A proper roof inspection tells you exactly what your Cheltenham roof needs before you spend a penny on repairs. Written reports, drone surveys and pre-purchase inspections across the town — and the fee is credited against any repair work you book with us.
Tell us the job in 30 seconds. No pushy sales, no call-out fee.
📞 Call Now: 0124 235 2251Roof inspections in Cheltenham cost £120–£250 for a visual survey with a written report, £150–£350 for a drone survey, and £200–£450 for a pre-purchase inspection. The inspection fee is credited against any repair work you book with us. Reports include photographs and honest repair-or-replace advice.
Our inspections are thorough and tailored to what Cheltenham's specific housing stock is prone to. You get a written report with photographs, not a verbal opinion.
Ground-level, ladder and binocular inspection of covering, ridges, valleys, flashings and gutters, with a written report and photographs. £120–£250 depending on property size.
Get a Quote →High-resolution aerial imagery of roofs that are unsafe or impractical to access — tall Montpellier townhouses, steep Regency pitches, or complex Victorian roofs. £150–£350.
Get a Quote →Buying in Cheltenham? An independent roof inspection before exchange tells you what you're taking on — nail sickness, slate delamination, failed leadwork — and arms you for negotiation. £200–£450.
Get a Quote →Detailed survey for larger, listed or conservation-area properties, covering timber, ventilation and remaining life estimates. £300–£600, often required for insurance or sale.
Get a Quote →Every inspection includes annotated photographs so you can see the defects yourself, not just read about them. Useful for insurance claims and quotes from other trades.
Get a Quote →The inspection fee is credited in full against any repair or roofing work you subsequently book with us — so a genuine repair costs you nothing extra for the survey.
Get a Quote →Book a written roof inspection across Cheltenham. Fee credited against any repairs you book.
A roof inspection is worth it when you need to know a roof's true condition before you spend money — buying a house, planning works, or chasing a recurring leak. It's not about finding problems to sell you; a good survey often confirms a roof is fine.
When it is not the answer: If you've just had a full re-roof under guarantee, or a roofer has recently surveyed it in detail, you don't need to pay for another inspection — we'll tell you if a survey would just be duplicating work you already have. Read the full guide.
A roof inspection in Cheltenham has to be read against the age of the property, because each era fails differently. On the Regency and Victorian stock of Montpellier, Lansdown and the Suffolks we're checking Welsh slate for delamination and nail fatigue, the condition of code 4 and 5 leadwork to bays and parapets, and whether valley gutters are sound — the details that leak first on 150-year-old roofs and cost most to put right.
On the post-war estates — Hester's Way, Benhall, Springbank and Whaddon — the single most important thing an inspection establishes is the extent of nail sickness. When galvanised nails corrode, concrete interlocking tiles slip in any wind. A good inspection tells you whether you're looking at a few years of manageable repairs or a roof that needs replacing, which is exactly the information you need before spending money either way.
The pre-purchase inspection is where we add the most value in Cheltenham. The town's period housing looks magnificent from the street, but a buyer rarely knows whether the roof behind that Regency parapet has thirty years left or three. An independent inspection before exchange — separate from the mortgage valuation, which barely glances at the roof — regularly saves buyers thousands, either in renegotiation or in walking away from a hidden re-roof.
For 1930s semis in Warden Hill and Charlton Kings, the inspection focus is the original felt (often perished), the state of the battens, and ridge and hip mortar after decades of freeze-thaw. These roofs are usually sound structurally but approaching the point where planned replacement beats reactive repair, and an inspection gives you the timeline to budget for it rather than being caught out by a winter failure.
RICS guidance distinguishes a mortgage valuation from a condition survey: a lender's valuation does not constitute a roof inspection, and buyers relying on it alone frequently discover roofing defects only after completion. An independent pre-purchase roof inspection is the recognised way to establish true condition before exchange.
We credit the inspection fee against any repair work you book because it aligns our interests with yours: we have no reason to invent problems or oversell, because the survey pays for itself the moment you book a genuine repair. You get an honest, independent assessment and a written report you can act on — whether that means booking us, getting other quotes, or doing nothing because the roof is fine. That's the point of an inspection.
The inspection fee is credited in full against any repair or roofing work you book with us.
Ladder and binocular inspection with written report and photographs. Size-dependent.
Aerial imagery for tall, steep or unsafe roofs. Ideal for Regency townhouses and complex roofs.
Independent condition assessment before exchange. Written report for negotiation.
Detailed survey for large, listed or conservation-area properties, with remaining-life estimates.
You tell us why you need the inspection — purchase, leak, planning or record — so we focus the survey on what matters to your decision.
We inspect externally from ground, ladder, tower or drone as access allows, and internally in the loft, checking covering, fixings, leadwork, valleys, chimney, underlay, ventilation and timbers.
