Windows, doors and glazing
A stone mullion is cracked at the cill and the glass is intact. What stone repair has not been specified, and what listing consent has the survey not given?
No stone repair has been specified, and the survey has not given listing consent. The mullion is cracked at the cill and the glass is intact, so the note is the stone, not a broken pane. Intact glass does not say how the crack should be pinned, pieced or left. Historic England explains that listing covers the whole building, which includes this mullion, not a fragment the report can release. The survey does not grant consent. It has described a crack. It has not designed the repair.
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 mullion carries the lights beside it and meets the cill at a joint that takes weather. A crack there can be a fracture in the stone, a failed joint, or both, and the survey has not separated those by opening the cill. Specifying a stone repair means choosing a method and a mortar. That choice was not written. Whole-building listing means the mullion is not outside the list merely because the glass survived.
Ask the solicitor to check the list entry and whether stone repair at this opening needs consent. Historic England explains that listing covers the whole building, and the survey does not grant that consent. If you want a method, ask a stone conservator to specify it. Do not treat intact glass as permission to cut the mullion out, and do not read the condition note as an approval.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What stone repair, if any, did you specify for the cracked mullion?
- Did intact glass change what you could say about the cill?
- Are you recording condition rather than granting listing consent?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the crack as condition, not as a specified stone repair.
- Ask the solicitor whether consent is needed for work to the mullion.
- Do not treat intact glass as listing consent.
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 crack is hairline, can the mullion be left with no advice?
The survey can record a hairline as what it saw. It still has not specified a stone repair and has not given listing consent. Historic England explains that listing covers the whole building, so a small crack is not outside the list. How soon a conservator should look is a separate instruction, not a consent hidden in the sentence.
Does a new pane of glass imply the stone was approved?
No. A newer pane shows the glass was changed. It does not approve the cracked mullion and it is not listing consent. The survey has not specified the stone repair. Historic England explains that listing covers the whole building, glass and stone together, and this inspection does not grant consent for either.