Roofs and flat roofs
The cheek of a dormer is clad in felt that is cracking, and the front tiles of the dormer look sound. Why can the cheek leak while those tiles do not?
The cheek can leak while the front tiles do not because they are different faces. The cheek is the side of the dormer, clad in felt that is cracking, and water can enter those cracks on a vertical face without ever crossing the tiled front. Sound tiles on the front only describe that front slope. They do not cover the cheek and they do not heal cracked felt. The survey has recorded the cracking on the side. It has not water-tested the cheek and has not blamed the front tiles for a leak they do not form.
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 dormer has a front, a top and cheeks, and each can be covered differently. Felt on a cheek fails by cracking and opening at the edges, especially where it turns onto the main roof or the window frame. The front tiles can be whole throughout. Anyone who only looks at the decorative front will miss the side that is actually open. The inspection separated those surfaces. Cracked felt is the defect written down. The sound tiles are the part that was not the problem.
A roofer can repair or recover the cheek without stripping the front tiles, unless the junctions between them are also poor. Tell the solicitor the report's covering defect is the felt cheek, not the dormer front. The survey has not specified new tiles and has not said the dormer frame is rotten. Edges, soakers and the turn onto the main roof are the details to point the roofer at. Do not read a tidy tile face as a dry dormer.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which cheek is cracked, and did the front tiles remain a separate comment?
- Were the edges of the felt open, or was the cracking in the face only?
- Did you see staining inside the dormer that lines up with the cheek?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the cracked felt cheek separate from the sound front tiles.
- Ask a roofer to repair the cheek covering, not to strip the front by default.
- Do not treat a tidy tiled front as proof the dormer is dry.
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 both cheeks are felt, is the whole dormer failed?
Only the cracking that was seen is the finding. The survey has not called the whole dormer failed because the cheeks are felt. Each face still needs its own description, and the front tiles were sound. No later decision about the cheek was made, and this visit did not supply one.
Can rain on the front tiles run sideways into a cracked cheek?
It can reach the junction, which is why the edge matters, but the survey has not water-tested that route. The defect it recorded is the cracked felt itself, not a path it traced from the front tiles. What happens next for the sidecheek is outside this note and was not settled here.