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Cracks in Conservatory.
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The conservatory has one wall about 6' 2" high, and two much smaller dwarf walls. The majority of it is polycarbonate with double glazing. The roof itself is polycarbonate.
The damage is happening to the larger wall, which also has the drain attached to the corner.
Looks like it was built on top of an existing concrete patio, which all the houses in the street have. The house has a sloping garden, the house being on the higher end.
The original contract says 'strip foundations,' they also raised the height of the ground level.
It looks great, but if it wasn't built to last I personally would not have added such a building to my property. My aunt had a conservatory built in the late 70's and its still standing today; has been refurbished internally at least twice and has proved a solid, useful and trouble free addition to her property, not to mention increasing the value of her property in the subsequent 40 years.
Perhaps the previous owners of my mums property were ignorant, perhaps they knew they were going to move and didn't care.
What I do know is that I'll never have a conservatory built in my lifetime after this experience!
Anyone reading this thread, do yourself a favor and spend a bit more on an extension.0 -
General observations are: Why do you think the conservatory is still under guarantee? Are you certain any guarantee is transferable? Have any T&C been followed to transfer the guarantee?
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I've checked with the installer, the guarantee is indeed in my mums name. I'll come back shortly and tell them of the problem, didnt want to tell them of a problem until they'd confirmed it was still under guarantee.
But like I said, Im not expecting this to be resolved by them.0 -
The conservatory has one wall about 6' 2" high, and two much smaller dwarf walls.
The damage is happening to the larger wall, which also has the drain attached to the corner.
The polycarbonate is a giveaway signal on quality, so you know what has been specified. Nothing you can do there, unless you are going to throw £thousands at an upgrade.
A word of warning - if your 6' high wall is not tied into the home this is a serious situation, If, further, it is a cavity wall and devoid of requisite ties, or a half brick wall then matters become even more serious. Add to this cracking, drainage and possible inadequate foundations and you have to look seriously at the structural stability of the wall - it could be about to collapse.
To be blunt, dwarf walls built on the cheap are an every day matter that gets overlooked. Your wall is not an everyday detail on a conservatory and needs a very careful investigation. Trust me, I am not crying wolf here, you need to get your head around what is happening.0 -
The contract states 'Fairfaced brick and block cavity walls.'
In what way is this serious? Damage to main house? Or are we talking about the conservatory suddenly falling down?
Would you recommend just getting a builder to look at it or a full structural survey?0 -
No harm in getting the conservatory company to look at matters. You may need a Structural Engineer if you get no joy here. The problem any of us folks have on the forum is we have not seen the wall. Hence a definitive steer cannot be given. In principle any 6' wall in a conservatory is an alarming structural matter.
To add to my previous concerns, such walls frequently lack adequate returns in order to give structural stability.
The first area to investigate would be what ties are present, and where. By all means run this past the conservatory company but it is a 99% chance they will be clueless here.0 -
Well for those that are interested, the conservatory is holding up well and last night I had a pleasant evening sat in there with phils mum.0
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AndyMc..... wrote: »Well for those that are interested, the conservatory is holding up well and last night I had a pleasant evening sat in there with phils mum.
Did Mum mention son in conversation? Perhaps motherly concerns about attitudes to life? Or is Phil really a reincarnation of Victor Meldrew?0 -
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AndyMc..... wrote: »She’s really worried as he’s incapable of basic diy and has a terrible attitude towards honest tradesmen.
He’d need to be careful not to p*ss off too many tradesmen otherwise he’ll have no one to do all the repairs that are needed to his driveway when people reverse onto it.Northern Ireland club member No 382 :j0 -
AndyMc..... wrote: »Well for those that are interested, the conservatory is holding up well and last night I had a pleasant evening sat in there with phils mum.
I just spat perfectly good wine over my phone! Worth it.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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