Wall ties and cavity insulation
The report mentions rows of filled drill holes next to the gable. Has new ties the holes suggest but do not prove been tested, or only named?
The holes were recorded, not a tie test. Rows of filled drill holes next to the gable can be left by a wall-tie replacement, by other fixings or by a failed start. The survey did not test the ties, did not see them in the cavity and did not prove that new ties are there. The pattern was noted. It has not been turned into a guarantee that the gable is tied or that the work was finished.
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?
Replacement ties are often installed on a grid, and the holes are then filled. That pattern is a clue. It is not the tie. Without a guarantee, a specification and a cavity inspection, you cannot count how many ties were placed, what metal they are, or whether they engaged both leaves. This visit did not endoscope the wall and did not test a tie. Filled holes are decoration over a question, not the answer to it.
Ask the solicitor for a wall-tie guarantee, a specialist's report and any building-control note for the gable. If those papers are missing, the holes stay unexplained marks. A tie specialist can investigate the cavity if you need proof rather than a pattern. Tell a lender the survey saw filled holes and did not test new ties. Do not present the gable as retied merely because the brickwork has been made good.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were the filled holes only seen, not opened into the cavity?
- Have new ties been left untested?
- Is there no guarantee in the survey for a replacement scheme?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the drill-hole rows as a clue, not as proved new ties.
- Ask the solicitor for any wall-tie guarantee.
- Instruct a tie specialist if the cavity must actually be checked.
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
Do filled holes on one gable cover the other elevations?
No. A pattern on one gable is one wall. Other elevations may never have been touched. The survey did not test ties anywhere and did not treat the holes as proof even on this gable. Ask the solicitor which walls, if any, a guarantee actually names. Do not copy one elevation across the house.
Is a guarantee the same document as this survey?
No. A wall-tie guarantee is a specialist's paper, often with a drawing of where ties were placed. This survey did not produce it and did not test the ties the holes suggest. Ask the solicitor for the original guarantee and check the property address and the walls named. The survey sentence about filled holes is not that certificate.