments
- Flat roof areas, upstands and outlets
- Rainwater goods and where they discharge
- Underlay condition and daylight visible from the loft, where accessible
What you get
- Photographs of anything we are describing, taken at roof level — you should be able to see what we saw rather than take our word for it
- A written report of the condition, in plain English
- A distinction between urgent, soon and monitor — not everything found needs doing, and we will say which is which
- Costed recommendations for the items that do need doing, with access costs identified separately
- An honest view on remaining life where a covering is nearing the end — useful when deciding between repair and replacement
What this is not. This is a specialist roof and chimney condition inspection, not a RICS building survey and not a structural engineer's report. If a stack shows signs of significant structural movement, or the roof structure itself appears to be deflecting, the right next step is a structural engineer and we will tell you so rather than quoting for masonry.
Access
How closely we can inspect depends on how we can get to it. Some properties can be assessed adequately from a ladder and from the loft; others need a tower or scaffold for anything meaningful, particularly for a close look at a stack on a three-storey terrace. We will tell you in advance what level of access your property needs and what that means, so there are no surprises.
Where a survey leads to work, the assessment has already done most of the diagnostic job — which is usually reflected in what follows.
Book a roof and chimney inspection
Tell us what has prompted it — a survey finding, a purchase, a storm, or recurring damp — and we will tell you what level of inspection makes sense.
Survey questions
My homebuyer survey says the chimney needs repointing. Is that serious?
On its own, usually not — repointing is routine maintenance on a period stack. What matters is whether it is only repointing. Surveyors report what they can see from the ground, and eroded joints visible from below often sit alongside cracked flaunching, failed flashing or spalled brickwork that cannot be seen from there. The point of a closer look is to establish whether you are dealing with the smaller job or the larger one.
Can you inspect before I have exchanged on the property?
Yes, with the current owner's permission, which estate agents can normally arrange. It is worth doing at the point the survey raises a concern rather than after completion, because that is when the finding still has value in a negotiation.
Will you use a drone?
Photographs from height can be genuinely useful for an overview, particularly on a roof that is otherwise hard to see. But an image is not a substitute for looking closely at mortar joints and pressing a finger into them — the difference between sound pointing and pointing that has turned to sand is something you establish by hand, not from a photograph.
Do you charge for the inspection?
It depends on what is involved. A look at a specific item raised in a survey is a different proposition from a full documented condition report with scaffold access. Tell us what you need when you call and we will be clear about cost before anything is arranged.
Will you just tell me I need work doing?
Not if you do not. A meaningful proportion of the inspections we do end with "this is fine for now, look at it again in a few years". A report that finds problems on every single property is not a report, it is a sales tool.