Windows, doors and glazing
Lead cames are cracked on a stair window. Has a decision been made that every leaded light must be replaced?
No. No decision has been made that every leaded light must be replaced. Lead cames are cracked on a stair window, and the survey recorded that window. Cracked cames can let glass loosen and can let water in at that light. Other leaded lights in the house were not, by this note, ordered out. The report describes the cracks it saw. It has not specified wholesale replacement, and it has not issued a building-regulations certificate for new windows.
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?
Cames are the lead strips that hold the small panes. A crack in the came is a local failure of that strip, which a glazier can repair without scrapping every light. The surveyor is not that glazier and did not test each window. Approved Document A is structural guidance for building work, and a note about one stair window does not apply it to a full replacement scheme. The decision to replace every light has not been taken.
Ask a glazier to look at the stair window and to say whether that light can be repaired or needs remaking, and give the quote path to the solicitor as its own paper. Do not scrape, sand or break the lead yourself. A lender may ask about the window that was noted, not about an invented programme for every light. The survey has not decided the set must go. Keep any later specification separate from this observation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which stair window has the cracked lead cames?
- What, if anything, is said about the other leaded lights?
- Does the report specify replacement of every light?
What are the typical next steps?
- Limit the note to the stair window that was seen.
- Ask a glazier about repair of that light before any wider scheme.
- Do not describe a whole-house replacement as decided.
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 one cracked came mean the glass will fall out?
Not as a finding of this survey. Cracked cames on the stair window are a defect that can loosen glass, but the visit did not test how loose the panes are and did not condemn every light. The report records the cracks. It has not decided that replacement of all leaded lights is required, and it has not predicted a failure date.
Does the note authorise you to strip the lead and reglaze?
No. The survey has not authorised work, and you should not scrape, sand or break the lead. A decision has not been made that every leaded light must be replaced, still less that you should take this one apart. A glazier can advise on the stair window. That advice is not written into the crack note.