Roofs and flat roofs
Where a report pairs an eyebrow dormer with block-ridge thatch, what stays open about the liggers under the coat?
What stays open is the liggers under the coat, which an eyebrow dormer and a block ridge do not expose. The report paired those two visible features. It has not decided that the liggers are sound, present all the way along, or free of decay. Block-ridge thatch is a finished shape on the outside. The eyebrow is a raised swell over a window. Neither is a view of the timber rods under the straw or reed. The survey has named the coat it could see and left the liggers unresolved.
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?
Liggers are the rods that pin a ridge or a detail into the coat. On a block ridge they sit under the shaped finish. Around an eyebrow they help hold the swell. From the ground the surveyor sees the profile, the netting and any thin patches. The loft may show the underside of the coat and not the liggers. Parting the thatch is not a home survey. The pair of features describes form, not a test of the fixings inside it.
Ask the solicitor for any thatcher's notes on the ridge and the eyebrow, and keep them separate from this visual paragraph. A thatcher can say whether the liggers need renewing when the coat is next worked. The home survey has not dated the ridge and has not specified that work. Do not assume a crisp block ridge means the rods underneath were renewed with it. The open question is those liggers, still unseen.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What could be seen of the eyebrow and the block ridge from the ground?
- Did any loft view reach the liggers, or only the underside of the coat?
- Does the report leave the liggers untested?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the liggers as still open.
- Ask for any thatcher's notes on the ridge and eyebrow.
- Do not read a neat block ridge as a check of the rods.
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Also asked about this
Is an eyebrow dormer a structural dormer with its own frame?
An eyebrow in thatch is usually a swell in the coat over a window, not a timber dormer with cheeks and a flat roof. The report paired it with the block ridge. It has not described a separate framed structure unless it says so. The unresolved item remains the liggers under the coat, not a guessed dormer frame.
Does wire netting over the ridge hold the liggers?
Netting holds the surface of the coat against birds and wind. It is not the liggers, which are inside the ridge. Seeing netting does not prove those rods are sound. The visit did not part the ridge. Netting is a surface detail. The liggers stay unseen.