Need help & advice with my builder

Angel2324

Hi,

I'm having problems with my builder. 

I had my house repointed last September 2023. 

In march this year I noticed some parts of the repointing have fallen out. 

I contacted the builder & he said he would come fix the problem areas but he keeps putting it off. And now he says he has a bad back. I'm not sure he's telling me the truth. I think he's hoping I'll go away eventually if he keeps putting it off. 

It's been 3 months. How long do i wait for it to be fixed?

Thanks for your help,

Aylesbury_Duck

Angel2324 said:

Hi,

I'm having problems with my builder. 

I had my house repointed last September 2023. 

In march this year I noticed some parts of the repointing have fallen out. 

I contacted the builder & he said he would come fix the problem areas but he keeps putting it off. And now he says he has a bad back. I'm not sure he's telling me the truth. I think he's hoping I'll go away eventually if he keeps putting it off. 

It's been 3 months. How long do i wait for it to be fixed?

Thanks for your help,

I'm afraid the answer is that it's up to you.  If you take his word for it, hopefully his back will improve and he'll come and do the job.  If you want something more definite, tell him you are considering asking someone else to quote to fix the problem and if he doesn't address it by x date, you'll go ahead and then bill him for the work done by the second contractor.  You have small claims court available to you if it needs it, but I'd try this approach first and see if it generates a response.

Angel2324

I did say about getting someone else to do the repairs & that he pays for it but he said no, he'll sort it. 
I'm tempted threaten him with trading standards & small claims court if he doesn't sort it. But ideally it'd be better for him to fix his work. 
I dont know what to do for the best. 
Think because I'm a woman on my own, he thinks I'll leave him be. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Angel2324 said:

I did say about getting someone else to do the repairs & that he pays for it but he said no, he'll sort it. 
I'm tempted threaten him with trading standards & small claims court if he doesn't sort it. But ideally it'd be better for him to fix his work. 
I dont know what to do for the best. 
Think because I'm a woman on my own, he thinks I'll leave him be. 

Don't threaten him with TS, they won't intervene in a situation like this and he'll know you're bluffing.  Send him a simple, clear message saying you want the work done by (pick a date at least two weeks from now) or you will resort to booking someone else to do the work and chase him for the cost, using small claims court if necessary.

I assume you have his name and business address?  If not, you won't be taking him to court, so don't threaten it if you can't follow through with it.

eskbanker

Angel2324 said:

I had my house repointed last September 2023. 

In march this year I noticed some parts of the repointing have fallen out. 

[...]

It's been 3 months.

As well as the above advice about not bluffing, it'll be best to stick to facts on timescales too - not sure where three months comes from if you had work done seven months ago and noticed a problem last month?

Alderbank

eskbanker said:

Angel2324 said:

I had my house repointed last September 2023. 

In march this year I noticed some parts of the repointing have fallen out. 

[...]

It's been 3 months.

As well as the above advice about not bluffing, it'll be best to stick to facts on timescales too - not sure where three months comes from if you had work done seven months ago and noticed a problem last month?

Sounds reasonable to me.

Even a poor job will be OK at first, but after a few months weathering, especially through the frosts of winter, will start coming loose.

Good repointing is harder than it looks. You have to grout out the old mortar to an adequate depth, make the mix properly to have the correct 'stickiness' and apply it with the right technique to get good adhesion.

eskbanker

Alderbank said:

eskbanker said:

Angel2324 said:

I had my house repointed last September 2023. 

In march this year I noticed some parts of the repointing have fallen out. 

[...]

It's been 3 months.

As well as the above advice about not bluffing, it'll be best to stick to facts on timescales too - not sure where three months comes from if you had work done seven months ago and noticed a problem last month?

Sounds reasonable to me.

Even a poor job will be OK at first, but after a few months weathering, especially through the frosts of winter, will start coming loose.

Good repointing is harder than it looks. You have to grout out the old mortar to an adequate depth, make the mix properly to have the correct 'stickiness' and apply it with the right technique to get good adhesion.

I wasn't commenting on how long it might reasonably take for faults to become apparent, just highlighting to OP that citing timescales that don't correlate with the facts is unlikely to be helpful to her case, in that it's unclear exactly what "It's been 3 months" actually refers to, in the context of seven months since work done and one month since alerting the builder to problems.

TELLIT01

When exactly was the builder informed of the problem?  Clearly not 3 months ago as we are still in April and the builder was informed some time in March.  Putting that aside, I would contact the builder and ask him to get somebody else to do the work if he is unable to do it, and unable to put a timescale on when he will be fit enough to do it himself.  Give him a timescale after which you will have to get the work done by somebody else and will bill him for the work.

Angel2324

TELLIT01 said:

When exactly was the builder informed of the problem?  Clearly not 3 months ago as we are still in April and the builder was informed some time in March.  Putting that aside, I would contact the builder and ask him to get somebody else to do the work if he is unable to do it, and unable to put a timescale on when he will be fit enough to do it himself.  Give him a timescale after which you will have to get the work done by somebody else and will bill him for the work.

I told him about the problems on 5th March. After some pushing from me, He said he'd come do it on the 24th March. He never turned up. 
I messaged him ask why he didn't come & didn't bother let me know he wasn't coming. That's when he said he got a bad back. 
I messaged him again this morning asking him when he's coming & he just replied he got a spinal appointment on the 25th. 

Angel2324

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Angel2324 said:

I did say about getting someone else to do the repairs & that he pays for it but he said no, he'll sort it. 
I'm tempted threaten him with trading standards & small claims court if he doesn't sort it. But ideally it'd be better for him to fix his work. 
I dont know what to do for the best. 
Think because I'm a woman on my own, he thinks I'll leave him be. 

Don't threaten him with TS, they won't intervene in a situation like this and he'll know you're bluffing.  Send him a simple, clear message saying you want the work done by (pick a date at least two weeks from now) or you will resort to booking someone else to do the work and chase him for the cost, using small claims court if necessary.

I assume you have his name and business address?  If not, you won't be taking him to court, so don't threaten it if you can't follow through with it.

He sent me a photo of his drivers licence. It has his home adress on. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Angel2324 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Angel2324 said:

I did say about getting someone else to do the repairs & that he pays for it but he said no, he'll sort it. 
I'm tempted threaten him with trading standards & small claims court if he doesn't sort it. But ideally it'd be better for him to fix his work. 
I dont know what to do for the best. 
Think because I'm a woman on my own, he thinks I'll leave him be. 

Don't threaten him with TS, they won't intervene in a situation like this and he'll know you're bluffing.  Send him a simple, clear message saying you want the work done by (pick a date at least two weeks from now) or you will resort to booking someone else to do the work and chase him for the cost, using small claims court if necessary.

I assume you have his name and business address?  If not, you won't be taking him to court, so don't threaten it if you can't follow through with it.

He sent me a photo of his drivers licence. It has his home adress on. 

1. Are you sure it's his licence?  Why did he send you a photo of his licence?

2. Who is your contract with?  Him as an individual, or a business?