Non-standard construction
Cladding is missing at two corners of a Hawksley bungalow and aluminium stanchions show. What of the stanchions still covered was not exposed?
The stanchions still covered by cladding were not exposed. Cladding is missing at two corners of a Hawksley bungalow, and aluminium stanchions show there. Those two corners are the only aluminium the survey saw. The rest of the frame remains behind whatever cladding is still fixed, so its section, its fixings and any corrosion were not in view. Missing boards at two corners are an opening. They are not a survey of the stanchions that opening did not reach.
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?
Hawksley aluminium bungalows carry their structure on metal stanchions, which is why a glimpse of metal matters and why a glimpse is not enough. The survey can describe the exposed metal at those corners: pitting, a past patch, a sound-looking surface, whatever was actually there. It cannot continue that description under intact cladding. No lining was lifted elsewhere. No structural calculation was made. Non-standard construction is identified by the system, then limited by what was uncovered. Here, two corners were uncovered. The covered stanchions were not.
Ask the solicitor for any repair record for the aluminium frame, and if the hidden stanchions must be known, instruct a specialist who can expose them under a proper brief. Do not read two clean corners as a clean frame. The survey saw aluminium where the cladding was already missing. It did not expose the rest. Two open corners are not a tour of the frame.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which two corners had lost cladding, and what did those stanchions show?
- What of the remaining stanchions stayed covered?
- Did you lift any other lining, or stop at the openings you found?
What are the typical next steps?
- Limit the aluminium note to the two corners where stanchions showed.
- Ask the solicitor for any frame repair record.
- Instruct a specialist if the covered stanchions must be exposed.
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 exposed aluminium is bright, is the hidden metal bright too?
Brightness at two corners describes those two stanchions. The survey did not expose the ones still under cladding, so it cannot lend them the same surface. Hawksley frame metal can differ from bay to bay. The covered lengths were not seen, and a bright corner does not inspect them.
Does missing cladding at the corners mean the frame has failed?
It means the cover has gone at those corners and the stanchions there could be seen. The survey has not called that a frame failure, and it has not seen the stanchions still covered. Lost cladding is an opening in the lining. It is not a test of the aluminium that remains hidden.