Non-standard construction

Does non-standard construction always mean the walls contain asbestos?

No. Non-standard means the structure is not the ordinary brick cavity or similar construction the surveyor expected. Asbestos is a material that can appear in pre-2000 buildings of many kinds, including ordinary brick houses. The two findings can coincide and often do not.

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?

HSE’s lists are about products and age, not about the PRC label. A concrete panel house may have an asbestos soffit, an asbestos flue or none. A conventional house may have textured coatings. Ask the surveyor which materials they suspected, and where. Do not add asbestos to a construction label they did not use.

If both issues are real, deal with them separately. The lender’s construction question is not answered by an asbestos sample. The builder who will drill the wall needs the asbestos answer. Different specialists, different briefs. Neither fee is printed on the home survey.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which materials, if any, do you suspect contain asbestos?
Is that suspicion because of the structure, or because of a lining, a roof or a coating?
What should I not drill until someone has advised me?

What are the typical next steps?

Keep the lender’s construction question and the asbestos question on two lists.
Sample only materials you will disturb, using a competent person.
Do not tell a buyer or a lender that “non-standard” means “asbestos” unless the report says that.

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

Did system-built houses often use asbestos cement roofs?

Some did. “Often” is not this house. The surveyor either saw cement sheets or they did not. Ask them.

Should you refuse the house if both words appear?

Only if, after advice, you do not want that combination. The words are a brief, not a rule.