Subsidence, settlement and heave
The flank wall is described as bowed, and no plumb or measured offset is written down. What has the survey actually recorded?
A visual description, not a measurement. The flank wall is described as bowed, and no plumb or measured offset is written down, so the survey has recorded how the wall looked. It has not recorded how far the wall is out of line, and it has not decided whether the bow is old, worsening, or tied to movement of the ground. 'Bowed' in prose is an observation from the visit. Without a plumb reading or an offset, nobody can take a figure from the report. The survey has not turned that word into a measured distortion.
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?
Surveyors sometimes see a belly in a flank and say so before they have put a level on it. That sentence is still useful: it tells you the wall did not look flat. It does not give the mid-height offset, the lean from top to bottom, or a comparison with the party wall. Movement claims need something you can check again later. A single adjective cannot be monitored. The limit of this note is the eye, and the report should be read as having stopped there.
Ask the surveyor whether the bow was a general impression or whether a check was made and simply left out of the typing. If the number was never taken, do not invent one for a lender. A structural engineer can plumb the wall if a figure is needed. Tell the solicitor the survey recorded a described bow and no measured offset. An insurer cannot be told the wall has moved by a stated amount when the inspection wrote none down.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is 'bowed' your visual description, with no plumb reading taken?
- Was any offset measured and then left out of the report?
- Which part of the flank looked bowed: the middle, the top, or the whole face?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the note as a visual description of a bowed flank.
- Do not invent a plumb reading the survey did not write.
- Get a measured plumb if a figure is actually needed.
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 wall looks worse in a photo, has the offset been measured?
No. A photograph can make a bow obvious and still contain no scale. The survey did not write a plumb or an offset, so the photo does not become the measurement that is missing. No extra conclusion about the described bow should be read into the wording.
Does an internal straight skirting cancel the bow?
No. A straight skirting is a different line. It does not measure the flank, and it does not replace the plumb reading the survey did not record. The inspection did not stretch the described bow into any wider claim at all.