New build after sales: builder made unauthorised changes

AdrianC

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I don't think I would have personally - but obviously there are people that do.

Some of us are stubborn ****s and would stand there asking repeatedly until one was produced:rotfl:

(or gone to the car and got our own out)

teddysmum

Our estate is built on what was the meadow area of a stately home and most houses have some kind of slope, either at the back , front or side of the plots.


My late father's bungalow had a deep step up on one retaining wall (on which he added a row of concrete blocks ) going from ground level to the lawn area, similar between lawn and what became his vegetable patch and a further wall (which was actually an ancient boundary wall form the Hall's grounds) separating his property from the one sloping up from the back of his.


He lived there for nearly twenty years, was a master bricklayer so would know if the walls had any problems , yet he never needed to do any maintenance, except for adding the blocks for decorative purposes.

gettingtheresometime

I doubt very strongly that Persimmon wasn't aware that a retaining wall was needed before the house was built let alone before you moved in.....though why it wasn't done at the same time is anyone's guess.

nikkih72

Je55lay wrote: »

Surely a "workable solution" should have been workable for both parties or at least have been run past us first? Especially when there's going to be an ongoing cost we would have to take on. Also, they did enter our property illegally and without our consent. That's trespass.

Have you checked your contract ? no where in this post does it say if you did or not, especially about repairs for a wall are at your costs and replacing every 15 years at your costs.. if you can't find any of these details please contact our solicitor as this won't be your expense.
Also in our persimmons contract it does say they have every right to enter our property to rectify any issues without our consent, please check your contract

lincroft1710

Je55lay wrote: »

Also, they did enter our property illegally and without our consent. That's trespass.

There is very, very little if any compensation for the "offence" of trespass.

What exactly do you want Persimmon to do?

Je55lay

Our contract/plan/title doesn't mention a retainer wall of any sort. This was an afterthought and was never in any pre completion plans!

As per clause 17 of our contract, the only times Persimmon can legally enter our property after completion are to (1) remove trees and/or shrubs to comply with local authority requirements; (2) to remove a wall or fence which is preventing the adoption by a public authority of any road or sewer; and (3) for the purposes of repositioning a boundary structure which does not correspond with the title deed. None of these apply to remodelling the garden.

In respect of remedial works to rectify defects, clause 15.1 states that we must co-operate with Persimmon to "arrange access" to the Property. It does not state that they can do what they like, when they like, how they like, and where they like.

In lieu of having the garden we were told we were buying (that has a slight incline and one or two steps) I want them to pay for the costs of maintaining and replacing the retainer wall (which is made of wooden logs, not concrete bricks!). I want them to fill in the hole they left under the fence and to do something to prevent the earth at the top of the garden from moving every time we stand on it. I want them to fill in the three holes they left when they moved the safety fence. I want them to pay for an engineers report to tell me that the removal of 4 tonnes of earth, 8ft from the foundations of my house (which basically means the foundations are built from ground level up) hasn't had a lasting impact on the stability of the foundations. I want them to actually acknowledge that they've cocked up, and i want some form of reassurance that my house isn't going to collapse (think of a house teetering on the edge of a small cliff, which is only held up by logs of wood).

teddysmum

What , exactly, do you want to be done to the garden?


There seems to be a choice of retainer walls giving usable flat areas or sloping land which is no use for placing garden furniture,paving , children's outdoor toys or for children to play on.


The walls seem to be the better option.

Je55lay

That's my whole point. They've undertaken irreversible works that we never wanted. They can't just remove the retainer wall, the whole top half of the garden is unstable as it is. I want them to pay the thousands of pounds it will cost us to maintain the wall and replace it every 15 years - which is the length of time they say the wall will last. We never signed up for that cost! I also want them to redirect the fence so that it follows the retainer wall which has been built in an "L" shape. Currently it goes straight where the retainer wall corners so the "safety fence" is useless to that part (we have two very young children who haven't been able to play in their own garden for over a year now). We want persimmon to stabilise the top half of the garden, perhaps put a concrete layer in and then pave over it. We want them to rectify the gaping triangle hole under the boundary fence that used to sit on the slope they dug out. We also want them to remove the mound of earth (which used to be part of the slope) that they've left at the bottom of the garden.

All we ever wanted was someone to talk to us about what they could reasonably do to the garden to go some way in rectifying the issue of the 4ft slope. In fact, all we asked for from Persimmon (before any works were undertaken!) was the shed at the bottom of the garden to be moved to maximise space and for some extra paving at the top. Persimmon refused. Instead they took it into their own hands, spent at least ten times the amount our solution would have cost them, and installed something we now have to pay thousands of pounds to maintain and replace every 15 years.

AdrianC

Je55lay wrote: »

I want them to pay the thousands of pounds it will cost us to maintain the wall and replace it every 15 years - which is the length of time they say the wall will last.

Dream on. Hell is going to freeze over first, and until you drop that lunacy, you will never be taken seriously by the developer.

We never signed up for that cost!

The slope and steps wasn't good enough for you - so what do you want? A different plot?

ReadingTim

Putting aside the fact that appears somewhat remiss of you not to have viewed the actual plot at any point before moving in, Persimmon cannot be responsible for the topography of the site. Nor can they be responsible for you failing to appreciate the implications of that topography.

There are 2 ways of dealing with that topography: the first you deemed unacceptable (leave it as is, with steps and fence as necessary), therefore the only alternative is dig out and build a retaining wall. If you think there's a 3rd alternative, you're very much mistaken.

I don't know where you got your figures relating to the maintenance of this retaining wall from, but they seem far fetched at best. Unless you know for certain that the wall is only built of wood (ie they're not just a cosmetic facade) then the best you could possibly hope for is the rebuilding of the wall in brick. But as mentioned above, it's the wall or the slope, so chose one or the other.

Finally, your house ain't gonna fall down. If I understand your description of the issue, it's not "teetering on the edge of a small cliff" - if anything it's underneath a small cliff held back by the wooden posts/piles. Any redress is probably limited to ensuring the retaining wall is fit for purpose and until you realise that, and frame your issues (and acceptable solutions) accordingly, your complaints simply aren't going to be credible in the eyes of the developer.