Loft conversion- damage to the property due to heavy rain

DanDare999

Bendy_House said:

"...as far as we know they haven't told the builder to make things watertight is a priority."

The builder needs to be 'told' this? Wow.

Obviously he does yes, given the OP said that yesterday he was plastering a bedroom in a building with no roof.

Do you not agree? That day's work was a waste of the builders time and money the OP doesn't have. 

DanDare999

@Bendy_House how long do you think the OP can let this one run before doing something proactive and expecting their legal protection to be their saviour?

Bendy_House

Fair do's, DD - it does seem to be dragging on, with the builder focussed on mitigating their responsibility rather than further damage.

But I am left feeling very uncomfortable at suggestions that the customer should be prepared to swallow some (unjustified, as far as I can see) significant additional costs to appease this unprofessional builder. 

Doozergirl

Bendy_House said:

Fair do's, DD - it does seem to be dragging on, with the builder focussed on mitigating their responsibility rather than further damage.

But I am left feeling very uncomfortable at suggestions that the customer should be prepared to swallow some (unjustified, as far as I can see) significant additional costs to appease this unprofessional builder. 

You need to stop and calm down because this isn't your house, it isn't your story and you're not actually helping anymore, you're indulging yourself.  

Damage limitation is the primary concern here, not outrage.  DD is right, I was in Spain when this started and today I'd forgotten that I'd even been.  They need a goddam roof before they get as excited as you are about the end of the project.  

In the meantime, the heavens open everyday and the OP is talking about protecting a particular budget - which I suspect is how they were driven to pick this contractor in the first place.  

Bendy_House

I've been told

SoJacob

DanDare999 said:

So you husband asked him about getting it watertight?

Yes. My husband told him the only choice if you are thinking about increasing the quote then stop the job and water tight. 

babyblade41

wow , I have been following this behind a cushion.

I'm no expert but I would get this project watertight  pronto . Pay for this work & forget arguing the toss with dodgy Dave the builder 

Once it is watertight then spend the time in finding a very reputable building company to assess, quote for finishing your job , quote for repairing the damage already done by dodgy Dave .

When I took  a builder to court I had to get an adjudicator involved to see what was what & what I should or should not pay, they were pretty brutal & out of the 10k I was disputing I had to pay 4k plus my expenses so maybe not the best way if funds are tight .

TBH I'm not sure why you undertook this project firstly in an upside down manner , & also with a limit on how much this will cost. I know a quote is pretty hard & fast unless unforeseen circumstances crop up which they nearly always do .

TLDR: Get the current project watertight, get rid of builder, find a reputable company (look. at their PL, see other jobs similar to yours completed & maybe ask to talk to their customer) 

Unless you have a bottomless money pit I think you maybe fighting a losing battle with claiming anything from this workman 

[Deleted User]

SoJacob said:

DanDare999 said:

So you husband asked him about getting it watertight?

Yes. My husband told him the only choice if you are thinking about increasing the quote then stop the job and water tight. 

Have you got a quotation as I've seen both estimate and quotation mentioned, they're quite different things?

As this is a large project, I'm guessing that staged payments were agreed in advance, with monies due as stages are completed.
Is the builder on schedule, are works/payments generally proceeding as planned? What does your paperwork say?

Is the builder now making the building watertight or arranging a tin-hat scaffold?

How many tradesmen are working each day? Carpenters, roofers and so on. Are materials on site / due for delivery?

These are all important points and give you clues, I'm asking questions as I don't want you to have an unhappy Christmas.

Please bear in mind that there's only four working weeks left until Christmas shutdown, virtually all trades and many suppliers close for a fortnight. You have a very small opportunity to get on top of it all.

There is still time to turn it around, a good team would have the roof fixed up, carpentry done and windows installed within a couple of weeks.
But it does beg the question, how good is your builder and is the money in place to make it happen?

Doozergirl

Do you want us to look at the scope of work, OP?  

What is your budget and what was the price given?  Is it an estimate or a quote?  How many other builders did you talk to and what kind of prices were they talking about?  Did you talk to them about doing the ground floor first?  

What made you choose this person?  

SoJacob

DanDare999 said:

 

So you husband asked him about getting it watertight?

We have been telling this since we saw the damage, and off course reassurance throughout till the BCO visit. I have even told him today. He said once tiles are on next week, we should be fine. currently it is not bad as before.