boxst

Hello

I live in a house that is just over 3 years old, and I am the second owner. It's a big, five bedroomed house (relevant), built by some local builders.

Yesterday evening, I discovered a small mushroom by the outside of the shower where it meets the carpet. Pulling back the carpet it looks as though there is a leak between the bath and shower that has been there for a long while and is rotting away the floorboards. This looks expensive to repair, as the built in shower and bath (with tiles) would have to be removed, the pipe (I'm assuming) replaced and the mouldy floorboards replaced.

Before I go and have a chat with the builders tomorrow, does anyone know if I actually have any rights? I believe they are at fault.

Thanks,

Steve.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

i dont think you will have any claim on the builders, the NHBC will last for 10 years but i dont really think you could be claiming for a burst with them , give them a ring and find out if the builder has some self respect he might fix the problem for you as a good will gesture

Redkop

NHBC only covers structural mainly and not internal fixtures and fittings. I imagine your only recourse is to claim on your Household Insurance.

chris's scooby

I think you'd have some cover on an NHBC within the first 2 years but after that it's mainly structural cover only.

john banks

We had exactly the same. Builders didn't want to know even though the plumbing behind the shower hadn't been soldered properly and had probably been leaking from early on. NHBC were toothless and we ended up claiming on house insurance. The disappointing thing was the amount of walls, flooring and tiling that had to be removed - modern building materials - ie chipboard and plasterboard, don't like to just dry out like older materials it seems.

David Lock

Had 2 similar things with shower and bath. One was bath overflow not properly sealed and second was loose drain fitting in base of shower. Most damage was to plasterboard kitchen ceiling below. Turned out fixing problem/s wasn't too bad once we discovered what it was so you may not have to rip everything up. My household insurance say they will pay for repair of damage caused but not for actual repair costs for fixing problem. DL

boxst

Hello

The building company are thinking about it. But, my insurance company are saying that it must be a "gradual" thing that it isn't covered.

So, for the two of you above who claimed (and anyone else), are the insurance company just trying it on?

Thanks,

Steve.

Account deleted by request

From my experience with Builders (small and large firms on a daily basis) if they are thinking about it they will probably help. At the end of the day it might be worth negotiating a comprimise with them, they do the labour for free and you pay for materials (at cost price) through them.

Most good builders I know normally offer this when problems similar to yours happen.

It will be a lot less hassle than trying to claim through your insurnace.

By what you have said the material cost should be minimal anyway.

HTH

chopper

David Lock

My insurance company's attitude was that the cause of the leak was "fair wear and tear" and so costs of repair to fix leak were not covered. BUT damage - in our case to the ceiling below - was covered. I can see their point so I don't think your company are trying it on. BTW did you have any ceiling damage below? DL

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

We had a leak just over a month after we moved in.

We had to get the: landing, stairs, bathroom, and downstairs loo carpets, plus the laminate in the hall replaced. Not to metion the entire hallway repainted to hide the water stains.

All done at builders expense... and just add some sense of justice, we've just had the garage converted into a Dining Room by them and we only had to pay for the new internal door!

(mind you we had a 17 page snag list to go through, and a REALLY sorry tale of woe with the whole house move)

john_s

iTrader: (1)

As stated above, I think NHBC only covers major elements of structure for 10 years & other items for 2 years.

John.

Redkop

Not made a claim with Ins Co for same thing as you boxst, but the cylinder in the airing cupboard developed a pin hole in it and went unnoticed for ages, until it brought part of the kitchen ceiling down. The insurance company paid for a new ceiling and carpet, but not for a new cylinder, luckily this was replaced free though with the gas 3 star service cover we have.

Harry_Boy

Correct - NHBC cover is designed to 'oblige' the builder to fix major structural repairs within the first ten years, plus lesser items in the first two. Otherwise, it's pretty toothless I'm afraid...

mattstant

At the risk of attracting flack i will hold my hand up and admit this it is part of my job as a developer/builder to resolve these issues.
Everything said so far is fairly accurate.

