Age and type of house
A soldier course over a sash window has dropped in the middle. Has the survey said the arch has spread, or only that those bricks look uneven?
Only that those bricks look uneven. A soldier course over a sash window that has dropped in the middle has been recorded as an uneven line of bricks on end. The survey has not said the arch has spread. Spread would mean the arch has flattened and pushed its supports apart, which is a structural claim. Looking uneven is what the eye saw. The visit did not measure the abutments, and it did not decide that the opening has widened. Keep the sentence at the bricks that sit low in the middle.
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 soldier course is a row of bricks stood on end over the opening, sometimes as the arch itself and sometimes as a face in front of a lintel you cannot see. A drop in the middle can be the bricks slipping, a tired timber behind them, or simply an old uneven build. Arch spread is narrower: the curve has pushed out and the jambs have moved. The survey did not say that.
Ask the surveyor to confirm the words are about bricks that look uneven, not about an arch that has spread. If rain is getting in at the dropped middle, say so as a weathering point and ask a bricklayer how those soldiers are held. Tell the solicitor not to upgrade the phrase to spread. A lender should not be told the window opening has thrust outwards when the report did not say so.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you record an uneven soldier course, rather than arch spread?
- Was any outward movement of the jambs actually seen?
- Is the drop in the middle a visual note only?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the note as a soldier course that looks uneven.
- Do not upgrade it to a statement that the arch has spread.
- Ask a bricklayer about the dropped bricks if rain is entering.
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 sash sticks, has the arch spread?
Not from a sticking sash. Paint, the cords and a dropped meeting rail all stick sashes. The survey has not said the arch has spread, and a stiff window is not that measurement of the abutments. Nothing in this visit settles the dropped soldier course beyond the lines already set out.
Does a gap above the middle bricks mean water is getting in?
It might, and that is a weathering question. A gap over bricks that have dropped can admit rain. It still does not convert the note into arch spread, which the survey has not claimed. That is as far as the recorded facts about the dropped soldier course can be taken.