Spray foam and lenders
Foam was stripped last month and the nail heads are now visible. Has this survey inspected the covering as it was before the foam?
No. This survey has not inspected the covering as it was before the foam. It sees the roof as it is now, after last month's strip, with nail heads visible. Those nails are today's evidence, not a view of the covering while the foam still hid it. The visit cannot rewind the strip. It can comment on timbers and fixings now in sight. It has not judged the roof in its foamed state, and it has not recovered whatever the foam was covering at the time.
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?
Spray foam can stop a surveyor seeing the structure while it is in place. Once it is stripped, the loft looks different, and nail heads that were buried can show. Visibility now is not a record of condition then. Nails can have been corroded, displaced or left proud in ways the foam concealed, and the strip itself can mark the timber. The survey describes the roof it could see on the day. The month before is outside that look.
Ask the solicitor for any foam paperwork, any strip invoice and any specialist roof report, and keep them separate from this inspection. A lender may ask its own questions about foam history. The survey has not answered those questions by seeing nails. Do not tell the lender the covering was inspected under the foam. If the newly visible fixings worry you, that is a question about the roof as it stands, not a reconstruction of the foamed roof.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does the visit see the roof after the strip, not before it?
- Are visible nail heads evidence of today's covering only?
- Can this report reconstruct the roof while the foam was still on it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the pre-foam covering as unseen by this visit.
- Ask the solicitor for foam and strip papers.
- Do not tell a lender the foamed roof was inspected.
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
Does seeing nail heads mean the timbers are now fully assessed?
Only the timbers and fixings actually in sight can be commented on. Visible nail heads show those nails, not every rafter length, not the underlay where it is still hidden, and not the roof as it was under foam. The survey has not said the strip made the roof complete to inspect. Read the limitations beside the nail note. What is still covered stays uninspected.
Should the old foam be assumed to have been wrongly installed?
No. This visit did not see the installation and has not graded it. The foam is gone. Papers, if they exist, are the record of what was specified. The survey's job is the roof now in view. Do not invent a verdict on a product that was stripped before the appointment, and do not treat bare nails as that verdict.