Builder is selling our house scrap metals!

Eastender

Popped in yesterday to our new house, a 30s terraced whichis being renovated and saw our builder is trying to sell our scrap metals.

He had carefully placed all the metals in the backyard, awayfrom the skip at the front.

So far we have scrap metals on;

Water cylinder
All copper pipes on central heating
System boiler
Timbers
Gas cooker
Pipes from boiler
Rods

He can’t remove the water tanks from the loft; otherwise hewould have sold them as well!

Now, I know he will get some money out of them but how much roughly and I want to negotiate with him to fit a downstairs toilet.

Taadaa

This is standard practice, perk of the job. If you don't like it, you should have removed the items and sold them on yourself.

By the way, if he puts them in the skip, the skip man will have them to sell on instead.

southcoastrgi

Taadaa wrote: »

This is standard practice, perk of the job. If you don't like it, you should have removed the items and sold them on yourself.

here here :beer:

Leif

I imagine that if you employed him to replace/remove the existing heating system, then selling on scrap pipes and other plumbing hardware is usual, certainly happened in my case. It could be argued that the job includes disposing of the waste materials. It might even be in the contract. If however he is doing other work, such as putting in a stud wall, then he has no right to touch the heating pipes, and were he to sell it for his profit, it would be theft. I don't think you get much money for these items, enough to be worthwhile, but he won't retire on the proceeds. My old boiler was dumped in the skip, and then I think the plasterer's mate took it and sold it. The old copper pipes were separated out.

ic

Eastender wrote: »

Popped in yesterday to our new house, a 30s terraced whichis being renovated and saw our builder is trying to sell our scrap metals.

So? You've employed him to do a job and dispose of everything appropriately. Anything going into the skip will be processed by the skip company - skips don't just get emptied into a hole in the ground - they'll seek to recycle rubble, wood, metal, etc. Your builder is just recycling the parts that have the highest value. Any money he makes ultimately feeds back to his business and the price you pay.

muckybutt

As a sparky, any rewires I / we used to do we always stripped out the old cabling and saved it till we had a load - then we took it to the scrappy for beer money.

You should have stipulated at the beginning that all scrap metal was not to be sold on if you wanted it, in that case it would still be where it was as the builder aint going to bother ripping stuff out for the fun of it is he ?

ukjoel

Taadaa wrote: »

This is standard practice, perk of the job. If you don't like it, you should have removed the items and sold them on yourself.

By the way, if he puts them in the skip, the skip man will have them to sell on instead.

Its the OP's house, and all thats in it belongs to the OP so unless a specific agreement is in place to dispose of waste then its theft.

Even if it goes in the skip its the OP's property untill the skip company remove it from the premises.

baldelectrician

Are you paying to have the waste disposed of?
If so then the scrap offsets this- waste disposal (if done properly) isn't cheap and is another overhead
You should have specified you wanted the scrap and the price may have changed (or not)

I don't take scrap away (as I don't have a waste carriers licence) but some do.
He may be using the scrap sale price to offset your waste costs- there's no such thing as a free lunch

Remember he will be using his labour to remove the scrap etc, or do you want him to remove the scrap and then hand it over- if so (as mentioned earlier) you should have specified

I had a customer who asked for all the cable to be removed and kept aside for him- he wanted the scrap- only thing was it cost him more in plastering costs to fix the walls etc.

pinkteapot

Agree with the others - always thought this was normal. My brother is a plumber and saves old copper pipework he removes until he's got a load to take to the scrap merchant.

Last time we had a skip some random bloke in a truck turned up and took some bits out of it! I didn't mind - meant we could fit more junk in.

Mr_Ted

Mr_Ted wrote: »

Scrap has always been thought of as a "perk", unfortunately it is not the case as it was bought and paid for by the occupant and unless there is a written clause in the contract to replace old with new then legally you are "stealing"!

If you work for a company that has a written contract with a suitable clause in it then you are "stealing" from them if you sell it, and they could prosecute!

I believe that in this day and age if you carry scrap you have to also have a waste carriers/transfer licence and a certificate for the items, you could be prosecuted if you have not!

As for leaving it in and telling the occupant or "owner" they can take it out, then you are pathetic, mean, moneygrabbing and probably cutting of your own nose to spite your face as it will probably mean more work to place new elsewhere!

As stated previously!

southcoastrgi

no i don't agree at all, when you price up a job you only allow the time to do the install of pipework under the floors (not talking about cylinders that are to be removed as part of the contract) not to rip it out, if the installer wants to spend his "own" time ripping it out then it's a perk, as i said before if the customer wants to take it then he can rip it out, i expect that you would like us to take up the floorboards & re-fit them for you oh & can i borrow your pipe slice, plus as you have stated you need a waste licence & does the householder have one prob not, some customers just want their cake & eat it