Non-standard construction
Concrete columns and brick infill are described, and no system is named. Why is the missing name not a clean pass?
Because a missing name is a limit, not a pass. Concrete columns with brick infill are a description of what was seen. They are not a clean bill of health and not a named system. Several post-war forms look similar until a joint, a panel edge or a document is found. The survey must not invent the name from a sales brochure. Metal or concrete inside the columns was not measured, so those hidden parts stay undescribed.
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?
A named system matters because lenders, repairers and later surveyors look the name up. Writing only 'columns and infill' is still useful: it refuses a false name. It is not a clearance. The columns may hide reinforcement or steel. The infill may be a skin or a real wall. The visit records the grid it could see, cracks at the junctions, and any rust staining. It does not core the concrete or say the frame has passed a test.
Do not fill the blank with a name from a brochure, a neighbour or a memory of the estate. If the surveyor had a basis they would have used it, or they would have said why they hesitated. Ask them which possibility they have not ruled out. A rating on the visible brick is about that brick. It does not become rating 1 for an unnamed frame. Concealed parts are not shown to be sound because the elevation was photographed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did you see that stopped you naming a system?
- Are the columns concrete all the way up, or could steel be cased inside them?
- Is the missing name a limit I should repeat to the lender, rather than a pass?
What are the typical next steps?
- Repeat 'columns and brick infill, system not named' if that is the finding.
- Do not add a brochure name in the margin of the report.
- Ask what further inspection would be needed before a name could be used.
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 no defects are listed, has the frame passed?
No. An absence of a name is not an absence of risk. It means the visit would not pin the construction down.
Can I use the estate's usual system for the form?
No. A system the survey did not see must not be copied from a brochure or from the house next door.