Age and type of house
An RSJ over a knocked-through reception has no padstone in any photograph. What bearing is still unverified?
The end bearing of the RSJ is still unverified. Photographs show a steel over the knocked-through reception and no padstone, so the way each end sits in the wall was not recorded. A padstone is a block meant to spread the steel's load into the masonry. Absence from the photographs is not proof that no padstone exists, and it is not proof the bearing is sound. The survey has not opened the wall at either end. It has not confirmed the bearing, and it has not issued a building-regulations certificate for the opening.
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 knock-through replaces a wall with a beam. The beam is only as useful as the ends that carry it. Those ends can sit on padstones, on piers, or on brick that was never prepared, and the difference is often hidden by plaster. If no photograph shows a padstone, the report has not captured one. The steel you can see in the room is the span, not the bearing. The survey describes the opening it could see. It does not dismantle the reveals to settle how the steel lands.
Ask the solicitor for any building-regulations certificate or engineer's calculation for the opening, and keep that paper separate from the photographs. The survey does not issue that certificate. If the bearings need to be exposed, that is a different instruction, often with a structural engineer, and it may need the seller's consent to open finishes. Do not tell a lender the beam is properly supported because the span looks straight. Straight steel is not a proved end.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which bearing was missing from the photographs?
- Did the visit open either end of the steel?
- Has a building-regulations certificate for the opening been issued by this survey?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat both end bearings as unverified.
- Ask the solicitor for any approval or calculation.
- Do not describe a straight span as a proved support.
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 padstone somewhere else in the house answer this opening?
No. A padstone under a different beam says nothing about these ends. Each opening has its own bearings. The photographs of this reception do not show one, and the wall was not opened. Ask for papers that name this beam. Do not borrow a detail from another room and treat it as evidence here.
Who would expose the bearing if it has to be seen?
Someone instructed to open the finishes, with the seller's agreement, not this survey as it stands. A structural engineer is the usual next report if the support is in doubt. The survey has recommended nothing beyond what its text says, and it has not opened the wall. Until that further look exists, the bearing stays unverified.