Chimneys and parapets
The stack is corbelled and leans over the slope, while the pots remain upright. Which movement is the report actually describing?
Only the corbelled stack leaning over the slope is the movement described, not a tilt of the pots. The pots remain upright, so the note is the brick corbelling and the shaft, which have leaned, while the pots have not been described as cocked or slipped. Corbelling is the oversailing courses. Movement there is movement in the masonry. A visual survey names that lean. It does not calculate whether the stack is safe, and it does not design a rebuild because the pots still look vertical.
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?
Upright pots are easy to misread as a straight chimney. They show that the pots have not taken the same tilt, or that they have been reset. They do not cancel courses that lean out over the slope. The survey records that lean without having to prove one cause. Do not argue the stack is plumb because the pots are. The part named is the corbelled brickwork, and that is the part the note is about.
A chimney mason, from safe access, can judge the lean and say whether the corbel wants rebuilding, repointing or simply watching. That advice is not already in the report. Ask any quotation to repeat that the subject is the corbelled stack, not the pots, unless the mason finds the pots loose once they are up there. Upright pots are not a repair. They are not a reason to ignore the overhang toward the slope.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which part of the stack leans, and over which roof slope?
- Are the pots upright in their seats, loose, or leaning with the brickwork?
- Are you describing the corbelling, rather than pots that have tilted?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the movement as the corbelled stack, not as the pots.
- Ask a chimney mason to judge the lean from a safe position.
- Do not cancel the note because the pots still stand upright.
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 pots are upright, is the stack straight?
No. The report describes the corbelled stack leaning over the slope. Upright pots are a different part, and they do not straighten that brick corbelling.
Has the survey ordered the stack to be taken down?
No. It describes the lean. Taking the stack down, or rebuilding the corbel, would be later advice from a mason, not a design this visit has produced.