Roofs and flat roofs
Fine cracks radiate from the nails on a small lead flat, which is the look of fatigue. What deck movement under the lead was not measured?
Movement of the deck under the lead was not measured. Fine cracks radiating from the nails on a small lead flat are the look of fatigue, which the survey can describe. That pattern is often linked to the lead working against a deck that is not still, but the inspection did not measure the movement, lift the lead, or test the deck. Do not scrape or dress the lead from this note. The survey has recorded the crack pattern. It has not measured what the deck is doing.
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?
Lead moves with temperature, and it is fixed with nails that try to hold it. When the deck under it also moves, the lead cracks in a star from those nails. The look is familiar, which is why the survey can call it the look of fatigue. Familiarity is not a measurement of how far the deck deflects, whether the boards are rotten, or whether the crack already lets water through. The underside of the deck, if it could be seen from below, was not gauged.
Ask a roofer who works with lead to look at the flat and the deck beneath, without asking the home survey to be reread as that inspection. Tell the solicitor the finding is a fatigue pattern whose deck movement was not measured. Do not have the lead scraped, sanded or dressed as a DIY clearance. The survey has not said the deck is sound, and it has not said the cracks are only cosmetic.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was deck movement under the lead left unmeasured?
- Did you record the cracks from the nails as the look of fatigue?
- Was the lead left in place, rather than lifted?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record the crack pattern, not a measured deck movement.
- Ask a lead roofer to look at the flat and the deck.
- Do not scrape, sand or dress the lead from this note.
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 room below is dry, has the deck been cleared?
No. A dry ceiling below, on the day, does not measure how the deck moves under the lead. The survey saw cracks radiating from the nails. It did not gauge the deck, and it did not lift the lead. The survey recorded fatigue and did not measure the boards beneath.
Can the nails be punched in to stop the cracks?
Do not. Punching nails is not the finding, and it is not a measurement of the deck. The survey has described fatigue. It has not instructed anyone to dress or disturb the lead. Moving the nails would not tell you how the deck behaves.