Condition ratings
Floor coverings were left down and the limitation says so. Does a rating on the skirting boards include the boards underneath?
No. A rating on the skirting boards does not include the floorboards underneath. The limitation says the coverings were left down, so the boards they hide were not inspected. A condition rating applies to what was inspected. The skirtings could be seen at the edge of the room, and any mark on them is about those skirtings. It does not reach under the carpet or other covering. NI means not inspected, not a pass, which is the honest status of the hidden boards. Do not stretch the skirting rating across them.
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?
Coverings are a classic limit. Furniture, fitted carpets and laminates stay where they are, and the surveyor does not lift them. Rating 2 would mean defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent, and rating 3 would mean serious or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. Either number, if it sits on the skirtings, is about the skirtings. The limitation is the sentence that keeps the concealed floor outside that number. Reading the rating as a verdict on the boards invents an inspection the report says did not happen.
If you need the floorboards seen, ask whether a further visit can happen with the coverings lifted, and get the seller's agreement. Until then, tell the solicitor the floor structure under the coverings was not inspected. Do not tell a lender the floors were rated. A squeak you notice yourself is not a substitute for the missing look. The limitation is there so the rating cannot be quietly widened. Leave it at the width the surveyor wrote.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does the skirting rating include the boards under the coverings?
- Does the limitation say those coverings stayed down?
- Is NI the status of a floor that was not inspected?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the skirting rating off the hidden boards.
- Tell the solicitor the covered floor was not inspected.
- Ask about a further look only if the coverings can be lifted.
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
What does rating 1 mean, if the skirtings were given it?
Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed. On the skirtings, that is a comment about the skirtings that were seen. It is not a rating of the boards under the coverings, which the limitation excludes. Do not borrow rating 1 as a pass for the concealed floor. NI, not rating 1, is the language for what was not inspected.
Can a loose skirting be evidence the floor below is decayed?
It can be a clue, which is why the skirtings have a sentence of their own. It is not an inspection of the boards the covering hides. The limitation still applies. Ask the surveyor whether the loose skirting is a concern that needs the floor opened. Do not convert the clue into a completed look under the carpet.