Increasing roof quote + not convinced work has been completed.

Cathyandtwins

Hi all,
We had a crack in the render that was causing serious damp in the back bedroom & bathroom of our end-of-terraced house. We had a few quotes and even though one was more expensive, at £4,000, we went for the company as the guy was friendly, seemed to know what he was talking about & the reviews on the  website seemed good.
After waiting 2+ months the work was started - the price then jumped to £22,000 because apparently the flat roof needed replacing, the battens on the main roof were rotten (meaning new breather membrane + battens) and more work had to be done to the parapet.
Within 2 days the price had gone up to £28,500 - apparently some of the brickwork at the side + front of the house needed re-pointing.
After spend 8 days (usually 2 men working 10am - 3pm), we were told the work was done.
We have asked for a fully itemised bill, we repeatedly asked for photos showing the work in progress and we have had neither.
We were quoted for a "full roof replacement", but are now told that it still counts as such even if only some of the battens were replaced (they wont tell us how many). The tiles were all fine and were put straight back on again, although the quote says a dry ridge system was installed even though we didn't request this.
We are not at all convinced they have done what they said they were going to do + when looking online at averages prices for this work it would seem that they have massively overcharged us. 
We have clearly listed our queries and transferred over 3/4 of what we feel the revised bill should be.
The actual crack in the render, which we were originally told was going to be completely ground off and the render replaced, has not actually been touched as the 'render expert' said that after a closer look it was totally fine and didn't need touching.
We still do not have a detailed itemised bill, we still do not have photos, we still have scaffolding on 2 sides of our house that they haven't removed. (When it us finally removed we plan to hire a pressure washer to get rid of the brick/tile dust + re-pointing mix that completely covers our side passageway, front steps and back patio!)
Where do we stand on this, please? Does anyone know who we should speak to for advice?
Thanks LOADS, 
Cathy

Seasalt3

Did the work comply with building regulations.  I thought replacement roof work needed to be reported and checked?

kimwp

Seasalt3 said:

Did the work comply with building regulations.  I thought replacement roof work needed to be reported and checked?

Note that it's the home owner's responsibility to get building regulations compliance. My roofer's wouldn't have done it except that I'd already arranged it.

Doozergirl

kimwp said:

Seasalt3 said:

Did the work comply with building regulations.  I thought replacement roof work needed to be reported and checked?

Note that it's the home owner's responsibility to get building regulations compliance. My roofer's wouldn't have done it except that I'd already arranged it.

Not anymore!   The new Building Safety Act makes everyone responsible.  Client, Designer, Contractor.

OP, for that much money on the average house I'd be expecting a full re-roof and re-render.  

Where did you find this person? You could try speaking to trading standards.   At least you haven't paid them everything.  

stuart45

I can remember the old act in the 80's meaning that builders could be prosecuted for doing the work without regs up to 2 years from completion.
I don't think a lot of them knew it, and most people thought it was totally on the homeowners.

kimwp

Doozergirl said:

kimwp said:

Seasalt3 said:

Did the work comply with building regulations.  I thought replacement roof work needed to be reported and checked?

Note that it's the home owner's responsibility to get building regulations compliance. My roofer's wouldn't have done it except that I'd already arranged it.

Not anymore!   The new Building Safety Act makes everyone responsible.  Client, Designer, Contractor.

OP, for that much money on the average house I'd be expecting a full re-roof and re-render.  

Where did you find this person? You could try speaking to trading standards.   At least you haven't paid them everything.  

@d@Doozergirl Do you have a link or extract I could search for please? I can only find changes to high risk buildings.

Doozergirl

stuart45 said:

I can remember the old act in the 80's meaning that builders could be prosecuted for doing the work without regs up to 2 years from completion.
I don't think a lot of them knew it, and most people thought it was totally on the homeowners.

This is the Act that has been replaced.  It was on the homeowners.  No one has been prosecuted in years, which is partly why the new act exists and building control has been handed to the HSE. 

The limit for prosecution is now 10 years (I think from discovery of the issue) and the maximum penalties are unlimited fines, potential jail sentences and personal liability if there has been connivance to deceive building control.  People will eventually go to prison for causing the tragedy at Grenfell.  

I'd say that most small builders and tradespeople still don't know this, but they will already be experiencing changes in what building control expect from them, they just may not understand why.  

stuart45

The old act still applied to builders for up to 2 years with unlimited fines, although I don't know any who got done for the offence.
Section 35 35a 1984 act.

kimwp

I'm finding it difficult to find information, but I think there might be a difference between who has the responsibility for doing the work in line with building regulations and getting a building regulations inspection/certificate.

stuart45

The old act meant that the person carrying out the work could be prosecuted up to 2 years after completion. This could be a builder, or the homeowner doing the work themself. 
The homeowner could have an enforcement notice given to them for up to one year after completion to correct the work. After that the LA would have to apply to the High court, which was unlikely in most cases.
Generally an informal chat would be the first move from the LA.

Cathyandtwins

Building regulations??? Nothing has been mentioned about this to us at all. 
We haven't changed the roof design, it has been suggested that:
- tiles were taken off
- old felting was taken off
- rotten battens were replaced (he quoted for a full roof, but has now admitted that some were re-used, but we don't know how many)
- New breathable membrane put on
- existing tiles put back on

Would that need the council or a buildings regulations person to check it please? If so, who should we be contacting about this??

Thanks SO much everyone.