Chimney Repairs · New Addington CR0
Chimney Repairs In New Addington
Is frost on the New Addington plateau breaking up the top of your chimney?
Flaunching, repointing, lead and capping for stacks on the estate's concrete-tiled terraces and semis
Where a New Addington house has a chimney, it is the highest and most exposed bit of masonry on a roof that already sits on cold, open ground. Round Central Parade, Headley Drive and towards Milne Park, the roofs are low and shallow, finished in concrete tile with short eaves, and the stack stands well clear of them in the wind. The estate has been called Little Siberia for as long as it has existed. More frost means more nights when wet mortar freezes and expands. On a chimney, that hits the flaunching at the top first, then the joints, then the brick. Before any of that gets fixed, though, on much of this estate there is a plainer question to answer: whose chimney is it?
Chimney Repairs quote in New Addington
Four details and somebody will come and look at it. There is no charge for the visit, no obligation afterwards, and if the answer is that your roof is fine, that is what you will be told.
The people behind it
Two names to call about your chimney
Before a cold snap is not the time to chase a roofer who never rings back. Roof Repairs Croydon is a family business owned by two brothers, John and Mark, and both of them keep up with every chimney job the firm takes on.
They quote together, run the work together and back each other's calls without fuss. People who use them often say that makes a refreshing change. Whichever brother answers the phone, he will know what is happening with your stack.
1,000+
Roofs put right
10 year
Written workmanship guarantee
£0
To have somebody come and look
Repair first
Replacement is the last resort
Frost damage on New Addington chimneys
Cold weather leaves a clear trail on a stack. Here is what owners tend to notice, and what is usually behind it.
Lumps of grey mortar in the gutter or on the path below the stack
The flaunching round the pots has cracked in the frost and is breaking away in pieces. Once it goes, rain runs straight into the top of the brickwork.
Joints you can see daylight through, or scrape out with a key
Years of freeze and thaw have turned the mortar to sand. The brick around it is now getting soaked and will start to spall if it is left.
Damp on the ceiling or wall next to the chimney breast
The lead where the stack passes through the tiles has split or lifted. On a shallow pitch, wind-driven rain gets further up behind a poor flashing.
A stack that looks fine on one side and crumbling on the other
The exposed face takes most of the weather. On an open plateau, the side facing the prevailing wind often fails years ahead of the rest.
What we do differently on chimneys up here
Ownership sorted before scaffold
On a maisonette or linked block, the stack may belong to the council or a freeholder. We ask first, so you do not pay for something that is not yours.
Mortar laid when frost is not due
Fresh mortar that freezes before it has set will fail early. We check the forecast and will not reflaunch or repoint with a hard frost coming that night.
Flaunching shaped to shed water
New flaunching sloped away from the pots, so rain and meltwater run off rather than sitting on the top of the stack.
Lead dressed to the tile profile
Flashings cut and shaped to fit concrete tile, with a proper apron and back gutter, not a bead of mastic.
Cold flues capped
A stack with no fire below it stays cold and wet. A vented cap stops rain getting in while letting the flue breathe.
Ten year workmanship guarantee
Put in writing and handed to you when the work is complete.
Cold ground and shallow roofs: what that means for a chimney here
A chimney dries out from inside when a fire is lit. Plenty of stacks in New Addington, as everywhere, now sit above fireplaces that have not been used in years. They stay cold and damp, and on the estate's exposed plateau they take more frost than chimneys lower in the borough. Water in the mortar freezes, swells and loosens it. Each winter does a little more damage than the one before.
The roof shape matters too. The houses here have shallow-pitched concrete tile roofs, and a stack rising through a shallow pitch needs good lead to keep water out at the base. If the flashing is tired, wind-blown rain gets under it easily. Then there is ownership. A significant share of the estate is ex-local-authority, so on a maisonette or a linked block the chimney may be partly or wholly someone else's responsibility. That is worth settling before anyone climbs a ladder.
"Where we look at chimneys on the New Addington estate, the flaunching on top is usually the first part the frost has broken, often well before the joints lower down."
From chimney repairs enquiries in New Addington handled by Roof Repairs Croydon
How a New Addington chimney job is run
Freehold, leasehold or block?
