Age and type of house
An opening has been widened for a new door and no lintel is visible. What support above that opening was not confirmed?
The support above the widened opening was not confirmed, because no lintel is visible. The survey can see that the opening has been made wider for a new door and that no lintel, beam or other support was in view. It has not opened the plaster to find a hidden member, and it has not calculated whether the wall above is carried. Approved Document A is structural guidance. It is not a certificate that this opening is supported. What remains unconfirmed is the support itself.
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?
Widening a door opening removes masonry that may have been helping to carry the wall above. A lintel or beam should take that load to the jambs. If none is visible, it might be hidden in the plaster, or it might be absent. The survey cannot tell those apart without opening up, and it will not pretend a smooth soffit is a steel. The unconfirmed item is the support: its existence, its bearing and its adequacy. Cracks, if any, are a separate sentence.
A structural designer or a builder used to openings can open up enough to see what, if anything, is over the head, and can say whether the wall is properly carried. Ask the solicitor for any building-regulations paper for the widened door. Approved Document A does not certify this house, and the survey has not. Do not plaster over the question by assuming a hidden lintel is there because the door has not yet stuck.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What support, if any, could you see over the widened opening?
- Did you open the plaster, or was the head only viewed as finished?
- Have you left adequacy uncalculated?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record that no lintel was visible over the widened door.
- Do not assume a hidden beam from a smooth finish.
- Ask for the opening to be exposed and designed if support is missing.
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 there is no crack above the door, is the support confirmed?
No. Absence of a crack on the day of inspection does not prove a lintel is present or adequate. Movement can be absent for a long time and still leave the support unseen. The survey's limit is that no lintel was visible. That limit remains.
Should a structural designer, rather than this survey, look for a hidden member?
Yes, if you need the head opened and assessed. The home survey has not opened it and has not calculated the load. A designer or a competent builder is the next inspection. Repeating the survey will not turn an unseen lintel into a seen one.