You receive a clear written report with findings, photographs, priorities and indicative costs — something you can act on, share with a solicitor, or use to negotiate a purchase price.
We talk you through the report and answer questions with no obligation; if remedial work is needed the inspection fee is credited against it.
| Job | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Pre-purchase roof survey | 1–2 hours on site |
| Leak investigation | 1–3 hours |
| Written report turnaround | 1–3 working days |
| Drone survey (access-limited) | Half a day |
We inspect in dry conditions where possible so we can see the roof clearly; a leak investigation may be best done while the roof is actually wet.
Most Cheltenham inspections are done from a tower, ladder or by drone, which means no scaffold cost; only detailed close-up survey of a tall parapet occasionally needs more. Scaffold is specified for: rarely — only where a defect needs hands-on close inspection at height that a drone can't resolve - always itemised in your written quote, never a hidden extra, and we arrange it.
Cheltenham's Regency terraces in Montpellier and Lansdown have railings, lightwells and shared party walls that limit rear access, so pavement scaffold and skip space usually need a permit. Pavement scaffold and skip permits go through Cheltenham Borough Council; allow a few working days on streets like Montpellier Street, the Suffolks, the terraces off St Paul's Road where space is tight.
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-purchase roof survey | £150–£350 | Written report, fee credited |
| Leak investigation | £120–£300 | Trace and diagnose the source |
| Drone roof survey | £150–£400 | Access-limited or tall roofs |
| Condition report (landlord/freeholder) | £200–£500 | Documented record with photos |
| Reserve-fund/block survey | from £400 | With cost forecast |
Worked example: A pre-purchase survey on a Leckhampton semi with a written photographic report and indicative costings, fee credited against the repair the buyer then commissioned: £220.
Inspection fees are paid on delivery of the report and credited in full against any remedial work you then book with us.
The inspection itself is a professional assessment, not workmanship, so it isn't 'guaranteed' — but the fee is credited against any remedial work we then carry out, which does carry the 10-year guarantee.
If a fault appears in covered work, we come back and put it right. No quibbling, no re-charge.
An inspection is non-invasive and quiet — we need loft access and, for a drone survey, a clear area to launch and land; you barely know we've been. You do not need to stay home for external work - we just need power and access agreed in advance.
Surveys run year-round; drone inspection needs low wind and dry conditions, and leak-tracing is often most productive during or just after rain. Cheltenham's sheltered vale position brings damp Cotswold-edge autumns and heavy leaf fall from the town's many mature trees, which keeps north-facing slopes slow to dry.
"Pre-purchase inspection on a Lansdown flat before we exchanged. They found the parapet leadwork was shot — we negotiated £6,000 off the price. Best £300 we ever spent."
"Drone survey of our tall Montpellier townhouse roof that no ladder could reach. Clear photos, honest report — turned out we only needed minor repairs, not the re-roof another firm suggested."
"Booked an inspection on our Benhall semi to settle whether we needed a new roof. Detailed report showed the nail sickness was advanced. Fee came straight off the re-roof quote."
A visual survey with a written report costs £120–£250, a drone survey £150–£350, and a pre-purchase inspection £200–£450. Full condition surveys for large or listed properties are £300–£600. The fee is credited in full against any repair work you book with us.
Yes. If you book any repair or roofing work with us after the inspection, we credit the inspection fee in full against that work. It means a genuine repair costs you nothing extra for the survey, and it keeps our assessment honest — we have no reason to oversell.
It's strongly advisable. A mortgage valuation is not a roof inspection and barely assesses the roof. Cheltenham's period properties can hide expensive defects behind handsome facades. An independent pre-purchase inspection before exchange regularly saves buyers thousands in renegotiation or avoided re-roofs.
A drone survey captures high-resolution aerial images of roofs that are unsafe or impractical to access — tall Montpellier townhouses, steep Regency pitches or complex Victorian roofs. It's faster and safer than scaffold for an inspection, and gives you clear photographs of every defect.
Yes — that's the main question our reports answer. We assess the extent of any nail sickness, slate delamination, leadwork failure and timber condition, then give an honest view on whether repairs will see you through or whether planned replacement is the better investment.
Yes. Our reports include annotated photographs and a clear description of defects and likely causes, which is exactly what insurers ask for. If your claim relates to storm damage we can also document the specific damage separately for the claim.
A standard visual survey takes 45 minutes to 90 minutes on site, with the written report delivered within a day or two. Drone and full condition surveys take a little longer. We work around your schedule and can often inspect within a few days of your call.
If the survey finds work is needed, these are the usual next steps in Cheltenham.
Written roof inspections across Cheltenham with the fee credited against any repairs. Call for a booking.
0124 235 2251