Chimneys and parapets
The stack is gone and a vent tile remains in the slope. What redundant opening is that tile, and what support below was not the question?
That vent tile is a redundant opening left in the slope after the stack was taken away, and support below was not the question it answers. The tile once served a flue, or the hole where the stack passed the roof, and it remains in the covering after the masonry has gone. The survey has recorded a missing stack and a vent tile still in the slope. It has not decided the tile is weathertight, and it has not said how anything left below is carried. The tile does not answer it. The survey has not calculated that support.
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?
When a stack comes down, the slope is made good, and a vent tile may be left behind on purpose or by habit. Either way the tile is an opening in the covering where the stack no longer stands. That is the redundant opening the survey can name. Whether a ceiling, a stump of breast, or the rafters below are properly carried is about the structure in the rooms under the slope. Looking at a tile does not show those bearings.
Tell the solicitor the stack has gone and a vent tile remains, and keep support below as its own enquiry. A roofer can comment on the tile as part of the covering. If a breast was removed inside, support needs the papers or an inspection aimed at that support. The home survey has not treated the leftover tile as proof that a disused flue was properly finished, and it has not verified what carries the structure below. The tile is the opening in the slope. Support was a different question.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the vent tile a leftover opening where the stack was removed?
- Did you leave support below that opening unassessed?
- What of the tile's own weathering did you actually see?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the vent tile as a redundant opening in the slope.
- Keep support below as a separate question the tile does not answer.
- Ask a roofer about the tile, not about the bearings underneath.
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 tile has a hood, is the old flue safe to leave as it is?
A hood is a cover on the tile. It does not show the flue below, and support below was not the question this tile answers. The survey has not inspected a redundant flue as a safety check and has not verified any bearings. The opening in the slope is what was recorded. A hood is not a certificate for the stack that has gone.
Does a patched ceiling under the old stack prove the support?
No. A patch shows a finish, or a repair to that finish. The survey's point about the tile was the redundant opening in the slope. Support below was not answered by the tile, and a patched ceiling does not answer it either. The report has not verified the bearings. That would be a different instruction.