How to tell if lintels were fitted

JimmyTheWig

They didn't say.
Not sure I'd have believed them anyway!

System

I would definitely get it checked out before handing over the final payment... May not be a good saving!!

cyclonebri1

the_r_sole wrote: »

I would definitely get it checked out before handing over the final payment... May not be a good saving!!

The problem is he can't check now the installation is complete and as JTW says, how would he know is they were telling him porkies or not if he asked.?

Furts

the_r_sole wrote: »

I would definitely get it checked out before handing over the final payment... May not be a good saving!!

I second this. The whole situation sounds suspect, or it may be dodgy. I would not be parting with any money until I knew the facts.

The give away is head office not knowing if lintels are needed, and then not knowing if they were installed. This suggests the work has not been overseen, not been supervised, and has been contracted out for the lowest achieveable price.

OP does not know if £1800 represents the correct saving, or is a dreamed up figure to, in effect, boost the margin on the job.

One day this home will be for sale. A potential buyer may spot that there are missing lintels. These may cost a lot more than £1800 to rectify. The offered price will reflect this.

C_Mababejive

Hmmm..i think its time for an expert report.

System

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

The problem is he can't check now the installation is complete and as JTW says, how would he know is they were telling him porkies or not if he asked.?

get it checked by a 3rd party, not by the company that installed the windows - it would be fairly easy for a surveyor/engineer to tell you if the openings require lintels or not…
if I had just "saved" 1800 quid by not having a potentially critical structural element fitted I would want confirmation of that, and would be happy to have some of the money saved spent on an engineers report

SilverSaloon

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Ok, so they were back today.
Different guys, though.

Me: Out of interest, do you know if the lintels were needed in the end last week?
Him: I don't know. it's not always easy to tell.

Hmmm, strange. It should be pretty easy to tell (as many posts above).

All sounds very fishy, trying to charge for lintels when they probably arnt needed. The orginal window openings would of needed the same support so if there were not lintels in place then you would of found out by now! The only reason I see lintels being considered here is because the existing lintel (of which there surely must of been one) may of been a bodge-job from the past.

JimmyTheWig

SilverSaloon wrote: »

Hmmm, strange. It should be pretty easy to tell (as many posts above).

Yes, I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt as in "Hmmm, not my place to say one way or the other for definite".
But could have been "Lol, did they get you with that one?! Of course they didn't use lintels, it would be plainly obvious if they had. But I'm not going to be the one to tell you about the scam..."

cyclonebri1

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Yes, I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt as in "Hmmm, not my place to say one way or the other for definite".
But could have been "Lol, did they get you with that one?! Of course they didn't use lintels, it would be plainly obvious if they had. But I'm not going to be the one to tell you about the scam..."

Jimmy, check this 1 out;

http://www.windowwidgets.co.uk/technical/baypole-jacks-compliance/

then go have a word

FiremanDave

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Jimmy, check this 1 out;

http://www.windowwidgets.co.uk/technical/baypole-jacks-compliance/

then go have a word

What's the relevance of a bay pole jack to the op?