Roofs and flat roofs
What is the difference between a hip roof and a gable, and what do the hip tiles hide?
A hip roof slopes at the ends as well as at the sides, so those ends have no vertical gable wall, whereas a gable finishes in a wall. Hip tiles, or hip slates, cover the external angle and hide the hip rafter, the cut courses and the fixings. A home survey sees that line from the ground and does not strip the hip, so a tidy line is not proof the timber inside is sound.
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?
The shape changes what a surveyor is looking at. On a gable they can see the verge, the bargeboard and the wall. On a hip they can see whether the angled courses are even, cracked or short of tiles. Under those tiles sit the hip rafter and the cut ends of the ordinary courses, often bedded or mechanically fixed. None of that is visible until the covering comes off, and a standard home survey does not take covering off to inspect a hip.
A dip in a hip is not the same sentence as roof spread, which is the feet of a roof pushing walls out, and it is not a sagging ridge. Ask which hips were in view. A hip facing a neighbour, or one hidden by a tree, may be named only as not fully seen. There is no remaining-life figure for hip tiles in a home survey. A roofer who goes up can say whether the hip iron, the bedding and the cut courses match what the ground view suggested.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which ends are hipped, and which are gables?
- Could you see the whole hip line, or only part of it?
- Are you commenting on the tiles, or also on the shape of the roof?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not call a hip a defect just because the house is not a gable.
- If a hip tile is missing, ask a roofer about that hip rather than a whole new roof.
- Keep any comment about the walls being pushed out in a separate sentence from the hip covering.
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 hipped end mean there is no verge?
On that end, yes. The water runs down the hip instead of off a verge. Other slopes on the same house can still have verges.
Can a survey see the hip rafter from the loft?
Sometimes, if the loft is open at that end. Boards, insulation and stored goods often hide it. Not seeing it is a limit, not a pass.