Age and type of house
A timber beam over a former shopfront sags and the flat above was not opened at the bearings. What end condition is unknown?
The end condition of the timber beam is unknown. It sags over a former shopfront, and the flat above was not opened at the bearings, so the survey could see the span and the deflection but not how the ends sit in the wall. Bearing length, decay in the pocket and what actually carries the beam were not seen. The sag is recorded. The ends are not. No end was opened, so bearing and decay in the pocket stay outside this visit.
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 timber beam over a shopfront often bears in pockets at each side, sometimes with a padstone, sometimes in brick that has been altered. Sag in the span can come from the timber itself, from creep, or from a poor end. You cannot tell those apart while the flat above stays closed. The survey did not lift floors or open the bearings. Plaster or a ceiling in the flat is not a view of the beam end, and a visible sag is not a measured loss of section.
Ask a structural engineer to inspect the bearings if you need the end condition, which means opening where this survey did not. Tell the solicitor the sag is described and the ends are unknown. Do not agree a repair that pretends the bearings were seen. Until they are opened, the report cannot say whether the ends are sound, decayed or barely bearing.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where does the beam sag, and were both bearings left closed?
- Was the flat above opened at either end of the beam?
- Have you recorded the end condition as unknown?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the sag separate from the unseen bearings.
- Tell the solicitor the end condition was not opened up.
- Ask an engineer only if the bearings themselves must be seen.
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 shopfront posts look plumb, are the beam ends sound?
Plumb posts describe the posts. They do not show the beam where it enters the wall. The flat above was not opened at the bearings, so the end condition stays unknown whatever the posts look like. Nothing in the posts changes that.
Does a coat of paint on the beam hide the answer?
Paint hides the surface of the span you can see. It does not reveal the bearings in the flat above, and the survey did not open them. A painted soffit is not an end condition. The ends remain the unknown part.