Windows, doors and glazing
A leaded light is buckled and the came was not tested. What craft repair has not been written, and what subsidence has a buckled light not shown?
No craft repair has been written, and the buckled light has not shown subsidence. The came was not tested. A leaded light buckles when the lead strips tire and the glass bellies, which is a glazing craft problem. Subsidence would be the ground and the masonry moving. A wavy panel does not prove that. The survey has described the buckle. It has not specified releading, and it has not diagnosed downward movement of the house from the glass.
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 that holds the quarries. They creep. The panel can bow in an opening whose brickwork is still in line. Testing the came would be a specialist judging the lead, which this inspection did not do. Writing a craft repair would name releading, new ties or a new panel. None of that is in the report. Using the buckle as evidence of subsidence skips the masonry the survey would have had to see moving.
If you want the light repaired, ask a leaded-glass specialist to write the craft repair, including whether the came is finished. Ask the surveyor whether any crack, sloping cill or distorted opening was actually seen around the light. Tell the solicitor a buckle is not a subsidence finding. The home survey has not written the repair and has not shown the ground to be moving.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What craft repair of the leaded light did you leave unwritten?
- Why has the buckle not shown subsidence?
- Was the came left untested on purpose as outside this inspection?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the buckle as a leaded-light note, not as subsidence.
- Ask a glazing specialist if you want a craft repair written.
- Do not read an untested came as a ground-movement finding.
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 cill is level, does the came still need a look?
A level cill, if that is what was seen, supports leaving subsidence out of this note. It does not test the came and it does not write the craft repair. The light can still be buckled in a level opening. Straight masonry is not a specification for the lead.
Does old glass mean the house has dropped?
No. Old glass and tired lead are common together, and they are not a survey of the ground. The came was not tested. The buckle has not shown subsidence. Age of the panel is a reason to expect a craft question, not a reason to claim the foundations have moved.