diff --git a/craft/src/state/PageContext.orphan-repair.test.ts b/craft/src/state/PageContext.orphan-repair.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab70577
--- /dev/null
+++ b/craft/src/state/PageContext.orphan-repair.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { renderEditorHarness } from '../test-utils/editorHarness';
+import { repairOrphanNodes } from '../utils/orphan-repair';
+import { EMPTY_CANVAS } from './PageContext';
+
+describe('EMPTY_CANVAS is exported and loadable', () => {
+  test('deserializing EMPTY_CANVAS gives a ROOT with no children', () => {
+    const harness = renderEditorHarness({ initialState: EMPTY_CANVAS });
+    const nodes = JSON.parse(harness.getSerialized());
+    expect(nodes.ROOT.nodes).toEqual([]);
+    harness.unmount();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('repaired state survives a real Craft deserialize', () => {
+  test('an orphaned HTML block becomes a selectable child of ROOT', () => {
+    const broken = JSON.stringify({
+      ROOT: {
+        type: { resolvedName: 'Container' },
+        isCanvas: true,
+        props: { style: {}, tag: 'div' },
+        displayName: 'Container',
+        custom: {}, hidden: false, nodes: [], linkedNodes: {}, parent: null,
+      },
+      stray: {
+        type: { resolvedName: 'HtmlBlock' },
+        isCanvas: false,
+        props: { code: '<p>stranded</p>', style: {} },
+        displayName: 'HTML',
+        custom: {}, hidden: false, nodes: [], linkedNodes: {}, parent: 'ghost',
+      },
+    });
+
+    const { state, repaired } = repairOrphanNodes(broken);
+    expect(repaired).toEqual(['stray']);
+
+    const harness = renderEditorHarness({ initialState: state });
+    const nodes = JSON.parse(harness.getSerialized());
+    expect(nodes.ROOT.nodes).toContain('stray');
+    expect(harness.container.textContent).toContain('stranded');
+    harness.unmount();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/craft/src/state/PageContext.tsx b/craft/src/state/PageContext.tsx
index 2a52ada..41fac54 100644
--- a/craft/src/state/PageContext.tsx
+++ b/craft/src/state/PageContext.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { PageData, PageSeo } from '../types';
 import { SerializedTreeNode } from '../types/sitesmith';
 import { useSiteDesign, SiteDesign } from './SiteDesignContext';
 import { sanitizeAiTree, flattenTreeForCraft, FlatCraftNode } from '../utils/craft-tree';
+import { repairOrphanNodes } from '../utils/orphan-repair';
 
 interface PageContextValue {
   pages: PageData[];
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ export function nextPageId(): string {
   return 'page_' + Date.now().toString(36) + '_' + (++pageIdCounter).toString(36);
 }
 
-const EMPTY_CANVAS =
+export const EMPTY_CANVAS =
   '{"ROOT":{"type":{"resolvedName":"Container"},"isCanvas":true,"props":{"style":{"minHeight":"100vh","backgroundColor":"#ffffff"},"tag":"div"},"displayName":"Container","custom":{},"hidden":false,"nodes":[],"linkedNodes":{}}}';
 
 const EMPTY_HEADER =
@@ -368,12 +369,27 @@ export const PageProvider: React.FC<{ children: ReactNode }> = ({ children }) =>
     }
   }, [query]);
 
-  /** Load a craft state into the Frame */
+  /** Load a craft state into the Frame.
+   *
+   *  Every state goes through `repairOrphanNodes` first: a node that no
+   *  parent lists is invisible to Layers and unselectable on the canvas, so
+   *  it can neither be moved nor deleted. Reattaching it to the end of ROOT
+   *  makes it an ordinary child the user can select and delete. Cheap
+   *  (single JSON round-trip) and a no-op -- returning the identical string
+   *  -- for the overwhelmingly common healthy case. */
   const loadState = useCallback(
     (craftState: string | null, fallback: string) => {
       setTimeout(() => {
+        const source = craftState || fallback;
+        const { state, repaired } = repairOrphanNodes(source);
+        if (repaired.length > 0) {
+          console.warn(
+            `[site-builder] reattached ${repaired.length} unreachable node(s) to the page root:`,
+            repaired.join(', '),
+          );
+        }
         try {
-          actions.deserialize(craftState || fallback);
+          actions.deserialize(state);
         } catch (e) {
           console.error('Failed to deserialize state:', e);
           try {