Age and type of house
A bungalow roof room is formed in the rafters and no collar was seen tying them. What spread of those rafters was not measured?
The spread of those rafters was not measured. The roof room is formed in the rafters of the bungalow, and no collar was seen tying them together. A collar is a horizontal member that helps stop the slopes pushing apart. Without one in view, the survey cannot say how far the feet have moved, or whether ceiling joists or another member do that job out of sight. The survey has recorded a roof room and no visible collar. It has not calculated the roof, has not measured spread, and has not decided that the rafters have pushed the walls out.
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?
Rafters under load tend to flatten, and that tendency pushes the walls outward unless something ties the slopes together. A collar, a ceiling tie or another restraint can do it. A room cut into a bungalow roof often removes or hides the old ceiling ties and leaves the slopes unbraced unless new ties were put in. The survey looked for a collar and did not see one. It did not measure between the wall plates and did not plumb the walls. Spread that was not measured is still unmeasured.
Tell the solicitor the roof room shows no collar and that rafter spread was not measured. If the room is part of what you are buying, ask a structural engineer, separately, to consider how the slopes are tied. The home survey has not produced that calculation and has not opened every part of the slope. Do not assume the walls have spread, and do not assume they are held, because neither measurement was taken. The note stops at the missing collar and the unmeasured spread.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was a collar absent from the roof room as far as you could see?
- Did you leave the spread of those rafters unmeasured?
- What other tie, if any, was actually visible?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the spread of the rafters as unmeasured.
- Tell the solicitor no collar was seen in the roof room.
- Ask an engineer if the ties to those rafters need to be established.
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 walls look upright, have the rafters not spread?
Looking upright is not a measurement of spread, and the survey did not take one. No collar was seen. The walls may be straight while the ties are still missing, or an unseen member may be doing the work. The report has not chosen. An eye-level impression is not the measurement that was left untaken.
Does a plastered ceiling in the roof room prove the rafters are tied?
No. Plaster hides the timbers. The survey could not see a collar and did not measure spread. A finished ceiling is not a tie. The slopes were not opened to hunt for a hidden collar, so the spread remains unmeasured whatever the plaster looks like.