Building work & neighbours roof... Please be kind 😔

Doozergirl

mi-key said:

A properly fitted flat roof will last for years. The only reason for sponginess is the felt leaking, which either means it has been damaged or aged over time, or it wasn't fitted properly in the first place. It doesn't happen overnight, and for it to have been caused that quickly by your builder then you would see lots of evidence of ripped or missing felt.

Neither of these are your problem, nor have they been caused by your builder.

( I'm sure if it was fitted only two years ago they will have proof of this, the guarantee from the builder, proof of payment to him etc... ) 

I would tell them you have caused no damage, and the onus is on them to prove that you have. You can both get builders in to check it all and if they can prove the damage happened during the course of the building works, then they may have case. If not then tell them you aren't prepared to pay for a new roof for them, and they are welcome to take you to court if they think they will get anywhere.

They are trying it on, and people who know they are in the wrong normally result to shouting and screaming as they think it will intimidate you into giving in to what they want. 

I just wanted to reiterate this.   Sponginess (ie. Rot) will be caused over a significant period of time, not by recent damage which would be evident as actual visual damage to the fabric. 

Walking on a roof a few times, especially with planks to spread load, should be absolutely fine.  

I'm also not convinced that a party wall agreement was needed.  Accessing neighbouring property to work on an existing detached wall doesn't fall under the Act.  

If you builder has some evidence from before, then all is good, you have done nothing wrong.  

FreeBear

FreeBear said: Ask your builder how much it would cost to repair any leaks (but not the flashing) - it is likely to be at most, £500. Make an offer in writing to pay for repairs to the damaged section, but reject any suggestion to pay for a new roof.

Having read the follow-ups with more details about the interactions with the neighbour, I'd be inclined to refer them to Arkell-v-Pressdram (a Private Eye case back in 1971). Certainly wouldn't be offering any money unless they can point to specific damage done by the builders.

ThisIsWeird

I think the days of entertaining a kind gesture like offering something towards a new roof as a 'thank you' for letting them build scaffolding over it is now long gorn.

plumb1_2

What if the sponginess is due to the felt being layed directly onto the insulation , if it has insulation?

mi-key

plumb1_2 said:

What if the sponginess is due to the felt being layed directly onto the insulation , if it has insulation?

Insulation between the felt and the wooden roof?  

GDB2222

Harassment
@funkyfifi you want to avoid legal action, not start an extra legal action over harassment.  If there is ever a court case about the roof, the harassment will be irrelevant.

As the calls and messages are becoming oppressive, you can just block the neighbour's number. Tell them you are doing this, so they don't think you are just ignoring them. 

Racism
Not at all nice, but totally irrelevant to the roof.

Roof
Personally, I would want to do everything I reasonably could to avoid  this going to court. If it does go to court, it will cost quite a bit to defend, and assuming it's in the small claims track you won't get costs back even if you win. 

What I would do is ask the neighbours if you can get an independent surveyor to examine the roof. You can get quotes, but I assume this will cost £500-ish. That's an awful lot less than the cost of a court case.  You'd show the surveyor the photos, etc, from before work started.

There are three possible outcomes:

• The surveyor says the roof was in poor condition, and you haven't made it worse. Great!  Show the report to the neighbour, and hopefully they will back down.
• He says the roof was in poor condition, but you have made it worse. That's even better news, actually. At least you won't be defending a case you are likely to lose. Even if the roof was soft beforehand, it may have been keeping the rain out. If your guys have been walking on it, they may have caused damage which requires urgent repair. 
• He says the roof was in great condition, and you have damaged it. Best of all, actually. Again you won't be defending a case you are likely to lose.

Particularly given your PTSD, I really think you need some professional advice, so as to try to defuse the situation.

GDB2222

Doozergirl said:

mi-key said:

A properly fitted flat roof will last for years. The only reason for sponginess is the felt leaking, which either means it has been damaged or aged over time, or it wasn't fitted properly in the first place. It doesn't happen overnight, and for it to have been caused that quickly by your builder then you would see lots of evidence of ripped or missing felt.

Neither of these are your problem, nor have they been caused by your builder.

( I'm sure if it was fitted only two years ago they will have proof of this, the guarantee from the builder, proof of payment to him etc... ) 

I would tell them you have caused no damage, and the onus is on them to prove that you have. You can both get builders in to check it all and if they can prove the damage happened during the course of the building works, then they may have case. If not then tell them you aren't prepared to pay for a new roof for them, and they are welcome to take you to court if they think they will get anywhere.

They are trying it on, and people who know they are in the wrong normally result to shouting and screaming as they think it will intimidate you into giving in to what they want. 

I just wanted to reiterate this.   Sponginess (ie. Rot) will be caused over a significant period of time, not by recent damage which would be evident as actual visual damage to the fabric. 

Walking on a roof a few times, especially with planks to spread load, should be absolutely fine.  

I'm also not convinced that a party wall agreement was needed.  Accessing neighbouring property to work on an existing detached wall doesn't fall under the Act.  

If you builder has some evidence from before, then all is good, you have done nothing wrong.  

"Walking on a roof a few times, especially with planks to spread load, should be absolutely fine.  "  

I totally agree, provided the roof was in great condition to begin with.  But, the OP's builder needs to take the roof in the condition he finds it. If it's rotten, he can't just walk on it and blame any damage on the roof's condition. 

In any case, I really don't understand the relevance, as the OP says the scaffolding was cantilevered out? 

sheramber

I would pass it back to them and ask them to provide a surveyor's report 

plumb1_2

mi-key said:

plumb1_2 said:

What if the sponginess is due to the felt being layed directly onto the insulation , if it has insulation?

Insulation between the felt and the wooden roof?  

Yes a lot of roofs are like that Trocal roofing system for one.

ThisIsWeird

The OP needs to do nothing, except make it clear that 'no damage was caused, so no comp is justified'. Funky then ignores this seemingly very unpleasant neighbour.

Funky doesn't 'take action' over this; it's up to the neighbour to take any action, if they really believe there's a case (and I presume the action would be against the builder in any case).

Funky can take completely separate action regarding 'harassment' if she feels it's necessary. This would be no more complex than either contacting the local police, or her LA, or both. From what I can see, she has more than enough to justify doing this, and the police (for example) - whilst they will obviously not becomes involved in the actual issue, or make any judgement on the case - will nevertheless, if they see evidence of inappropriate or excessive communications, tell both parties to C&D; "take legal or civil action if you believe you have a case. Otherwise STOP".

If the neighb does then not stop, they will get themselves into proper bother.

 If the neighb attempts a legal/civil case, they will almost certainly fail.

Legal Protection won't take this case on for them - at least not unless the neighb tells them a pack of lies. And, if they do, it'll bite them.

I would not be concerned in this situation, if I were the OP.