Spray foam and lenders
Spray foam was stripped from part of the slope and a skin of it remains on the rafters. What timber face is still hidden?
The timber face still hidden is the rafter surface under the skin of foam that remains. Stripping part of the slope has shown only the part that was stripped. Where a skin stays on the rafters, that face has not been seen. The survey has recorded the remaining coating. It has not called the timber under it sound or decayed, because it could not see it. A partial strip is not a cleared roof. The coated face stays hidden until that skin is off and the timber is looked at.
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 is applied against the timber, so the condition of the rafter is read on the face the foam covers. Taking foam off one area lets you see that area. A skin left on the rest is still a cover. Stains, splits or old damp on that face are not available to the inspection. The survey can describe the boundary between stripped timber and coated timber. It cannot describe the wood under the skin, and it should not be read as having cleared the slope.
If a lender or an insurer has asked about foam, give them the survey's limit: part stripped, skin remaining, timber face under the skin not seen. Ask a roofing contractor what removing the remaining skin would involve, without treating the survey as that removal. Do not tell anyone the rafters have been passed. The inspection stopped at the coating it could not see through.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which parts of the slope are stripped, and which rafters still carry a skin?
- Did you see the timber face under the remaining foam, or only the coating?
- Have you left that hidden face unassessed rather than cleared?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the remaining skin as cover over an unseen rafter face.
- Tell any lender the timber under that skin was not seen.
- Ask a roofer what removing the rest of the skin would involve.
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 stripped foam in one bay clear the bays that still look coated?
No. Each bay is its own face. Foam taken off one part does not reveal the next. The survey has not seen through the skin that remains, and it has not graded those rafters. A tidy stripped patch can sit beside timber that is still hidden.
If the stripped timber looks bright, is the coated timber the same?
Not on this inspection. Bright timber is the timber that was uncovered. The coated face was not compared, because it was not seen. The survey will not copy a condition from the open rafters onto the ones still skinned. They stay undescribed.