We start by asking how you own the property. If the chimney is the council's or a freeholder's, we say so, and you can take it up with them.
Free survey
We check the pots, flaunching, pointing and every face of the brick, then the lead at the tile line, and the breast in the loft for damp.
Photos and a written note
Pictures of each fault and a short explanation, useful if a landlord, freeholder or neighbour needs to agree the work.
Fixed written price
Scaffold or access, flaunching, repointing, brick replacement, lead and caps, all listed separately.
Work timed around the weather
Booked for a frost-free spell. Old mortar raked out, the stack repointed, flaunching renewed, pots rebedded and new lead dressed in.
Finished and documented
Photos of the completed stack from every side, access taken down, and the guarantee given to you in writing.
The 10 year guarantee, and why it is safe to offer
Promising a roof will stay dry is easy. What counts is what happens if it does not. Work booked through Roof Repairs Croydon carries a 10 year workmanship guarantee, on paper, handed to you on the day and written in language you can actually read. The slates, tiles, lead, mortar, membranes and rainwater goods carry their own manufacturer cover on top of that. It varies by product, so you get told which cover applies to your job rather than one headline number that would be wrong on most of them.
Here is the reason a guarantee like that is not a risk. Repairs come back for one reason above all others: the fault was never found in the first place. Somebody went up, saw a stain on the ceiling below, mended whatever looked worst directly above it, and left. Water does not cooperate with that approach. It lands on a slate, runs under it, drops onto a rafter and travels along the rafter before it finds anywhere to fall. On a wide hipped roof in Sanderstead or Shirley that can be five metres from where it came in.
Find the entry point and the repair holds for years. Miss it and no amount of guarantee wording helps anybody. That is why the survey happens before the price, and it is why, if the same water finds its way back into your house inside the guarantee period, putting it right costs you nothing.
10 year
Workmanship guarantee
1,000+
Roofs put right
Covered
Public liability insurance
Per product
Maker's own warranty
Questions to put to anyone quoting for a chimney in CR0
Will they work in a frost?
Ask how they handle cold weather. Anyone happy to lay mortar the day before a hard frost is likely to be back, or worse, not.
Is the flaunching in the quote?
On the plateau the top of the stack takes the worst of it. A quote that only covers repointing the sides leaves the main problem where it is.
Did they ask who owns it?
On ex-council homes, a roofer who never asks about leases or freeholders could be quoting for work that is somebody else's job.
Repair the stack or take it down?
Some owners with a disused chimney ask whether removal makes more sense than another repair. Here is a rough comparison.
| Comparison point | Repair and cap | Remove below roof line |
|---|---|---|
| Fireplace use later | Still possible | Gone for good |
| Future frost damage | Reduced, not removed | No stack to damage |
| Roof work | Lead renewed | Tiled over to match |
| Shared stack | Your side only | Needs party wall notice |
| Paperwork | None for a like-for-like repair | Building regs if the breast goes |
| Cost | Lower now | Higher now, less upkeep |
Garage or porch roof leaking as well?
The same cold that cracks chimney mortar works on the felt on garages, porches and back extensions. Our page on flat roof repairs in New Addington explains what to look out for.
What changes the cost of a chimney repair in New Addington
Most estate houses are two storeys with straightforward access, so chimney costs here often come in lower than on taller houses elsewhere. These are the things that move the price.
Shared ownership around Fieldway and King Henry's Drive
On a maisonette or linked block, the cost may have to be split with the council, a freeholder or neighbours. Agreeing that can take an extra visit, but it means nobody pays twice.
How far the frost has got in on the plateau
A chimney near Central Parade with cracked flaunching but sound brick is a modest job. One where frost has blown the faces off bricks needs those cut out and replaced as well.
Access and the stack's position
Low, shallow roofs are easy to work on, and some stacks can be reached with a roof ladder and a small tower. Others still need full scaffold.
Chimney Repairs in New Addington: questions
Do I need permission to repair or remove a chimney in New Addington?
