Five structural checks worth making before you buy

A buyer gets very little time in a property before committing, usually in the company of someone who would prefer they commit. None of what follows substitutes for a structural assessment. It is a list of things that are visible on a first viewing and that tell you whether one is worth commissioning.

One: the line of the roof

Step back and sight along the ridge from outside. A ridge that dips or a roof plane that waves is describing movement in the structure below it, and it is one of the few whole-building signals visible from the pavement in a few seconds.

Two: doors and windows that bind

Open and close several, particularly upstairs. Frames that have gone out of square catch, stick or leave uneven gaps. One sticking door is a door. Several, on the same side of the building, is a pattern.

Three: recent decoration in one room only

Fresh paint is not suspicious. Fresh paint in a single room of an otherwise untouched house is worth a question, particularly where it is confined to one wall or one corner. It is often innocent. It is also the cheapest way to make cracking disappear before a viewing.

Four: what is happening outside the walls

Look at ground levels against the building, where rainwater discharges, and what is growing nearby. Mature trees close to a foundation, a downpipe emptying against a wall, or ground built up above the damp course are all causes rather than symptoms, and they are all visible without entering the house.

Five: the extension junction

Where an extension meets the original building, two structures of different age, weight and foundation depth are trying to move together. They rarely do. That junction is the single most productive place to look for cracking in an extended property, and it is usually the last place a viewer thinks to check.

None of these tell you a building is unsound. They tell you whether the question is worth asking properly.