Roofs and flat roofs
What should you ask if a downpipe discharges onto the ground at the foot of the wall?
Ask where the water goes next. A downpipe that ends at the base of the wall soaks the foundation line and the brickwork every time it rains. That is a rainwater defect the survey can see. It is not, by itself, subsidence, and it is not the GOV.UK flood map. The repair is to take the water away properly, not to inject the wall and hope.
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?
Surveyors look for shoes, gullies and stains. A missing shoe or a gully full of debris is ordinary and serious if it has been wetting the wall for years. They do not rod the drain. A later drain comment is a separate instruction. Do not let one quote pretend the soakaway, the gully and the downpipe were all tested.
There is no RICS national price for reconnecting a downpipe. A roofer prices the length and the outlet they can see. If the rating is 3 because water is damaging the wall, get that quote before you are legally committed. RICS’s Level 3 description says written quotations for rating 3 repairs should be obtained before legal commitment.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where does this downpipe end, and was a gully there?
- Is the brickwork at the base stained or soft?
- Are you recommending a roofer, a drainage firm, or both?
What are the typical next steps?
- Photograph the outlet in rain if you can do it safely from the ground.
- Get a quote that states where the water will be taken.
- Do not dig a soakaway against the wall as a weekend fix. You may make the wetting worse.
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
Is a water butt the repair?
A butt overflows. It is not a drainage design. Ask where the overflow goes.
Does this prove the drains have collapsed?
No. It proves the pipe you can see is not reaching a proper outlet. The buried drain is untested unless someone tested it.