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Age and type of house

What should you ask about the roof if the house is called Georgian and has a parapet?

Ask how the rain gets out. Many of these roofs sit behind a parapet, with a hidden gutter or a valley you cannot see from the street. A home survey may see the parapet, the pointing and a stain in the front room. It may not see the lead. “Georgian” is a description, not a legal age and not a condition rating.

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?

Failed parapet gutters wet the top of the wall and the ceilings near the front, which buyers then call rising damp. The pattern is from above. RICS inspections are visual and are limited where a valley is hidden. The survey should say if it could not see the gutter. It should not invent a lead specification it did not see.

A roofer needs safe access to price that gutter. There is no RICS price for relining it. Listing, if the house is listed, is a further consent question for alterations. The survey does not apply for consent and does not decide the listing. Ask the solicitor. Do not lean over a parapet on a viewing.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • Could you see the gutter behind the parapet, or only the street front?
  • Are the stains at the top of the wall or at the skirting?
  • Are you using “Georgian” as a style, or as a statement of date?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Do not call a parapet leak rising damp.
  2. Ask for access to the valley before you accept a covering-only quote.
  3. If the house is listed, keep consent separate from the leak.

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

Is a butterfly roof the same as a parapet gutter?

It is another hidden valley, sloping inwards. The survey should name what it could see. Both can be invisible from the pavement.

Does a new front pointing prove the gutter is sound?

No. Pointing is the face. The gutter is behind it.

Sources