Outbuildings and conservatories
The report mentions a panic bolt next to a push pad. Has the rear escape door from a maisonette been tested, or only named?
The rear escape door from the maisonette has only been named, not tested. A panic bolt is gear that is meant to release when the door is pushed. A push pad is the pad you push to operate it. The report mentions them side by side. The survey has not operated an escape trial, has not decided the door opens freely, and has not said the door meets any fire or escape rule. Naming the hardware is not a test of the route.
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?
A panic bolt usually has rods into keeps at the head and the threshold, released by a bar or a pad. Paint, a seized rod or a blocked keep can leave a door looking equipped while it will not release. This visit did not push the pad and did not check the rods. No fire-door inspection was carried out, and nobody witnessed the rear door opening.
Tell the solicitor the panic bolt and push pad were named on the rear door and not tested. If the escape route matters to you, a fire-door or joinery specialist can operate and report on it, which is outside this home survey. The lender has no escape test. Do not assume the maisonette's rear door works because the hardware is present. The survey has not passed it and has not failed it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the rear escape door only named, not pushed as a test?
- Did you leave the panic bolt and push pad unoperated?
- Has any escape or fire performance been left undecided?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the panic bolt and push pad as named, not tested.
- Ask a specialist if the rear door must be operated and reported on.
- Tell the solicitor there was no escape trial of this door.
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 a push pad on the door mean the route is usable?
No. The pad is a piece of hardware. The survey did not push it and did not watch the bolts clear the keeps. A pad can be fixed to a door that does not open. The maisonette's rear door stays untested. Presence of the pad is the note, not a working route.
If the door is a rear door, is it automatically the escape door?
The report calls it the rear escape door and then only names it. The survey did not prove it is the designed escape, did not walk a route, and did not test the door. The label in the sentence is not a fire strategy. How the maisonette is meant to be left stays outside this visit.