NHBC Query

MJS996

Hi

This may not be the best place to post this, so if someone wants to move it somewhere better then that's fine by me.

We bought a 4 year old house nearly 2 years ago, with the remains of it's 10 year NHBC warranty. When we moved in, we found a problem with the drains, we had Drain Doctor out and they gave us a report which said the drains hadn't been installed properly. We called NHBC who sent someone out to inspect and he concluded there was no problem and that everything was fine.

Well, 18 months later, the drains are starting to play up again.

Can we appeal a rejected claim, or try claiming again for the same thing? What success has anyone ever had with NHBC?

Thanks
Martin

Premier_2

Well if you want to pay an expert to dispute the findings of the NHBC surveyor, go ahead, but I hope you've got deep pockets.

NHBC will only care about how the drains were installed, not that they become blocked by people putting stuff they shoudn't have down them.

What qualifications did the Drain Doctor have with regards to drainage laying?
They appear to be a franchised plumbing service, who probably love pressure hoses and camera surveys since they know they can charge the earth for them, but have no experience in actually laying drains.

MJS996

Premier wrote: »

Well if you want to pay an expert to dispute the findings of the NHBC surveyor, go ahead, but I hope you've got deep pockets.

NHBC will only care about how the drains were installed, not that they become blocked by people putting stuff they shoudn't have down them.

What qualifications did the Drain Doctor have with regards to drainage laying?
They appear to be a franchised plumbing service, who probably love pressure hoses and camera surveys since they know they can charge the earth for them, but have no experience in actually laying drains.

My pockets are deep enough thanks, but that wasn't really the point of the question. Perhaps I should explain a little more. Our house has 3 WCs, two of which are connected on one side of the house from the family bathroom and the downstairs cloak, and one from our en-suite on the other side. As there are only 2 plus a baby in the house, we pretty much only use the one in the en-suite, and there is never a problem with that. Outside the front of the house are inspection covers in each drain, one from en-suite is fine, the one from the others blocks up. We are not stupid enough to flush things that don't belong, and as I said earlier, because we know there is a problem, we tend not to use that side. Despite all that, 18 months on from being unblocked, it's backing up again.

What qualifications does the Drain Doctor guy have? Probably none, except the experience of peering down drains that are full of brown stuff and unblocking them. Now, as I've said, it's been unblocked, barely used, and is blocking up again.

So, the question remains, can I (a) challenge the NHBC decision or (b) log a new claim for something they've already looked at?

zone

Yes I would appeal and ask them to come and check the problem again. If there is a reoccuring problem they should be able to assist you.

adr0ck

you mentioned that drain doctor said that the drains were not built correctly

does it mention any more than that i.e. what do they think was not installed correctly

also did NHBC also do building control duties for the development or was it council building control?

Premier_2

MJS996 wrote: »

...So, the question remains, can I (a) challenge the NHBC decision ...

...and the answer remains, yes you can if/as you have deep enough pockets.

However, drains blocking up does not imply they were installed wrongly in the first instance. In fact the NHBC surveyor has told you there is nothing wrong with them from an installation perspective.

What you need now is a building surveyor who knows all about drain installation to agree with you and be prepared to act as an expert witness for you that they were not installed correctly and take the matter from there.
Unfortunately, a plumber used to simply peering down drains and unblocking them will not suffice.

MJS996

adr0ck wrote: »

you mentioned that drain doctor said that the drains were not built correctly

does it mention any more than that i.e. what do they think was not installed correctly

also did NHBC also do building control duties for the development or was it council building control?

Not sure who did building control duties, the houses clearly weren't built very well as most houses on the estate have had mortar falling out of ridge tiles and NHBC have covered all of those to be corrected.

With regards drains, the drain doctors opinion was that the drains didn't have sufficient slope and were uneven, hence toilet tissue catches on joints in the sewer and with insufficient slope, water backs up behind it. If I open the inspection chamber outside my garage and flush a loo, water flows, but as the flow reduces, the last little amount of water flows back and forth and settles in the bottom, whereas my other, perfectly working drain, always runs dry.

FilthyLuka

sometimes a rarely used drain run can suffer from blockages. with regular use a steady flow of water will encourage any solids to flow with the water.

If its used rarely then any solids can have the chance to dry and encrust to the pipes.

Its not your fault that its not used regularly but this could contribute to the cause. How often would you say you use it? once a week ? once a month?

I think drains are supposed to be laid at a 1:60 fall or greater where a toilet is attached.

Do the drains have bends or is it a straight run, there shouldn't be any tight bends on the drain run

Jeannie_pie

MJS996 wrote: »

Hi

This may not be the best place to post this, so if someone wants to move it somewhere better then that's fine by me.

We bought a 4 year old house nearly 2 years ago, with the remains of it's 10 year NHBC warranty. When we moved in, we found a problem with the drains, we had Drain Doctor out and they gave us a report which said the drains hadn't been installed properly. We called NHBC who sent someone out to inspect and he concluded there was no problem and that everything was fine.

Well, 18 months later, the drains are starting to play up again.

Can we appeal a rejected claim, or try claiming again for the same thing? What success has anyone ever had with NHBC?

Thanks
Martin

I bought a house 4 yrs old. have 3 major problems but NHBC assessor says they claim not allowed as each item has to be a minimum of £818.00 to rectify. The 3 items I had was 1) soil pipe open in loft area therefore smelly, a builder I had in said that the house should not have been passed in the first place. NHBC said they do not cover drainage 2) flashing on outside cracking etc. this has caused damp patch and damage to a toilet ceiling - my home insurance or won't cover this as they put it down to bad workmanship. NHBC say as cost to rectify is less than £818 it is not covered. 3) cracking concrete in apex of roof - again bad workmanship. NHBC says that unless concrete or tiles falling off it is not covered!! basically I have found the NHBC guarantee meaningless