Roofs and flat roofs
A purlin in the loft is propped with a timber stud that does not land on a wall. What load path has that prop not created?
That prop has not created a load path from the purlin down into a wall. A timber stud that stops on a ceiling joist, a board or thin air has nowhere structural to deliver the load the purlin is carrying. The purlin still spans between its real bearings, and the stud is an extra piece that does not finish on masonry. The survey has seen the prop and where it fails to land. It has not calculated the load, tested the ceiling under the stud, or designed a support that does reach a wall.
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 purlin carries rafters mid-span, so anything propped under it is trying to pick up roof load. If the stud does not land on a wall, that load is being offered to a joist or a floor that was not built as a roof support. The ceiling below can crack or dip. Seeing the timber tells you the intended path into a wall was not made. It does not tell you the roof is about to collapse, and it does not measure how much load arrives.
A structural carpenter or engineer can say whether the purlin already has proper bearings and the stud is redundant, or whether a real support down to a wall is needed. Do not treat the stud as a completed repair because someone once nailed it in. Tell the solicitor the report records an incomplete prop, not a designed strengthening. The home survey has not specified a steel, a new wall or a removal of the stud.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What does the foot of that stud actually bear on, as you saw it?
- Are the purlin's original bearings on walls still present?
- Did you see cracking in the ceiling under the stud, or no such mark?
What are the typical next steps?
- Describe the stud as a prop that does not reach a wall.
- Ask a structural carpenter where the purlin load actually lands.
- Do not accept the stud as a finished repair without that check.
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 purlin looks straight, has the prop done its job?
A straight purlin does not prove the stud is carrying load into a wall. The survey saw a prop that does not land on masonry. Straightness on the day is not a measured load path. The home survey itself did not pursue this purlin question any further than the visit.
Should the stud be knocked out because it lands short?
Do not remove it on a viewing. It may be doing nothing, or it may be loading a joist. The survey has not said it is safe to cut the stud away, and it has not designed a replacement. No later decision about the stud was made, and this visit did not supply one.