Surveys & inspections · free, no obligation
A straight assessment from a working roofing contractor: what needs doing now, what can safely wait, and a written price for both. Photographed throughout, free and with no obligation, 121+ surveys carried out and 255+ installations behind the judgement.
121+ roof surveys carried out · free and no obligation · photographed throughout
The service
A survey exists to answer three questions: what is actually wrong, how urgent is it, and what will it cost to put right. We answer all three in writing, with photographs, and at no charge, because the survey is how we earn the work rather than something to charge for up front.
One of our teams gets onto the roof and, where access allows, into the loft. We look at the condition of tiles or slates, fixings, ridge and hip bedding, verges, valleys, all flashings and leadwork, the chimney stack, the underlay, the timbers, ventilation, insulation and the entire roofline and rainwater system. Everything is photographed, including the parts of the roof you will never climb up to inspect.
You then get a plain-language explanation. If the roof is sound, we will say so. If a targeted repair will genuinely see you right for years, we will tell you that too, recommending a new roof to somebody who does not need one is how contractors lose a street's worth of future work. Where replacement is the honest answer, you get a written quotation to compare against the repair option.
If it is left
Roof defects do not stay still. A slipped tile, an open flashing or a blocked valley moves water into the structure every time it rains, and the damage compounds through the winter. The difference between finding a defect in September and finding it in March is often the difference between a repair and a repair plus timber, insulation and redecoration.
Guesswork is expensive in the other direction too. Plenty of people replace roofs that had years left in them because nobody ever went up and looked, and plenty of people keep patching a roof whose underlay perished a decade ago. Both are the result of decisions made from the pavement.
For buyers and sellers, the vagueness in a homebuyer's report, 'the roof covering is nearing the end of its serviceable life', is a negotiating position for whoever knows more. A photographed roofer's survey turns that sentence into a number.
How we work
The same sequence on every job, from the first call to the photographs at the end.
Step 1
We arrange a visit at a time that suits you and bring the access equipment needed to inspect the roof safely and without damaging the covering.
Step 2
Covering, fixings, ridge, hips, verges, valleys, flashings, leadwork, chimney, roofline and rainwater goods are all examined and photographed.
Step 3
Where access allows we inspect underlay, timbers, insulation, ventilation and any signs of water ingress from inside the roof space.
Step 4
You get the photographs and a plain explanation of what needs doing now, what can wait, and what is simply age rather than a defect.
Step 5
Priced options for the recommended work, repair against replacement where both are viable, with no pressure and no charge for the survey.
What you get
Photographs of the actual defects mean you are making decisions on what is there rather than on somebody's description.
Surveys and site visits cost nothing and commit you to nothing. You keep the photographs either way.
Knowing what is urgent and what has years left lets you plan spending instead of reacting to an emergency.
For buyers and sellers, a roofer's photographed assessment turns a vague survey clause into a defensible number.
121+ surveys and 255+ installations means the advice comes from people who fit roofs, not just look at them.
If the roof is fine, we say it is fine. That is the whole reason people call us back years later.
In detail
A roof is a system, so the survey covers every element of it rather than just the visible covering.
We check tiles and slates for slipping, cracking, delamination and surface erosion, and look at how they are fixed, nail fatigue on slate roofs and broken nibs on tiles are the two most common causes of a covering coming loose. Verges, ridge and hip bedding are examined for cracked or missing mortar and loose units.
From inside the loft we look at the underlay, which is very often the component that has actually failed on older roofs, and at rafters, purlins and battens for water staining, decay and movement. Ventilation and insulation are assessed together, since condensation frequently masquerades as a leak.
Every junction gets inspected: chimney aprons, soakers, step flashings and back gutters, valley linings, abutments, parapets and any pitched-to-flat junction. These are the most common source of leaks and the easiest place for previous work to have been done badly.
Fascias, soffits, bargeboards, gutters and down-pipes are checked for rot, sagging, blockage and leaking joints, because the drainage path determines how much water the walls and eaves are exposed to.
Buyers use surveys to price a roof flagged in a homebuyer's report. Sellers use them to remove uncertainty before marketing. Landlords and commercial owners use them for planned maintenance records, and after a storm the photographs form a dated record of damage for an insurer.
Domestic surveys cover pitched coverings, chimneys, roofline and loft. Commercial surveys typically involve larger flat and low-pitch areas, drainage capacity, rooflights and plant penetrations, with access planned around the building remaining in use.
Based at 12 Yeovil Road, Sandhurst GU47 0TE, working across Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire and everywhere else within roughly a 50-mile radius. See all of the towns we cover.
Common questions
If your question is not here, call Henry Lee and the team on 07946 209052. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Yes. Quotations and site visits are free and carry no obligation. You get a written price and a clear explanation of the work before you decide anything.
A typical domestic roof survey takes a couple of hours on site depending on size and access, and you get the photographs and findings explained during or shortly after the visit.
Where access allows, yes. The underlay, timbers, insulation and ventilation tell you as much about a roof's remaining life as the tiles do.
No. If a targeted repair will genuinely see you right for years, we say so. Selling unnecessary work is how a local contractor loses a street's worth of future jobs.
Yes, subject to the current owner granting access. It is one of the most common reasons people call us, and the photographs give you something concrete to negotiate with.
Yes. Every job we do is photographed before, during and after, and the survey photographs are yours whether or not you go ahead with the work.
A periodic check, and a look after any serious storm, catches the small defects while they are still small. Roofs with heavy moss growth or nearby trees benefit from more frequent attention.
Yes. We attend, photograph the damage and can make the property safe. The dated photographs give your insurer a clear record of the condition and the remedial work.
Yes, for both domestic and commercial customers, including flat and low-pitch roofs, with access planned around the premises staying in use.
Sandhurst, Owlsmoor, Crowthorne, Blackwater, Yateley, Camberley, Bracknell, Wokingham, Farnborough, Fleet, Frimley, Ascot and everywhere else within roughly a 50-mile radius of our base.
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No charge, no obligation, and you keep the photographs. Find out what your roof actually needs before you spend anything on it.
Takes under a minute. No obligation, no pressure.