Planning is the London Borough of Croydon. A like-for-like repair needs no application. Removing a stack on an ordinary house is often permitted development, but check with the council first if you are unsure, and removing the breast inside needs building regulations approval. If the stack is shared with an attached neighbour, rebuilding or removing it usually means serving notice under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. On ex-local-authority maisonettes and linked blocks, also establish who owns the stack and the roof before you arrange anything.
Why does my New Addington chimney keep losing mortar?
Cold. The estate sits on an exposed plateau and runs colder than most of Croydon, so the mortar on a stack goes through more freeze-thaw cycles every winter. Water soaks in, freezes, expands and breaks it up. Repointing in a suitable mortar, renewing the flaunching and capping any unused flue all cut down how much water gets in.
I live in an ex-council maisonette. Is the chimney my responsibility?
Possibly not. If you hold a lease, the structure, including the roof and chimney, is often kept by the council or freeholder and paid for through the service charge. If you own the freehold of a house, it is yours. Check your lease or title, and tell us what it says before we quote.
Can chimney work be done in winter?
Leadwork and capping can be done most of the year. Mortar work needs a few frost-free days to set. If a stack is letting water in during winter, we can carry out a temporary fix and come back for the repointing or flaunching when the weather allows.
Should I just have my unused chimney removed?
It depends on whether you might ever want a fire, and whether the stack is shared. Removal ends the upkeep, but it costs more up front and needs the roof tiled over and the breast dealt with properly. A repair with a vented cap is often the cheaper route for now. We can price both.
What Croydon homeowners say
From roads across the borough, once the ladders had gone.
"Damp patch on our landing ceiling for about three years. Two roofers had been out and both mended the tiles directly above it, and neither made the slightest difference. This chap spent twenty minutes in the loft with a torch before he even went outside, then showed me a photo of a split in the lead in the valley about four metres away from the stain. Fixed it in a morning. Three winters on and nothing."
"Water was coming down the front bedroom wall every time it rained hard and I had convinced myself the roof was finished. It was the gutter. Half of it had dropped so the water was sitting in the middle and going over the front rather than down the pipe. He reset the brackets and cleared the gully, charged me a fraction of what I had budgeted for, and told me the roof itself had years left. Could easily have sold me a new one."
"Ours is in the Chatsworth Road conservation area and I had no idea the rules on roof work here are stricter than the rest of Croydon. He knew straight away, explained what I could and could not do without an application, and did the repair in matching slate. That saved me a very awkward conversation with the council later on."
"Lost most of the ridge tiles along the back in a February gale. Rang in the morning, sheeted the same afternoon so the weather could not get in, came back the following week when it was dry and rebedded the whole ridge properly. Sent me photos of everything for the insurance without me even asking. The bill was exactly what the quote said it would be."
"Gutters had been overflowing under the trees for years and the fascia behind them had gone soft. What I appreciated was that he explained why the timber had rotted rather than just quoting to replace it, and pointed out the new soffits needed vents or I would end up with condensation in the loft instead. Nobody had ever mentioned that to me before."
Had us out to your roof?
Two minutes writing a review does more for a small local firm than any amount of advertising, and it helps the next person in Croydon work out who to ring.
Things to do in New Addington
Three spots near the estate to visit once the chimney is done.
Hutchinson's Bank
A London Wildlife Trust nature reserve on the estate's south side. Its chalk grassland has records of over 30 butterfly species, and sheep graze it at certain times of year.
View on Google Maps - Hutchinson's Bank
St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Addington
The old church of Addington Village, a short way north of the estate. It holds the graves of five Archbishops of Canterbury from the 1800s, who lived nearby at Addington Palace.
View on Google Maps - St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Addington
Heathfield
House and grounds on Ballards Way, owned by the council. Raymond Riesco created the ornamental gardens, woodland and rhododendron walks after 1927, and they open every day.
View on Google Maps - HeathfieldNew Addington on the map
We are about 15 minutes from New Addington. Planning and building control questions go to the London Borough of Croydon.
Areas we cover
Our chimney work covers the whole of Croydon and nearby towns. Select your area to visit its page.
Chimney Repairs by town
Get the chimney sorted before the next frost
If bits of mortar are turning up below the stack, or there is damp next to the breast, send us a photo. Tell us how you own the property, and we will survey it for free and give you a fixed written price.