Non-standard construction
Should cores from the garage only, seen beside the house wall of block, be treated as a verdict on a class that those cores do not give the dwelling?
No. Cores from the garage only are not a verdict on a class for the dwelling, even when they are mentioned beside the house wall of block. A garage is not the house wall. Samples from the garage, if they exist, speak to that garage concrete. They do not speak for the block of the dwelling. RICS guidance on the mundic problem is for surveyors in the south west. Cornwall Council describes a core test and does not provide it. A home survey does not drill cores or award Class A, B or C. This report has not classed the house wall.
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?
Outbuildings can be a different mix or a different date from the dwelling beside them. A core is tied to the element it came from. Putting the garage result next to a note about the house wall does not transfer it. The house wall of block still needs its own samples if a class for the dwelling is required. This home survey has not taken those samples. The south-west guidance and the council's description of a core test both sit outside a glance from the garage to the house.
Tell the solicitor the cores, if they are garage cores, do not class the dwelling. Do not pass them to a lender as a result for the house wall. If the house itself needs a class, that is a fresh instruction to sample the house concrete. Cornwall Council describes a core test and does not provide it. Keep the garage papers in the garage file. The survey of the home has not awarded Class A, B or C for the walls you would live within.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Do the cores you saw come from the garage rather than the house wall?
- Has anyone claimed those garage cores class the dwelling?
- Is the house wall of block still without its own result?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep garage cores in the garage, not on the house wall.
- Tell the solicitor the dwelling has not been given a class.
- Do not send garage results to a lender as the house result.
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 garage and house were built together, do the cores transfer?
No. Being the same age, or even the same site, does not make garage cores a class for the house wall of block. A core speaks to the concrete it came from. This home survey does not award Class A, B or C for the dwelling from a garage sample. The walls of the house remain unclassified by those cores.
Did this visit drill the garage?
The report discusses cores from the garage only. It does not follow that this home survey drilled them. A home survey does not drill cores or award Class A, B or C. Whatever produced the garage cores, they still do not class the dwelling. Cornwall Council describes a core test and does not provide it.