advice please

loulala1

I've had a garage conversion and the roof is leaking badly. The roof wasnt part of the work but if a builder is converting a garage shouldnt this be part of the work to survey the roof first?

Will the roof installation be ruined or will it dry out once the leaks are resolved. Also the electric lights are ok now but will these rust/should I ask for the fittings to be replaced before paying?

Any advice before I pay the final payment will be greatly appreciated.

phill99

If you contracted a builder to convert your garage and that's what they have done, you need to pay them.

Did you contract them to inspect the roof or carry out any repairs to the roof? No, you didn't, did you? If the foundations had started to collapse, would that be the builders fault? No it wouldn't.

Unfortunately, this is down to you.

loulala1

I disagree with your comments. I am not the expert, I have paid someone to do a job. I asked for a quote to convert a garage. Surely the roof should be checked for leaks? Its a really old garage. I thought that would be common sense?

loulala1

I am just a little annoyed because the ceiling and the electrics may get damaged. I would have rather known about this before the work commenced..

phill99

loulala1 wrote: »

I am just a little annoyed because the ceiling and the electrics may get damaged. I would have rather known about this before the work commenced..

Then you should have instructed your builder to do so. Did you have an agreed specification? A scope of works? What do these say about the roof? At what point did you say to the builder that you wanted the roof sorted? He will only do what is instructed.

phill99

loulala1 wrote: »

I disagree with your comments.

Of course you disagree with my comments because it's not what you want to hear.

The truth often offends.

cattie

I certainly wouldn't consider it part of the builders remit to check the roof as part of the conversion. This was for you to do before the work began or ask the builder to verify that the roof was in good condition before the conversion started.

If you want the fittings replaced then this is something you need to pay for, after all the cause of the leak has absolutely nothing to do with the builder.

Furts

If the insulation is fibreglass, Rockwool or similar it will be ruined. There is no point trying to dry it out - just replace it.

If the insulation is a foam board like Celotex or Kingspan this should be OK - but exposure to water will lead to the foil degrading over time. So encourage it to dry, if possible.

With regard the leak, and whose responsibility this is,...was the roof leaking before the work was commenced or did it become apparent afterwards?

loulala1

Thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate the tips about the installation too. I will have to find out what it is.

I always new there was minor leaking to the roof. The builders new too because they have tried to patch up the leaks but its not worked. perhaps they may have caused some of the leaks themselves. Who knows.

I don't expect them to pay out to repair the roof but if I had known the roof was so bad I would have preferred to have had the roof sorted out first before the internal work began.

Thanks again, its much appreciated