Difficulty dealing with a builder who made an expensive mistake.

gendav

Hi all, just wondering if I could get some advice for a tricky situation .

I am helping out family with a HMO property they bought near my place. We got a builder in to make it HMO compliant, and he said he could do the job, the contract stating part of the job being to make the doors fireproof, compliant to a HMO standard. He said he would do the job in a few weeks but it took him four months and unfortunately the fire door inspector stated the doors are not fireproof because the builder had trimmed the top to fit the door in. Once the doors are trimmed at the top, the warranty goes and they lose their fireproof status. The issue we have is that the builder already made mistakes in other parts of the house requiring him to redo the work, and he has been quite aggressive on the phone when we have asked him to do this. To be fair to him, he did come back and try and correct these but only after a long conversation and him becoming angry over the phone. We have already paid him for most of the work, with a small amount remaining. We do not want to pay him the small remaining amount (the cost to replace the fire doors is much more expensive) until the issue is fixed, but the cost is so much larger he is unlikely to agree. I am a bit worried about him becoming aggressive and threatening if we don't pay the money, especially since he has a key. Anyone been in a similar situation and know how to deal with it?

DB1904

Send him a letter giving him 14 days rectify the problem or you'll see him in court. 

TELLIT01

Changing the lock will solve the key issue.  He is the builder and he has done non-compliant work.  It is his responsibility to correct the problem.  Do not pay him any more, but give him the opportunity to put the problem right i.e. replace the faulty doors and ensure they comply with fire regs.  If he refuses to do the work there are two options 1) Pay for new doors yourselves 2) Take him to court.

knightstyle

I would be worried about other, hidden, things he has done that do not comply.  Everyone in the trade should know about not cutting the edges off these doors.
A friend had some similar work done and much later found that much of the plasterboard round the staircase was not the correct type, should have been pink I think.

Rosa_Damascena

knightstyle said:

I would be worried about other, hidden, things he has done that do not comply.  Everyone in the trade should know about not cutting the edges off these doors.
A friend had some similar work done and much later found that much of the plasterboard round the staircase was not the correct type, should have been pink I think.

Well we've seen the consequences of an ill-considered spec 4 years ago.

Although I think HMOs contribute the the destruction of society, many end up as being dens of addiction for their vulnerable denizens.

gendav

I agree, I don't like the idea of HMO's and wish the family member didn't buy it. However, I am just trying to sort out a difficult situation and make sure the house is fully compliant. I am quite intimidated by this builder so hence asking for advice about how to manage it. Thanks all for the advice, I will just have to change the locks if he doesn't give back the key and does not agree to recitfy the issues.

travis-powers

You shouldn’t cut the top of a fire door as information about door is there you should really fit the lining to the door.
 The gap between lining and stud or brick wall should be less than 10mm and fire foamed.
However the manufacturer gives the warranty so in your case it would be worth contacting them and asking them about how much can be trimmed off doors they may give you a lifeline!

Rosa_Damascena

gendav said:

I agree, I don't like the idea of HMO's and wish the family member didn't buy it. However, I am just trying to sort out a difficult situation and make sure the house is fully compliant. I am quite intimidated by this builder so hence asking for advice about how to manage it. Thanks all for the advice, I will just have to change the locks if he doesn't give back the key and does not agree to recitfy the issues.

This builder needs a chat with a friendly plod and a letter of intent.