Property damaged by Open Reach engineer

fenwick458

I think I'd take the £100 from them, thats a pretty simple repair. 

Bendy_House

A DIYer would sort this, yes, but totally understandable that someone unfamiliar with windows, and who would require a ladder, wouldn't do so.

Pawel, although it looks bad, this IS 'minor' damage as it's just a decorative plastic trim that's very easily replaceable; the rest of the broken trim will be removed with a blade (as it's held on just using glazing sealant), and a new trim stuck in place using ditto.

You have a number of options; accept £100, let the company replace it, or get a local window company to do so. 

Who fitted the windows in the first place, do you know? If a local co., then I'd deffo give them a call, send them a photo, ask them for a price, and ask them to fix it. Send the co. the bill, assuming it's not 'stupid' (£150+).

If a local co. DIDN'T fit the windows, and it was done by a large 'National' (Everest, Anglian, etc), then I'd be less likely to ask a local co. to fix it, as you'd be effectively admitting you have more money than sense (now't personal, like). But, in your position (non-DIY), that's prob still the route I'd take.

Or, just let the co. fix it.

I'd personally rather allow a reputable local co. to fix it as I think they'd be more likely to accurately match the trim style better; a co. coming from outside might have a limited range of trims with them. 

Hard to tell what style that trim is; it could simply be two flat (rounded edge) strips stuck one on top of the other?! Whatever it is, you obviously want it to EXACTLY match the other side, so I think 'local' is best.

This is a VERY minor incident, and the line co. HAVE been proactive in sorting it (possibly could have been a touch faster), so please don't worry about this - it WILL be sorted as good as new. 

PawelK

Bendy_House said:

A DIYer would sort this, yes, but totally understandable that someone unfamiliar with windows, and who would require a ladder, wouldn't do so.

Pawel, although it looks bad, this IS 'minor' damage as it's just a decorative plastic trim that's very easily replaceable; the rest of the broken trim will be removed with a blade (as it's held on just using glazing sealant), and a new trim stuck in place using ditto.

You have a number of options; accept £100, let the company replace it, or get a local window company to do so. 

Who fitted the windows in the first place, do you know? If a local co., then I'd deffo give them a call, send them a photo, ask them for a price, and ask them to fix it. Send the co. the bill, assuming it's not 'stupid' (£150+).

If a local co. DIDN'T fit the windows, and it was done by a large 'National' (Everest, Anglian, etc), then I'd be less likely to ask a local co. to fix it, as you'd be effectively admitting you have more money than sense (now't personal, like). But, in your position (non-DIY), that's prob still the route I'd take.

Or, just let the co. fix it.

I'd personally rather allow a reputable local co. to fix it as I think they'd be more likely to accurately match the trim style better; a co. coming from outside might have a limited range of trims with them. 

Hard to tell what style that trim is; it could simply be two flat (rounded edge) strips stuck one on top of the other?! Whatever it is, you obviously want it to EXACTLY match the other side, so I think 'local' is best.

This is a VERY minor incident, and the line co. HAVE been proactive in sorting it (possibly could have been a touch faster), so please don't worry about this - it WILL be sorted as good as new. 

Thanks Bendy House. I will make my way today to some local window company to see first how much a panel like this is and a sealant. I am not completely green when it comes to DIY although never done any on the outside of the property. But if, like you say, it's just a matter of removing the remaining bit of a panel with a blade and replacing with the new one using a sealant, I may be able to do it. Just need to find a neighbouring with long ladder to climb. I definitely want to do it before the next rain as I'm not sure if the expanding foam inside loses it's purpose of it gets wet.

And I do not know who put the windows in as the previous owner was unable to provide details of it.

Many thanks again. 

Bendy_House

Cool.

Do you have the broken-off piece? If so, take that with you and explain that it's one length of trim Xmm long, in this style, on a first floor window with easy access from a ladder - they should be able to give you a quote.

I'd be inclined to let them fix it, tbh, as it's one of these jobs that IS theoretically straight-forward, but CAN also go awkward; fingers covered in sealant, paw-prints everywhere, trims start to slip,  move or bend messing up your neat sealant beads, smears, off-verticals... can easily turn into a 'mare!

For example, if that trim IS made up of two flat trims one overlapping the other, in what order do you fit them; make up the double-trim first and then fit that? Or fix the first one in place and stick the other on top? Let the first one set properly BEFORE fitting the second?

Answer: I don't know .. 

[Deleted User]

Problem...............

I don't even have a ladder to get there.

Solution..............



*Disclaimer
This should not be taken seriously :-)

PawelK

[Deleted User] said:

Problem...............

I don't even have a ladder to get there.

Solution..............



*Disclaimer
This should not be taken seriously :-)

😂 Francisco, even if I wanted to try this I can't die to how the window is build. It's the outside part of the bay so would probably have to take the whole window out first. 

PawelK

Bendy_House said:

Cool.

Do you have the broken-off piece? If so, take that with you and explain that it's one length of trim Xmm long, in this style, on a first floor window with easy access from a ladder - they should be able to give you a quote.

I'd be inclined to let them fix it, tbh, as it's one of these jobs that IS theoretically straight-forward, but CAN also go awkward; fingers covered in sealant, paw-prints everywhere, trims start to slip,  move or bend messing up your neat sealant beads, smears, off-verticals... can easily turn into a 'mare!

For example, if that trim IS made up of two flat trims one overlapping the other, in what order do you fit them; make up the double-trim first and then fit that? Or fix the first one in place and stick the other on top? Let the first one set properly BEFORE fitting the second?

Answer: I don't know .. 

Thanks again. I just got back from a local window fixer and they quoted me £95 so I have replied to the lawyers and told them to send their own contractors. Hopefully they can do it this week. 

[Deleted User]

PawelK said:

Thanks again. I just got back from a local window fixer and they quoted me £95 so I have replied to the lawyers and told them to send their own contractors. Hopefully they can do it this week. 

Hi,

you might find that they use local contractors and you will get the firm who gave you the quote.

PawelK

frugalmacdugal said:

PawelK said:

Thanks again. I just got back from a local window fixer and they quoted me £95 so I have replied to the lawyers and told them to send their own contractors. Hopefully they can do it this week. 

Hi,

you might find that they use local contractors and you will get the firm who gave you the quote.

In this case it's probably unlikely as the man told me I'll have to wait around three weeks as all of his people are busy. But since the cost is very close to the cash the lawyers offered me, I doubt another company in the area will quote me much less and so I just asked the lawyers to send their own contractors over.

Thank you.