diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d339763..5329c15 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -232,6 +232,31 @@ checked rather than intended. On the SANS 1200 template, where quantities are
 derived (`=G35`, `=CEILING.MATH(...)`), writing a literal over that would
 destroy the engineer's model while looking like it worked.
 
+## A BOQ row is often two rows
+
+On the SANS 1200 template each line occupies **two** rows: the one carrying the
+item number, unit and quantity, and a following row holding the wrapped tail of
+the description —
+
+```
+r41  C=.04   Appointment of Community Liaison Officer   Month  8  20 000.00
+r42          for the duration of the contract period
+```
+
+Left as separate candidates those tails are decoys. The aligner matched
+`.04 Appointment of Community Liaison Officer` to the **previous** line's tail
+and the values landed one row above the label they belonged to — a wrong
+figure on a tender document. A row with no item number of its own and nothing
+in the priced columns is now joined onto the line above.
+
+Related, and the same root cause twice over: the header claims DESCRIPTION is
+in column E while the text is in D. That was already handled when *matching*,
+but the **row classifier** still tested column E alone — so row 41 was never
+counted as a line at all and never became a candidate. Both now use the
+description *run*. Central Towers went 192 written / 23 unplaced to
+**196 / 22**, with 4 more genuine disagreements now visible because the values
+are landing on the right rows.
+
 ## Tariffs carried inside a sum
 
 Candy sometimes prints a **word where a rate would go** — `INCL`, `Incl VAT`,
diff --git a/boq_engine/template.py b/boq_engine/template.py
index 10dc01c..495dbe3 100644
--- a/boq_engine/template.py
+++ b/boq_engine/template.py
@@ -172,6 +172,8 @@ def detect_layout(ws, hint: "SheetProfile | None" = None) -> Layout:
         lay.notes.append(f"header wraps over rows {header_row}"
                          f"-{header_row + span - 1}")
 
+    _verify_against_data(ws, lay)
+    _derive_desc_run(lay)
     _rebuild_rows(ws, lay, start=header_row + span)
 
     for name in ("item", "description", "unit", "qty", "rate", "amount"):
@@ -180,8 +182,6 @@ def detect_layout(ws, hint: "SheetProfile | None" = None) -> Layout:
     if "payment" in cols:
         lay.notes.append("PAYMENT column detected and will be left untouched")
 
-    _verify_against_data(ws, lay)
-    _derive_desc_run(lay)
     return lay
 
 
@@ -205,14 +205,23 @@ def _derive_desc_run(lay: Layout) -> None:
 
 
 def _rebuild_rows(ws, lay: Layout, start: int | None = None) -> None:
-    """Re-scan which rows are data and which are totals, from a column map."""
+    """Re-scan which rows are data and which are totals, from a column map.
+
+    Tests the description RUN, not the single column the header claimed. On
+    the SANS 1200 template the header says DESCRIPTION is in E while the text
+    is in D, so testing E alone classified real line rows as blank - and
+    ".04 Appointment of Community Liaison Officer" never became a candidate at
+    all.
+    """
     first = lay.header_row + 1 if start is None else start
     c_item = lay.cols.get("item")
-    c_desc = lay.cols.get("description")
     c_qty = lay.cols.get("qty")
+    run = lay.desc_cols or ([lay.cols["description"]]
+                            if "description" in lay.cols else [])
     for r in range(first, ws.max_row + 1):
         a = ws.cell(r, c_item).value if c_item else None
-        d = ws.cell(r, c_desc).value if c_desc else None
+        d = " ".join(str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "").strip()
+                     for c in run).strip() or None
         q = ws.cell(r, c_qty).value if c_qty else None
         label = f"{a or ''} {d or ''}".strip()
         if label and TOTAL_RE.match(label):
@@ -325,33 +334,57 @@ class Slot:
 
 
 def read_slots(ws, lay: Layout) -> list[Slot]:
+    """One slot per real line.
+
+    A BOQ row in these templates is often TWO rows: the one carrying the item
+    number, unit and quantity, and a following row holding the wrapped tail of
+    the description - "Appointment of Community Liaison Officer" on one row and
+    "for the duration of the contract period" on the next.
+
+    Left as separate slots, those tails become decoys. The aligner matched
+    ".04 Appointment of Community Liaison Officer" to the PREVIOUS line's tail
+    row, and the values landed one row above the label they belonged to. A row
+    that has no item number of its own and nothing in the priced columns is a
+    continuation, so its text is joined onto the line above.
+    """
     ci = lay.col("item")
-    run = lay.desc_cols or ([lay.col("description")] if lay.col("description") else [])
+    cu, cq, cr = lay.col("unit"), lay.col("qty"), lay.col("rate")
+    run = lay.desc_cols or ([lay.col("description")]
+                            if lay.col("description") else [])
     out: list[Slot] = []
-    # A spreadsheet implies its hierarchy: once "110.01" is printed, the blank
-    # cells below it still belong to 110.01. Without carrying that down, two
-    # thirds of the rows read as unnumbered and nothing can match them.
     carried = ""
+
     for r in lay.data_rows:
         raw = str(ws.cell(r, ci).value or "").strip() if ci else ""
-        # Only a real reference may be carried down. The wrapped header
-        # "ITEM" / "NO" leaves a literal "NO" in that column, and propagating
-        # it as an item number made every row beneath look like a mismatch -
-        # 1200LE rows 73-120 all inherited "NO" and became unmatchable.
+        # Only a real reference may be carried down a blank item cell. The
+        # wrapped header "ITEM" / "NO" leaves a literal "NO" in that column,
+        # and propagating it made every row beneath look like a mismatch.
         if REF_TOKEN.match(raw):
             carried = raw
         elif raw:
-            carried = ""             # a real value, but not a reference
+            carried = ""
         num = carried
-        parts = [str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "").strip() for c in run]
-        desc = " ".join(p for p in parts if p).strip()
-        if not num and not desc:
+
+        desc = _row_desc(ws, r, lay)
+        priced = any(ws.cell(r, c).value not in (None, "")
+                     for c in (cu, cq, cr) if c)
+
+        if not desc and not priced and not raw:
+            continue                      # wholly empty spacer row
+
+        if out and not priced and not raw and desc:
+            # the wrapped tail of the line above
+            if out[-1].desc:
+                out[-1].desc = f"{out[-1].desc} {desc}".strip()
+            else:
+                out[-1].desc = desc
             continue
-        # indent level from the leading whitespace the consultant preserved
-        raw = next((str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "") for c in run
-                    if str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "") !=
-                    str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "").lstrip()), "")
-        indent = len(raw) - len(raw.lstrip()) if raw else 0
+
+        raw_desc = next((str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "") for c in run
+                         if str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "")
+                         != str(ws.cell(r, c).value or "").lstrip()), "")
+        indent = (len(raw_desc) - len(raw_desc.lstrip())
+                  if raw_desc != raw_desc.lstrip() else 0)
         out.append(Slot(row=r, number=num, desc=desc, indent=indent))
     return out