Roofs and flat roofs
A hip has been built up into a gable and no engineer's paper was in the pack. What has the visual survey not certified about that new gable?
Because a hip has been built up into a gable and no engineer's paper was in the pack, the visual survey has not certified that new gable. The visit can record the shape, the masonry and the way the slopes now meet it. It cannot confirm a beam, a padstone, a foundation or a calculation it did not see. It has not issued building-regulations approval. Treat the gable as described, not certified. The missing paper is still missing, and the inspection does not design the structure the paper should have shown.
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?
Turning a hip into a gable adds a wall and changes what carries the roof where the hip rafters used to run. That can be built properly, but the papers and the concealed bearings are what would show how. None of those papers were in the pack. The surveyor is not rejecting the house. The surveyor is refusing to treat a view of finished surfaces as an engineer's design or as an approval this visit does not have the power to give.
Ask the solicitor where any building-regulations certificate or calculation is, and do not let an agent say the survey has supplied it. If the structure must be checked, instruct an engineer, and open up only with the seller's permission. The home survey will not size a beam after the event, and it will not fill the absent paper with a rating. The new gable remains seen and uncertified.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What of the new gable could you actually see, and what was already covered?
- Were any steels, padstones or ties visible, or only finished masonry and roof slopes?
- Are you certifying that gable, or recording that no engineer's paper was in the pack?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor for any approval or calculation that covers the new gable.
- Do not describe the survey as building-regulations approval of the hip-to-gable work.
- If the structure must be checked, instruct an engineer as a separate appointment.
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 a neat new gable mean the alteration was approved?
No. Finish is not approval. No engineer's paper was in the pack, and the visual survey has not certified the gable it could see.
Can the surveyor calculate a beam the new gable may be standing on?
No. Calculating a beam or a load path is outside this visit. The report records the gable and the absence of the paper.