Subsidence, settlement and heave
What can a home survey say about pattress plates if it cannot tell whether the rods are tight?
It can record the plates, which wall they are on, and whether the wall still bows between them, but it cannot see a buried rod or say the rod is tight. Plates mean someone tried to restrain the wall. They are not a certificate that the restraint is working, and one visit does not measure whether the bow is increasing.
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 pattress plate is the iron or steel disc on the face of the wall. The rod behind it is supposed to tie the wall back to the structure. From the street the surveyor sees the disc, the pointing around it, and the line of the brick. Rust staining, a plate that has pulled in, or a wall that still bulges past the plates are useful observations. None of them is a torque check. The Association of British Insurers describes subsidence as downward movement of the ground. A bowed wall with plates may have nothing to do with that. The bow can be old spread, a failed tie, or a wall that was restrained years ago and has been still.
Ask the surveyor not to collapse “plates present” into “wall restrained”. If the plates are only on one side of a terrace, the other end of the rod may be in a floor you cannot see, or it may have been cut. The inspection does not open floors. A standard survey does not guarantee concealed parts. If the bow is large, or the plates are clearly loose in crumbling brick, the next person is a structural engineer, not a decorator who will hide the discs. The survey has not designed a new tie.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where are the plates, and does the wall still bow between them?
- Could you see any rod, or only the discs?
- Are you saying the restraint is effective, or only that the plates exist?
What are the typical next steps?
- Photograph the plates and the line of the wall before anyone renders over them.
- Do not tell a buyer or a lender that the rods have been tested.
- If the wall is still clearly bowed, ask an engineer whether the existing rods can be relied on. Do not invent that answer from the discs.
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
Do pattress plates mean the house has subsided?
No. They are a restraint detail. They do not name the ground. Ask what the wall is doing, not what the discs imply about soil.
Can you tighten the rods from the survey?
No. Tightening is a structural repair. The survey has not seen the far end and has not specified it.