Roof Surveys
Rope access roof inspections for Edinburgh's tenements, townhouses, listed buildings, and hotels — catching problems before they reach the ceiling below.
How It Works
How We Survey Your Roof
A close-range inspection of every roof element — not a quick look from the hatch
Step_01
Access & Assess
Rope Access is utilized to access all areas of the roof canvas area
Step_02
Document & Report
Every defect is photographed in detail and graded by severity
Step_03
Log & Track
Findings are loaded into your Building Passport with locations
Building Maintenance
Building Inspections
Slate Repairs
Roof Repairs
Building Passport
Stonework Repairs
Roof Surveys
Pre-purchase Inspections
Building Maintenance
Rainwater Systems
Building Inspections
Roof Repairs
Stonework Repairs
Why It Matters
Your Roof Is Your Building's First Line of Defence
When it fails, everything underneath pays the price.
Every Roof Element, Checked at Close Range
We don’t inspect roofs from the hatch or the street. We rope-access the full roof area and physically check every element — so nothing gets missed.
- Slates
- Ridges and hip tiles
- Lead flashings
- Skews and skews stones
- Valley and secret gutters
- Chimney stacks
- Rainwater goods
What Edinburgh Roofs Are Prone To
Older roofs deteriorate in predictable ways. These are the issues we find most often during rope access roof surveys across Edinburgh’s tenements and townhouses.
- Slipped slates
- Failed lead flashings
- Missing ridge pointing
- Blocked gutters
- Eroded chimney mortar & Loose pots
- Open joints
A Clear Roof Condition Report
Every finding is photographed, graded, and mapped to its location. You get a report that’s useful — not a vague summary from someone who looked up from the pavement.
- Photographic evidence
- Defects graded by severity
- Action recommendations
- Formatted reports
- Logged in Building Passport
- Timeline tracking
Every Roof Element, Checked at Close Range
We don’t inspect roofs from the hatch or the street. We rope-access the full roof area and physically check every element — so nothing gets missed.
- Slates
- Ridges and hip tiles
- Lead flashings
- Skews and skews stones
- Valley and secret gutters
- Chimney stacks
- Rainwater goods
What Edinburgh Roofs Are Prone To
Older roofs deteriorate in predictable ways. These are the issues we find most often during rope access roof surveys across Edinburgh’s tenements and townhouses.
- Slipped slates
- Failed lead flashings
- Missing ridge pointing
- Blocked gutters
- Eroded chimney mortar & Loose pots
- Open joints
A Clear Roof Condition Report
Every finding is photographed, graded, and mapped to its location. You get a report that’s useful — not a vague summary from someone who looked up from the pavement.
- Photographic evidence
- Defects graded by severity
- Action recommendations
- Formatted reports
- Logged in Building Passport
- Timeline tracking
Why Undertake A Roof Survey?
A roof survey is a preventative maintenance task — and one that's regularly overlooked. The roof is the single most exposed part of any building. When it fails, water reaches the timber, the stonework, the plasterwork, and eventually the flats below. By the time damp shows on an internal wall, the damage has been building for months or years.
Regular roof surveys catch problems when they're small — a slipped slate, a cracked flashing, a blocked valley. Left alone, each of these becomes a bigger, more expensive repair. A proper roof survey at the right interval is one of the most cost-effective things you can do for your building.
Fortunately, SAT do not require any of these, as our company will undertake your stonework inspections by utilizing rope access as our means of work at height. Our carbon footprint is zero, with minimal ground footprint required as we access the roof via the hatch and setup on the roof itself.
Our skilled and highly sought after technicians can traverse the external fabric of the property and check each area in detail.
Hands-On Assessment
Roof Surveys by touch, not just camera
A drone can photograph a roof. It can't feel a loose slate, test a flashing joint, or identify a crack that's only visible at arm's length. Our technicians are on the roof — physically checking every element, lifting slates where needed, pressing mortar joints, and identifying anything that's moving, soft, or ready to fail.
That's the difference between a report that tells you what something looks like and one that tells you what condition it's actually in.
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Every element physically checked, not just photographed
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Loose slates and dislodged flashings identified by hand
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Hidden areas inspected, under ridges, behind stacks, inside valleys
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Defects confirmed by touch that cameras and drones would miss
How We Access Your Roof
Accessing tenement roofs and multi-storey buildings is typically expensive and disruptive. Scaffolding needs council permits, takes up pavement space, and can sit on a building for weeks. Cherry pickers need clear road access and are limited by height and reach.
We don't need any of that. Our technicians access the roof via the common stair hatch and set up their ropes on the roof itself. From there, they traverse every elevation and roof area at close range. There's no ground footprint, no street closure, and no waiting for permits. The survey starts when we arrive.
Your Building's Digital Record
The Building Passport
Every inspection, defect, and repair — logged, tracked, and accessible. Free to all SAT clients.
What You Get
Clear Reports That Drive Decisions
Every finding is photographed in high resolution, graded by severity, and mapped to its exact location on the roof. The report is built to be useful. For factors commissioning repairs, owners making decisions, or insurers assessing claims.
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Spalling faces and eroded joints assessed for drop risk
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Photographic evidence provided for insurance and liability records
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Peace of mind for factors, owners, and building managers
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Loose stonework and render removed onsite to make safe
Building Maintenance
Roof Surveys
Stonework Repairs
Building Surveys
Roof Slate Repairs
Rainwater Systems
Building Passport
Gutter Cleaning
Repairs and Installations
Stonework Inspections
Roof Surveys
Building Passport
Common Roof Defects
These are the issues we identify most often during rope access roof surveys. Most are invisible from ground level and undetectable by drone.
What we look after
Every part of an older building
Fill in our short form and we will get straight back to you
We track all items
Click on a pin to see some of the items we track
Phone
0131 210 0197
Rainwater Systems
We check: Gutters, Downpipes, Joints, Seals, Hangers, Brackets, Surfaces
Rainwater Systems
We check: Gutters, Downpipes, Joints, Seals, Hangers, Brackets, Surfaces
Chimneys
We check: Pots, cope stones, haunching, chimney breast and throat, stonework, mortar joints, flashings and soakers
Chimneys
We check: Pots, cope stones, haunching, chimney breast and throat, stonework, mortar joints, flashings and soakers
Roof Covering
We check: Slipped/missing slates, Ridges, Ridge tiles and joints, Abutments and Skews
Roof Covering
We check: Slipped/missing slates, Ridges, Ridge tiles and joints, Abutments and Skews
Stonework
We check: Surfaces, Spalling, Lamination, Loose stonework, Mortar joints, Cracks and deterioration
Stonework
We check: Surfaces, Spalling, Lamination, Loose stonework, Mortar joints, Cracks and deterioration
Inspections
SAT check every aspect and surface of the property. We do this visually and physically
Inspections
SAT check every aspect and surface of the property. We do this visually and physically