Non-standard construction
The report names a Boot lintel over the bay and the concrete was not opened. Does the name mean the reinforcement has been tested?
No. Naming a Boot lintel over the bay does not mean the reinforcement has been tested. The concrete was not opened, so the steel inside was not seen. The survey has identified the type from the shape it could see: a boot-shaped concrete lintel, common over bays. It has not exposed the reinforcement, tested it for corrosion, or said the steel is sound. The name is a label for the member. A test of what is cast inside it is a different job, and this inspection did not do that job.
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?
A Boot lintel carries the outer leaf on a toe of concrete, with reinforcement in the boot. If that steel corrodes it can crack the concrete or lift the brick above, but those signs are not the same as seeing the bar. The surveyor can name the profile when the toe and the soffit are recognisable, and can note cracks or staining if they were there. None of that opens the concrete. Corrosion can be advanced before the face breaks, and it can be absent when the face is stained.
Ask the surveyor what they actually saw: the boot profile, cracks, rust stains, or only the name. If the bay lintel needs a view of the steel, that is opening-up by someone who will expose it, not a gloss on this paragraph. Tell the solicitor the reinforcement was not tested. Do not tell a lender the Boot lintel has passed because the report knew the word for it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did you see that led you to name a Boot lintel?
- Was the concrete opened at any point over the bay?
- Are you saying the reinforcement was not tested?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the name as a visual label for a Boot lintel.
- Do not read it as a test of the reinforcement.
- Open the concrete only if the steel itself must be seen.
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 soffit is uncracked, has the steel passed?
No. An uncracked soffit is an uncracked surface. The concrete was not opened, so the reinforcement was not tested, and a quiet face is not a certificate for the steel inside the boot. Anything further about the named Boot lintel would be a different visit, not this note.
Does the same name apply to every lintel in the house?
Only where the survey said so. Naming a Boot lintel over the bay does not rename the lintels over other windows. Each one is its own member, and none had the reinforcement tested by this visit. Ask which openings were actually named before you treat the house as one lintel type.