Do you cover Northchurch, Aldbury and the villages around Tring?

Yes. Northchurch and Potten End are in HP4, and Aldbury, Wigginton, Long Marston and Wilstone are in HP23. We cover both districts with no travel supplement.

Is a Level 3 worth it for an Edwardian terrace in Berkhamsted?

Usually, yes. Edwardian terraces often have solid walls, older roofs and past alterations such as loft conversions or removed chimney breasts, which the Level 3 covers in more depth. A Level 2 may suit a later house in good order.

Can you see the roof of a house on a steep street?

Our Level 3 includes a drone roof inspection where flight is permitted, which often shows roof slopes that cannot be seen from the road. If we cannot fly, we inspect from the ground and other vantage points and the drone element is deducted.

Level 2 & 3 House Surveys Berkhamsted & Tring

Homes we survey in Berkhamsted and Tring

Berkhamsted grew up in the Bulbourne valley, on the route through the Chilterns later followed by the Grand Union Canal and the main railway line, and Tring sits where that route opens out towards the Vale of Aylesbury. Berkhamsted still has the remains of its Norman castle beside the station.

The railway brought rows of Victorian and Edwardian terraces. Houses from the first two decades of the 20th century are the biggest group in our records here, and mid-terraced houses are the type we inspect most often. Many have solid brick walls. Both towns grew again from the 1960s to the 1990s, with estates of semi-detached and detached houses on their edges, and we have also come across timber-framed houses.

Around them, villages such as Northchurch, Potten End, Aldbury and Wigginton have brick and flint cottages, and much of the countryside lies in the Chilterns National Landscape, formerly the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

From our survey reports in Berkhamsted and Tring

Based on 25 DBISS surveys in 2 postcode districts since 2022. Figures are rounded; homes can fall in more than one wall category.

When the homes were built

Pre–19008%
1900–191932%
1920–19394%
1940–19598%
1960–197928%
1980–199920%
2000 onwards0%

Property types

28% mid-terrace
20% semi-detached
16% end-terrace
12% bungalow

Main walls

68% cavity masonry · 40% solid masonry

Non-standard construction recorded

Timber frame. About non-standard homes

What to look out for

Sloping plots. Many streets climb the valley sides. Retaining walls, steps, drainage and damp in rooms cut into the slope all need checking.
Altered terraces. Knocked-through rooms, removed chimney breasts and loft conversions are common. Where a chimney breast has gone, the stack above still needs proper support, so ask to see the building control paperwork.
Flint and solid brick. These walls rely on sound, breathable mortar. Hard cement pointing and renders can trap moisture, and lime-based repairs are usually more suitable.
Shared roofs and chimneys. In a terrace, a leak where your roof meets next door's, or at a shared stack, can be hard to trace and may need your neighbour's co-operation to fix.
Later estate houses. Homes from the 1960s to the 1990s may have flat-roofed extensions, early double glazing and cavity insulation added later.

Which survey?

For an Edwardian terrace or a village cottage, we would normally suggest a Level 3 Building Survey (from £550). Its drone roof inspection, where flight is permitted, is useful on steep streets where roofs are hard to see from the road. A Level 2 Home Survey (from £440) suits a later house in reasonable condition. Neither includes a valuation. Our survey guide explains the choice.

Areas we cover

We cover HP4 (Berkhamsted, Northchurch and Potten End) and HP23 (Tring, Aldbury, Wigginton, Long Marston and Wilstone). Neither district is more than about 25 miles from Hemel Hempstead, so there is no travel supplement.

Nearby: Hemel Hempstead, Chesham, Amersham and the Chalfonts and Aylesbury and Princes Risborough.

House surveys in Berkhamsted and Tring