Start to finish
One flight on site, a report two days later, nothing leant against the stack
On the day
What happens on the day
- Step 1
The check before the visit
The address gets checked for airspace restrictions and for somewhere lawful to take off and land, before the date is confirmed. Aerodrome zones, restricted airspace and sites with nowhere sensible to launch from all exist, and finding out about them on the morning of the survey helps nobody.
- Step 2
What you tell us first
Where any damp patch shows inside, whether a pot looks off from the ground, and anything a sweep or roofer has already flagged. All of it shapes where the flight spends its time.
- Step 3
The flight
A methodical pass around every face of the stack for the overview frames, then close work on the pots, the flaunching, the flashing and any brickwork worth a second look. Twenty minutes to half an hour for a typical stack.
- Step 4
The screen check
Before packing up, the imagery is reviewed on site. If something is unclear or an angle was missed, it gets reflown there and then rather than discovered back at the desk two days later.
- Step 5
The desk work
Images sorted and reviewed against each part of the stack, findings written up with a note on what was seen and what it suggests. This is the part that takes the time and it is the part you are actually paying for.
- Step 6
The report lands
Within 48 hours of the flight, by email, with the full resolution originals alongside it. If something in it needs explaining, ring and it gets explained.
The report
What is in the report
Pots and cowls
Checked for cracks, a secure fit and a clear flue opening on each pot.
Flaunching
The mortar collar around each pot, checked for cracking and separation.
Flashing and soakers
Checked where the stack meets the roof covering, for lift and a failed seal.
Brickwork and pointing
Checked for perishing, spalling, and staining that suggests water tracking down from above.
Lean and crowns
A visual read on whether the stack is standing straight, using its own coursing lines, and a check for cracked or damaged crowns.
The original files
Full resolution images, so whoever quotes the work can zoom into the same detail rather than trust a compressed description.
Why 48 hours
Because that is how long the desk work actually takes when every part of the stack is properly reviewed against the images, rather than filed alongside them unread. If a survey is tied to a booked repair slot or an insurance deadline, say so when you book and it gets scheduled around it.
Weather and rules
The bits that decide whether a survey happens today
Wind
A stack stands proud of the roofline into the wind, so gusting around it is often worse than the forecast for the area suggests. A close pass flown in marginal wind is not a stable one, so it moves instead.
Rain
Water on the lens ruins the frame and a wet stack reflects light in a way that hides fine detail in the mortar joints. Actual rain grounds the flight.
Light
Flat, bright overcast gives the clearest read on brickwork and pointing without the hard shadows a low sun throws across a stack, so a slot is booked with that in mind rather than the first available time regardless of light.
Airspace
Some addresses sit inside a flight restriction zone around an aerodrome or under other restricted airspace. That is checked before booking. Where permission is needed it gets sought, and where a flight cannot happen at all you are told before you have paid anything.
What is underneath
The A2 Certificate of Competency allows closer operation near buildings and uninvolved people than the basic category, which is what makes narrow terraced streets workable. It still means thinking about the pavement below and the neighbours either side.
Rescheduling
Moving a survey for weather or light is normal and costs nothing. It happens most winters and it is better than flying a job that produces imagery nobody can actually read anything into.
Before you book
Common questions
- Do I need this if I already have a sweep who checks the flue?
- A sweep clears and checks the inside of the flue from below, which is not the same view as the outside of the stack above the roofline. This survey covers the pots, cowls, flaunching, flashing and brickwork a sweep's own tools cannot reach, so the two jobs sit alongside each other rather than overlapping.
- Will you tell me exactly what is wrong with my chimney?
- The report describes what was seen on each part of the stack, in plain language, and what it suggests. Whether a stack needs rebuilding, repointing or leaving alone is a judgement for whoever prices the repair, using the images as their starting point.
- Do you fix the chimney as well?
- No. This is a survey, not a repair. The report and the images are there so a sweep, a roofer or a builder can quote the work from evidence rather than a guess from the ground.
- Can you fly close to a stack in a narrow terraced street?
- Usually yes. The A2 Certificate of Competency covers flying closer to buildings and people than the basic category allows, which is what makes tight streets and dense terraces workable. Some sites are restricted by airspace or by what is directly below, and that is checked before the booking is confirmed rather than on the day.
- What if the weather turns on the day?
- The flight moves. Rain on the lens ruins the imagery and strong wind makes a stable close pass around a stack unsafe, so a survey flown in poor conditions is not worth having. Rescheduling costs nothing and is treated as normal.
- Do I need to be home?
- No. Plenty of surveys are flown for landlords, letting agents and managing agents with nobody on site. All that is needed is somewhere lawful to take off and land, and permission to be there.
- What do I actually get at the end?
- A written report within 48 hours, with a plain description of what was found on the pots, the flaunching, the flashing and the brickwork, plus the full resolution images so a sweep or roofer can look at the same evidence themselves.
- Is the report useful for an insurance claim?
- It gives dated, close photographic evidence of the stack's condition on the day, which is often the first thing asked for before storm or damage repair work is authorised. It is not a loss adjuster's assessment and does not price repairs, and it does not claim to be either.
- How much does a chimney survey cost?
- It is a fixed price per survey, agreed before the visit, based on the address and the number of stacks involved. Send the address and what is worrying you about the stack and you get the figure back rather than a range.
For the parts you cannot see from the ground
Book a chimney survey with Drone Chimney Survey
Tell us the address and what you need looking at. Sam Hembury will come back with a fixed price and the next available slot.