New builds and warranties
A new cavity wall has no weep holes over the openings the surveyor looked at. What water path is missing, and what snagging app entry about paint has not dealt with it?
The missing water path is the weep that should let water out of the cavity above the opening. A new cavity wall had no weep holes over the openings the surveyor looked at. Water that passes the outer leaf is meant to drop and leave through those holes, not sit on the lintel. A snagging-app entry about paint has not dealt with that. Paint is a finish. Weep holes are a way out for water. The survey has noted the absence. It has not drilled the wall, and it has not opened a warranty claim.
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?
Above a window or a door the cavity tray needs holes in the outer leaf so water can escape. No holes over the openings that were looked at means that outlet was not seen. The surveyor did not confirm a tray by opening the wall, so the note is the missing weeps, not a dissected lintel. Logging scuffed paint in a developer's app collects a decoration item. It does not cut weep holes, and it does not record this defect unless someone writes it as its own line.
Put the missing weeps to the developer in writing as a wall item, not as another paint snag. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open a claim. Ask the solicitor how that product sits beside a missing outlet the inspection has already noted. Do not let a ticked paint line stand as the repair of the cavity path.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Over which openings were weep holes absent?
- Why does a paint entry on the snagging app not deal with that path?
- Did you open the wall, or only record that the holes were not seen?
What are the typical next steps?
- Report the missing weeps as a wall item, not as paint.
- Ask the developer to answer that item in writing.
- Do not treat the survey as the opening of a Buildmark claim.
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 bricks look new and clean, are the weeps unnecessary?
No. Clean brick is a new finish. It does not replace weep holes over the openings. Water can still enter a cavity and need a way out. The paint snag does not deal with that path either. The survey noted holes that were not there. Newness is not a substitute outlet.
Does Buildmark get opened by typing the weep into the app?
No. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open a claim, and a snagging app does not open one by being typed in. The missing water path still needs to be raised as itself. Paint entries and warranty claims are not the same act.