Non-standard construction
A corner column on a house called Myton is cracked and the other columns are covered. What of those covered columns was not seen?
The covered columns were not seen at all. On a house called Myton, the survey could see a cracked corner column and could not see the other columns because they are covered. Their concrete, any cracking, and any exposed reinforcement stay unknown. The crack on the corner describes the corner. It does not describe the columns the cover still hides, and it does not prove those columns are sound because they were out of sight. The survey has recorded one visible crack. It has not inspected the covered columns.
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?
Myton houses are a precast concrete type in which columns are part of the system, not ordinary brick piers. A crack in one corner column is a reason to take that column seriously. Covering the other columns, with render, lining or another coat, stops the same look. You cannot borrow the corner crack as a measurement of the hidden ones, and you cannot borrow their invisibility as a clean result. Unseen is the whole of what the cover allows.
Tell the solicitor that one Myton column is cracked and the others were covered. A concrete specialist can advise which covers should be opened if the type needs a wider look. Do not let a quote for the corner stand as a quote for every column. The survey has not specified repairs to the hidden columns, and it has not cleared them. The limitation should stay written against each column that was not exposed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which corner column is cracked, and what of the crack did you actually see?
- Which other columns were covered, and by what?
- Have you left those covered columns uninspected rather than sound?
What are the typical next steps?
- Limit the crack note to the corner column that was visible.
- Mark the covered columns as not seen.
- Do not price hidden columns as if they had been inspected.
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 only one column is cracked, are the covered columns sound?
The survey cannot say. It saw a crack in one corner column and did not see the others. Cover is not evidence of sound concrete. The covered columns were not inspected, so they are not cleared by the fact that the crack you know about is only on the corner.
Does render on the other columns count as an inspection?
No. Render is what stopped the inspection. A coat over a Myton column hides the concrete the survey needed to see. The corner was cracked and visible. The rendered columns were not seen. A smooth coat is a limitation, not a look at the column underneath.