Dealing with nightmare builders - payment under protest etc...

vertex

Hi

We're currently going through a full house renovation. Initially the builders seemed fine and started the job quickly. And then things started to slide and we are 6 months past completion date.

Now a bit of time has passed we have noticed some glaring errors crop up, such as the wrong plaster being used on the walls (should be lime plaster), DPM in new floor not reaching the walls, rising damp in the new utility room etc...

We've always paid upfront at set stages of the project (mugs that we are) and so the scales have always been tipped in his favour. However - as it stands - we owe him money for undisputed work.

Can we withold this payment until he rectifies the work we DO have a dispute with?

Ive been reading up on 'payment under protest' and the Consumer Rights act.

Has anyone had any experience going down this route?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions

teneighty

It depends if it was a single contract/project and the payments made were just stage payments based on completion of certain stages of work.

OR was the contract/project actually a series of smaller individual contracts all lumped together so each payment was for an individual job.

Most building work would be done under the former so it is perfectly acceptable to withhold payment for defective work where previous payments have already been made. The only time this does not apply if after "practical completion" has been certified.

vertex

It was a mixture of stage payments on completion of stages of work and additional work that we asked for. The money we want to hold back from paying is for an additional job.

vertex

Could I get trading standards and/or the local council bulding inspector involved? I feel I need to do a walk-around so they can see the standard of work thats been done and if the right materials were used.

FreeBear

vertex wrote: »

Now a bit of time has passed we have noticed some glaring errors crop up, such as the wrong plaster being used on the walls (should be lime plaster), DPM in new floor not reaching the walls, rising damp in the new utility room etc...

What was specified in the contract ?
Unless you had specified lime plaster, they would have slapped on gypsum for speed and cost.

As for a DPM, I;m guessing you had a concrete floor laid... The use of lime plaster suggests an older property with solid walls - If this is the case, then concrete floors are likely to cause problems in the long term.

vertex

Very little was specified in the contract. Verbally we were talking lime becuase its masonry walls in a cottage and I assumed he would use lime (he specialises in renoavtions).

Yes, concrete floor has been laid. Again, modern building materials/methods used in an old building. This would be understandable with a 'normal' builder, but not one that does renovations.

Doozergirl

You have to specify what you want a builder to do. The builder wasn't going to put in a concrete floor for free, so who specified it? Was this for an extension or as part of the existing house, for what reason etc? It's an extra, so how did it come about?

I've never met a builder who works in people's houses and doesn't do renovations. That's exactly what they're doing, regardless of the age of the house. Renovations are what 'normal' builders do.

Trading standards aren't going to do a home visit and building control don't care what a builder puts on the floor or the walls as long as it meets regulations - if it required approval at all. Presumably they have already inspected if it required approval.

You might employ a surveyor to look, but if you have no detail to the contract or you specified the work and expected him to tell you otherwise, you might be barking up the wrong tree. There aren't many people that will tell you not to lay a concrete floor. It's the presence of the DPM that usually pushes damp up the internal walls anyway.

If the work is finished and you're witholding money then you might just want to see what his next move is and whether he chases for it at all. If you're 6 months down the line then perhaps he isn't persuing it at all.

vertex

FreeBear wrote: »

As for a DPM, I;m guessing you had a concrete floor laid... The use of lime plaster suggests an older property with solid walls - If this is the case, then concrete floors are likely to cause problems in the long term.

How long will the problems become apparent? years? decades?

FreeBear

vertex wrote: »

How long will the problems become apparent? years? decades?

Depends. Moisture may start wicking up the walls within months. Wood trim such as skirting boards may take a few years before starting to rot.

Things that would affect the time it takes would be soil types, general weather, exact details of the construction of the property, and so on.

As Doozergirl has said - "You have to specify what you want a builder to do" and it needs to be in writing and form part of the contract. Without that bit of paper, you will struggle to get anywhere.