Non-standard construction
A Cornish unit house has a cracked PRC post at one pier and the other piers are rendered. What of the rendered piers is unknown?
What is unknown is the PRC posts inside the rendered piers. The survey has seen a cracked precast concrete post at one pier. The other piers are rendered, so those posts, any cracks in them, and any repair behind the coat were not seen. Render does not report the concrete it covers. The cracked pier is a finding about that pier. It is not a description of the rendered ones, and it is not proof they are different or sound. The survey has left the rendered piers unknown.
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?
Cornish unit houses use precast concrete posts at the piers, with panels between them. A crack in one exposed post shows distress at a structural piece the surveyor could see. Render on the next pier may be original, a repair coat, or a cover over a similar crack. The visit cannot tell which, because the coat was not cut back. Guessing that the other posts match the cracked one, or that they are fine because they are hidden, would both go beyond the evidence. Unknown is the accurate word.
Tell the solicitor which pier is cracked and which are only rendered. A concrete specialist can advise whether those coats should be opened before anyone relies on the other posts. Do not let a quote for the one cracked post slide across to piers nobody has seen. The survey has not specified repairs to the rendered piers, and it has not cleared them. Keep the known crack and the unknown posts apart.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which pier has the cracked PRC post, and how much of that post was exposed?
- Which piers are rendered, and did you see any post inside them?
- Have you left cracks and repairs behind that render unknown?
What are the typical next steps?
- Limit the crack finding to the one pier where the post was seen.
- Treat the rendered piers as unknown, not as sound.
- Ask what opening the render would involve before you rely on those posts.
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 one pier is cracked, have the rendered posts been shown to be different?
No. The survey has not shown them to be different, and it has not shown them to be the same. They are rendered, so the posts were not seen. Difference and sameness are both unknown. The cracked post stands on its own as the only post inspected.
Does the render replace the posts, or only hide them?
It hides them. Render is a coat over the pier, not a new post. The Cornish PRC posts behind that coat were not exposed, so their condition is unknown. The survey saw a crack at one pier and a coat at the others. The coat is not the structure.