Age and type of house
If render on a no-fines house is cracked, has a cavity with failed ties actually been seen?
Not on that sentence alone. Render cracks are a comment on the render, while wall-tie failure belongs to a cavity wall the survey could identify. If this report could not see a cavity, it should say so, and it should not report tie failure or invent a construction it did not see.
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?
No-fines is a name for a concrete wall without the fine stones used in ordinary concrete. The name does not, by itself, tell you what the outside coat is doing, and it does not prove there is a cavity with ties in it. Some reports use the name loosely. Ask what was actually seen: solid concrete, a cavity, or only render over an unknown background. Until that is said, a horizontal crack in render is still a render crack.
A home survey does not drill the wall to settle the build-up. Level 3 is described for unusual buildings, but even that inspection does not invent the hidden leaf. If you are told the ties have failed, ask where the cavity was seen. If nobody saw one, the tie sentence should come out. Cracks, hollowness and staining in the render can still matter. They are not automatically a tie job.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Could you see a cavity, or only render and a name?
- Are you reporting tie failure, or only cracks in the coat?
- What construction are you not prepared to invent?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask for the cavity sentence to be corrected if no cavity was seen.
- Treat render cracks as render until the wall build-up is known.
- Do not order tie replacement from the word no-fines alone.
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
Does the decade prove there is no cavity?
No. The survey has to say what it could see on this house. Do not fill the gap with a textbook.
Is hollow render the same as a failed tie?
No. Hollow render is a coat that has lost its bond. Ties are a different item, and only where a cavity exists and was identified.