Roofs and flat roofs
Sprockets at the eaves are soft. Has that softness been followed into the rafter feet?
No. The softness in the sprockets has not been followed into the rafter feet. Sprockets are the short timbers that kick the eaves out beyond the wall, and they were soft where they could be reached. Softness there can stop at the sprocket, or it can continue into the rafter end that sits toward the wall plate. The survey did not open the eaves lining far enough to see that junction, and it did not probe the rafter feet. The sprockets are a finding. The rafters behind them remain unchecked.
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?
Eaves timbers sit in the weather, and decay often starts in the sprocket or the fascia zone before it walks back along the rafter. Feeling a soft sprocket tells you that piece has lost section. It does not tell you the length of sound timber left in the rafter, or whether the wall plate under the foot is also affected. Those pieces were not exposed. A roof can keep its covering while the ends that hold the eaves are failing. This visit stopped at the soft sprockets it could touch.
Ask a timber or roofing specialist to open the eaves and probe the rafter feet, and keep that note apart from this survey. Tell a lender the sprockets are soft and the rafter feet were not examined, so the extent is unknown. Do not describe the whole roof structure as decayed, and do not describe the rafters as sound, because the feet were never reached.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were the rafter feet probed, or only the sprockets?
- Was the eaves lining opened back to the wall plate?
- Is softness in the sprockets being extended to the whole roof?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the rafter feet as unchecked.
- Ask a specialist to open the eaves and probe the feet.
- Do not tell a lender the rafters are sound or fully decayed.
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 firm tile surface mean the eaves timbers are sound?
No. Tiles can look fair while the sprockets under the eaves are soft, which is what the survey found. The covering is not a test of the rafter feet, and those feet were not followed. A sound-looking slope does not cancel the soft sprockets. Extent still depends on opening the eaves.
Can the fascia alone be replaced without looking at the feet?
That would be a repair choice, not a finding of this survey. The survey has not followed the softness into the rafter feet, so it cannot say the defect stops at the fascia or the sprocket. Anyone proposing work should open that junction first. Do not let a fascia price stand in for an unseen rafter end.