Spray foam and lenders
Foam was scraped off and nails and a film remain on the rafters. What face of the timber is still not fully visible?
The face of the timber that is still not fully visible is the rafter face that still carries nails and a film. Foam was scraped off, and those remains were left on the rafters. Where film and nail heads cover the wood, the surveyor cannot see the whole surface. The survey has recorded the remains. It has not cleared them, has not called the timber sound underneath, and has not treated a partial scrape as a full view of the wood.
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?
Taking foam off a rafter often leaves a skin and the nails or pins that held the work. That skin is still a covering. A rafter can look mostly bare and still hide the line where the film sticks, which is the line you would want to see if you were judging damp, splitting, or old staining. The survey stopped at what was visible: foam removed incompletely, nails and a film remaining. It did not declare the timber clear, and it did not test it.
Tell the solicitor foam was scraped off and that nails and a film still hide part of the rafter face. If the timber needs to be fully seen, that is a further clearance the survey has not carried out and has not instructed you to improvise. Do not read the scrape as a clean bill for the rafters. Keep any later timber comment separate from a face that is still partly covered.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which rafter faces still carry nails and a film?
- What of the timber surface is still covered?
- Did you clear that film, or only record it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell the solicitor nails and a film still hide part of the rafter face.
- Do not treat the scrape as a clean view of the timber.
- Keep any later timber comment separate from the face that is still partly covered.
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 most of the foam has gone, is the rafter face fully visible?
No. Most of the foam being gone is not the same as the rafter face being fully visible. Nails and a film remain, and that is the face the survey still cannot see completely. A partial clearance is the finding. It is not a full inspection of the wood beneath the remains.
Does a film left on the rafters mean the foam has been fully removed?
No. A film left on the timber means the foam has not been fully removed from that face. The survey recorded nails and a film still on the rafters. Those remains are why the wood is not fully visible. Calling the scrape finished would ignore what was left behind.