Basements and cellars
What did the visit record about a coal plate, about a pavement light, and about the vault under the front path?
The visit recorded a coal plate, a pavement light, and the vault under the front path as features that could be seen, not as a tested structure. A coal plate is the iron cover over a coal chute. A pavement light is the glazed panel in the path. The vault is the cellar space beneath. The survey has not measured water entry, has not decided who owns the pavement, and has not assessed the strength of the vault. Damp at those frames was not proved.
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?
Coal plates and pavement lights sit in the path and serve a vault under the front of the house. The iron rim and the glass lenses are places where water can sit and track. The survey records what was visible from the path or from the cellar, if the cellar was entered. It does not load-test the cover and does not water-test the frame. The note identifies the three things.
Tell the solicitor the coal plate, the pavement light and the vault were described, and that ownership of the path was not decided. Responsibility for a vault under a pavement can sit with the house or with the highway authority, which is a title and search question, not a home-survey result. The lender has no structural test of the cover. If water is getting in, a damp or structural look is a separate instruction. The survey has not blamed the lenses and has not cleared them.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you record the coal plate and pavement light without a water test?
- Was the vault under the front path left without a strength check?
- Have you left ownership of the pavement undecided?
What are the typical next steps?
- Describe the plate, the light and the vault, not a proved leak.
- Ask the solicitor who is responsible for the vault under the path.
- Keep any damp investigation of the cellar as a separate instruction.
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
Does a coal plate still in place mean the chute is dry?
No. The plate is a cover. Water can pass the rim and the frame without the plate being missing. The survey did not test that path and did not inspect every chute. A cover that is present is not a dry vault. The note does not clear the coal way.
If the pavement light is intact, is the vault sound?
No. Intact lenses describe the glass that was seen. The vault's brick arches, the cover's bearing and any rust in the frame were not strength-tested. A complete light is not a structural pass. The survey recorded the feature and stopped short of that judgement.