"Legally" you dont have any claim against the builder unless as has already been stated this is a structural fault in which case the NHBC will be quite helpful.

The first thing i would look at from my side of the fence is the fact that this is obviously a leak which is long term and that it has not been reported by the original purchaser.
As such most of the resultant damage may have been limited/contained by the previous owner reporting it as soon as possible.
Beleive it or not some people do sit on these problems for a while watching them get worse and expecting the builder to pay for carpets redecoration rehousing et al.

Plumbing is only guaranteed for a year or two after occupation but personally if i find my contractor is at fault i will put serious pressure on him to resolve it regardless of this guarantee because he will get no further work otherwise.

Plumbing work is always a contentious issue as it can cause so much damage with such a relatively minor fault and there are thousands of connections and hundreds of feet of piping at risk not mention other trades banging in nails and drilling holes after the plumber has first fixed.
householders also usually have there own carpet fitters and do the inevitable DIY so builders will be reluctant to leap in like superman untill they are sure who's at fault


What you should do is contact the previous owner and ask if this is an on going problem already reported to the builder something he may be reluctant to do because he is legally obliged to report such faults to you before you sign contracts.

If this brings no joy contact the builder and state the fault and when and how it was discovered avoiding over emotive language (this can be counter productive as personally anyone shouting the odds threatening and claiming emotional damage really wind me up and will get the minimum assistance).

If he is local his business hinges on his reputation and he will probably be much easier to deal with than the Nationals.

You may not get resitution for all the water damage but he may be willing to provide basic repair work

boxst

Hello

Thank you for your replies. The biulding company is sending round their plumber today, so we will see what he has to say.

I haven't been accusational or emotive yet, just calm and explained the situation. To be honest, the director of the company was extremely helpful, and arranged the plumber quickly.

I will let you know what he says.

Steve.

mattstant

sounds like he wants to get to the bottom of it straight away which is good news.

Spoon

Anybody else trying to work out the relevance of the house being 5 bedroomed?

boxst

Hello

Supposedly expensively built! Although I saw some other new expensive houses and the quality was awful. At least I thought this house was finished nicely.

Anyway, the result of the plumber is that the shower hadn't been sealed properly (not a broken pipe), he has had this problem before with the builder and is off to write a report for him. The builder should call me tomorrow and we will see what (if anything) they offer to fix the problem and damage.

Steve.

Spoon

Strange assumption but I can see where you are coming from.

In reality, new 5 bedroomed houses aren't necessarily any bigger internally than some older 3 bedroomed places I know. They certainly aren't built anywhere near as good either.

Builders today (with exceptions) are'nt like builders used to be, just like most professions I guess, the finish is more down to the progress in products rather than the workmanship.

Bigger houses might be bigger and might have more expensive fittings BUT the same builder puts them together, you don't get allocated a better builder except he can probably charge more.

boxst

Hello

This is big internally, the garden is not huge though. And I know exactly what you mean -- the house is made of plasterboard! I came from an older house that was sturderly built. My four year old can dent the wall in the new one.



Steve.

Spoon

Steve- What's it's square footage?

boxst

Hello

About 2800.

Steve.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Without wishing to hi-jack the thread, but I *think* it is relevent - what is the position with regard to sound-proofing in a new house then?

We can hear conversations our neighbours have, and while they are being quiet, it is clear that the sound-proofing is not what it is meant to be... I spoke to the Site Foreman and he told me that he was instructed to put NO soundproofing material between the two houses....

Where do I start to get this resolved?

boxst

Hello

Just an update -- the building company will repair everything that is necessary. Which is surprisingly good.

So, if you are in the Tunbridge Wells area, go and have a look at www.silver-homes.co.uk !

Steve.

Account deleted by request

Great news Steve, glad you have got everything resolved.

Full credit to Silver Homes


chopper