Condition ratings
The suspended timber floor is still written as rating 1 even though the air bricks along the front are buried in soil. What has that number not proved about the void?
No. A rating 1 on the suspended timber floor has not proved the void, even though that number was written, while the front air bricks sit buried in soil. The number matches the floor as it was walked on. Buried vents mean the space under the boards was not shown to be dry or moving air. Concealed joists in a choked void stay outside what rating 1 can promise.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed, beyond normal maintenance, for the element as it could be judged. On a suspended timber floor that is the boards and the feel of the floor, not a visit to the void. Air bricks buried in soil are a ventilation defect on the outside wall. They can be rating 2 if clearing them is a repair that is not serious or urgent, or rating 3 if the surveyor thinks the blockage is serious. That number is the vents' number. It does not rewrite the floor, and the floor's rating 1 does not clear the vents. The void itself, unentered, is not proved dry, and concealed joists are not guaranteed sound.
A home survey does not lift fitted carpets or floorboards as standard, so the rating 1 was reached without seeing the sleeper walls. The what to do now note advises you. It does not invoice the seller for a new floor because the air bricks are buried, and it does not tell you to ignore the vents because the floor felt firm. Ask the surveyor whether the buried bricks have their own rating. Clearing soil away from vents, once you own the house, is ordinary grounds work. It is not evidence you already hold about the timber in the dark space behind them.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What rating did you give the buried air bricks, separate from the floor?
- Did you enter the void, or is the rating 1 only the floor you walked on?
- Are you saying the joists are sound? The buried vents suggest you could not.
What are the typical next steps?
- Read rating 1 as the walked floor, not the void.
- Ask for a separate mark on the buried air bricks.
- Do not tell yourself the underfloor timbers were proved dry.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the air bricks are rating 2, must the floor leave rating 1?
Not by rule. Ask the surveyor. A vent repair and a floor that needs nothing now can both be true.
Does soil against one vent speak for the whole void?
It shows that vent is blocked. It does not map every bay under the floor.