Non-standard construction
In an Orlit loft the precast roof beams are visible and one bearing looks chipped. What load test of those beams has the visual note not performed?
The visual note has not performed any load test of those precast beams. In an Orlit loft the beams are visible and one bearing looks chipped, which the survey can describe from the loft. A chip at a bearing is a knock or a break in the concrete at the support. It is not a load test, a calculation, or a certificate that the beams can carry the roof. The survey has not loaded them, sampled the concrete, or measured deflection.
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?
Orlit roofs use precast concrete beams that you can sometimes see in the loft, including the ends where they bear. A chipped bearing is something the eye can record: concrete missing at the support of one beam. What the eye cannot do is load the beam and watch it, or say how the reinforcement inside is coping. The other beams may look whole and still be untested. The visual note stays visual. It does not become a structural test because the loft was accessible.
Pass the chipped bearing to a structural engineer if the roof is to be relied on, and give them the limit: one bearing looked chipped, and no load test was done. Tell the solicitor the survey has not certified the beams. Do not prop the roof, or load it with stored goods, as a homemade test. The home survey has not performed one.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the chipped bearing only a visual note?
- What load test of the precast beams was not performed?
- Were the other beams seen but still untested?
What are the typical next steps?
- Describe the chip at the bearing, not a load test.
- Ask a structural engineer to consider the beams if you need more than a look.
- Do not treat loft access as a structural test of the Orlit roof.
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 ceiling below is uncracked, have the beams passed?
No. An uncracked ceiling does not load-test the precast beams. The survey saw a chipped bearing in the loft. It did not measure deflection or sample the concrete. The visual note has not become a load test. Loft access is not that test.
Does one sound beam clear the chipped one?
No. A beam that looks whole is a different member from the one with the chipped bearing. Neither was load-tested. The visual note has not certified either of them. The chip remains a visual note, and no load was applied.