Breach of contract?

starmys

Hi there,

I've hired a roofing company to replace the soffits, fascias and guttering on my 1940s end-of-terrace house with uPVC.
The contract says one of the works to be carried out is "Removal of existing fascias, soffits, uPVC guttering".
At the time of the survey we clearly specified that we want the soffits removed and that we want a quote for that.
The contract mentions that they will remove the soffits, irrespective of what they are made of or their condition.
They've already did one of the three facades and didn't removed the soffits, just capped them. Their argument is that they are fibre cement and that they add to the strength of the finish. I told them I want them removed, they say "It's just what we've always done, we don't remove them if they're not wooden and rotten". Is this considered a breach of contract?
It's not really an option to stop the works and find another contractor, because the whole guttering not being completed, if it rains we might have water ingress. They are nearly done anyway!
The contract mentions at the end "Full Payment will be required on satisfactory completion." From my perspective it's not what we agreed.
Should we retain a sum of money after completion for the inconvenience caused? How do we do that?

Thanks for your help,
Alex

Risteard

starmys said:

Should we retain a sum of money after completion for the inconvenience caused?

"Inconvenience" is not a quantifiable loss.

greatcrested

Nothing to do with inconveniance.

"Full Payment will be required on satisfactory completion."

So you pay them when and only when they complete the job, as specified, to your satisfaction.

If the contract specified removal and replacement, they should remove and replace.

Once they've done that, you should pay them in full.

Are they members of the NFRC or similar?

doningtonphil

I would imagine that the capping facia is considerably cheaper than a solid facia board, not to mention the time they have saved by not ripping the old stuff off.  To cap is a very common solution, the worry is when old rotten boards are capped over.  Cement boards shouldn't present you with any long term issues.
However you agreed a price based on the perceived works and materials involved and may well have compared their quote against others who may have done the 'full job'.  Plus, it seems that they price for needing to do the 'full job' but complete a 'reduced job' when it is convenient for them.  It has saved them time and money - maybe they should be passing on some of those savings to you?

macman

Why replace (or cap) cement boards that are in good condition?

greatcrested

I recently replaced a rotting wooden fasca. My handyman offered the cheaper option of capping the existing, or more expensive replacement (quite a bit more expensive both in materials and time), but we agreed that covering a damp, rotten fascia was not th best long term solution.