Age and type of house
Leaded lights in an Edwardian porch are buckled. Are those lights the same rated element as the main roof?
No. Buckled leaded lights in an Edwardian porch are the porch glazing, not the main roof. Describe bent lead, cracked glass and rotten timber around that porch on their own. The main roof is slates or tiles, flashings and the structure over the house, seen separately. A porch comment does not travel upstairs. The survey does not lift roof coverings, and it does not treat decorative glass as a product that has been safety-tested.
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?
Leaded lights fail in their own way: the lead cames stretch, the glass buckles, rain gets through the joints, and the timber or iron around the porch rots where water sits. That is porch joinery and glazing. The main roof fails, if it fails, at slates, nails, battens, valleys and the ridge. Putting both in one rating hides which one is actually poor. The surveyor looks from the ground and from accessible windows. They do not take the porch glass out, and they do not strip a slate to compare.
A rating 2 means repairs are needed but they are not serious or urgent. A rating 3 means serious or urgent, and you should get written quotes before you commit. Either number has to be attached to the element the surveyor meant. Ask them to say porch lights and main roof in separate lines if the report has merged them. Original decorative glass is not a defect merely because it is old. Buckling and leaks are the condition. The age is just the age.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Have you rated the porch lights separately from the main roof covering?
- Is the buckle letting water in, or is it a distortion without a stain?
- Did you see the porch roof, if it has one, as a third element?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask a glazier about the leaded porch lights, not a roofer about the whole house, unless the roof is also flagged.
- Keep the two elements apart in your repair list.
- Do not replace the main slates because the porch glass is buckled.
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
Are buckled leaded lights automatically rating 3?
No. Urgency depends on leaks, decay and risk, which the survey should describe. Distortion alone is not a category you invent.
Does the porch glass tell you the roof slates are nailed soundly?
No. Coverings were not lifted. The porch and the main roof are different elements.