New build change of bricks

Section62

Nifty_Purse said:

So the delay in building work on the property is probably because they have been trying to keep their side of the bargain, whether it does actually specify a particular type of brick or not in the contract, by trying to source the bricks they were using. They have concluded that it's not possible in the time they have.

What you were expecting is no longer available.
This is disappointing, but the ball is in your court.

...

PS: it is possible that the shortage of brick is due to the worldwide increase in gas prices as brick kilns often use gas.

The OP has been told the reason is a change in the brick supplier.

The developer should have purchased sufficient quantities of bricks from the original supplier to fulfil the obligations they had.

Unless there is a separate issue the developer has not told the OP about, the 'no longer available' is only due to a choice made by the developer - they could still obtain supplies of the correct bricks (and tiles) from other sources.

If they choose not to do so - and if the OP is correct about their contract - then the developer needs to give the OP appropriate redress.

robatwork

There are too many identical red boxes being built anyway. Perhaps you could use this as a bargaining chip to get them to render the outside for free?  There may be planning concerns but worth asking the question

Slinky

robatwork said:

There are too many identical red boxes being built anyway. Perhaps you could use this as a bargaining chip to get them to render the outside for free?  There may be planning concerns but worth asking the question

I too was thinking render.

Thrugelmir

Section62 said:

Nifty_Purse said:

So the delay in building work on the property is probably because they have been trying to keep their side of the bargain, whether it does actually specify a particular type of brick or not in the contract, by trying to source the bricks they were using. They have concluded that it's not possible in the time they have.

What you were expecting is no longer available.
This is disappointing, but the ball is in your court.

...

PS: it is possible that the shortage of brick is due to the worldwide increase in gas prices as brick kilns often use gas.

The developer should have purchased sufficient quantities of bricks from the original supplier to fulfil the obligations they had.

The developer can only take delivery of what's been manufactured. Amazon don't provide a next day delivery service to developers. 

Nifty_Purse

That would be the case under usual circumstances, Section62. However, there have been shortages of many building supplies all this year. There are lorry driver shortages and price increases of many materials including concrete tiles and bricks. These are probably why the developer has changed supplier and it is very likely the council planning department has or will agree to it. See here for example:
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/news/construction-materials-shortage

Section62

Thrugelmir said:

The developer can only take delivery of what's been manufactured. Amazon don't provide a next day delivery service to developers. 

Nifty_Purse said:

That would be the case under usual circumstances, Section62. However, there have been shortages of many building supplies all this year. There are lorry driver shortages and price increases of many materials including concrete tiles and bricks. These are probably why the developer has changed supplier and it is very likely the council planning department has or will agree to it. See here for example:
 

Thanks both.

The lack of an Amazon next day brick service and the general issues with building material shortages are of course a complete surprise to me.

On the other hand, the developer has no doubt been planning this development for the last four or five years, and unless they are a newbie, or a very small developer, will understand how the process works, and will have buyers capable of procuring enough bricks to build the development they have planned.

The question then @Nifty_Purse, is if the reason is as you speculate (lorry driver shortages and price increases etc), why did the developer mislead the OP and say it was due to a change in supplier? Wouldn't "Covid shortages" be a much better excuse?


P.s. I wouldn't like to guess what the planners will make of building one house with entirely different materials to the surrounding ones. I think predicting their "very likely" agreement is over ambitious, without a lot more information.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Thrugelmir said:

Section62 said:

Nifty_Purse said:

So the delay in building work on the property is probably because they have been trying to keep their side of the bargain, whether it does actually specify a particular type of brick or not in the contract, by trying to source the bricks they were using. They have concluded that it's not possible in the time they have.

What you were expecting is no longer available.
This is disappointing, but the ball is in your court.

...

PS: it is possible that the shortage of brick is due to the worldwide increase in gas prices as brick kilns often use gas.

The developer should have purchased sufficient quantities of bricks from the original supplier to fulfil the obligations they had.

The developer can only take delivery of what's been manufactured. Amazon don't provide a next day delivery service to developers. 

Give them time!

scottishblondie

Slinky said:

robatwork said:

There are too many identical red boxes being built anyway. Perhaps you could use this as a bargaining chip to get them to render the outside for free?  There may be planning concerns but worth asking the question

I too was thinking render.

I’d steer clear of render. All the rendered new builds around here look seriously grubby after a few years. Our house is rendered (1920s) and has had a lot of paint chucked on it over the
years, and the cost of repainting the whole place is not insignificant.

stuart45

Do you know the name of the bricks they are changing to?
Not Edenhall by any chance?

lookstraightahead

As someone living in a house as old as the hills, I find it incredible that you can be told by a builder you're buying one thing, and end up with something different.

it's like ordering a blue dress, and then being made a red one because they've run out of material.

it doesn't matter how or why, it just isn't what you were going to buy.

amazing that builders of new properties think buyers are so gullible. Then again, I would never buy off plan.