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Hi all, sorry for the long post....
Background - We moved into a new house built by a small developer at the end of October 2017. Obviously there's going to be snags. I was ready for that. The house is three storeys with the lower floor longer than the other two and has a large open plan kitchen/diner/living room with bifold doors across the back. Above that the middle floor has a smaller living room and an en-suite bedroom with the living room being above the lower living room and also having bifold doors out onto a terrace who's floor is the living room ceiling, so to speak.
Fairly soon after moving in we noticed leak above the lower floor bifold doors. Now Im going to cut a very very very long story as short as possible - At the end of November I sent the developer a list of snags and dates when I expected them finished by. Most have been done, but the leak hasn't. And it's not just a leak any more..... And we ended up with a total of 5 leaks spread around the house of varying severity. They've been round multiple times, wasted my time, faffed with things here and there and hopefully fixed the leak round the front porch but the rear one still remains, and it's very bad. It now leaks above and below the upper bifold door and below the lower one. Upstairs water runs down the inside of the glass and drips on the carpet, then gets in under the door somewhere and comes through the lower living rom ceiling. Downstairs they cut 2 holes in the ceiling a couple of months ago which are still there. The decking floor of the terrace has been in bits since January. The plaster round the lower bifold doors is ruined, a good proportion of the ceiling is cracked, stained and has the mentioned holes in it. When it rains from a certain direction water drips down a foot from the TV screen and we have a bucket there to catch it. The laminate flooring in the living room is ruined, lifting from water expansion and stained green (Mould?)
I'm the only one who's done any real leak finding and I'm reasonably confident the worst is getting in below the upper bifold door. A few weeks ago the window fitter came round to look and said he was going to remove the bifold to seal under it 'Probably on Tuesday but I'll call you'
On that Tuesday I waited in until about 9.15am as I'd heard nothing and couldn't contact him, then went out. He turned up at 10-ish and got the hump because I wasn't there. Now I have his number but he's being evasive.
The developer is actually a nice chap but his fault is that he promises what he thinks he can do without checking if it's possible and then plays catch-up. He's also drastically disorganised.
I've got a very long email conversation with him but he's not replied to me for nearly a month as his wife's had a baby. I feel like a * for hassling him but he's had his chance and faffed around. I gave him until the end of February in my original list and whilst most things are sorted the worst thing - the leaks - isn't. And this need doing soon whilst the weather is good.
So we're looking at removing the upper bifold, sorting out the waterproofing beneath it and on the balcony. Then downstairs new plasterboard, skim and paint on about a 4x4m ceiling and then new flooring below that.
So finally, to the point.
I'm *ed off to a major degree. It's causing stress and arguments. I sit in my living room with holes in the ceiling and paint falling off the walls. Sometimes it smells. Enough is enough. I want to write a letter to him saying, basically, you've got a month to FIX it, and if you don't I'll get it fixed and send you the bill, if you don't pay it I'll sue you. Now I don't make empty threats, and if I go down that road I need to be sure I can get a result.
What's my chances of pulling that off? How should I proceed?
Is he part of NHBC? Assume not or you would have taken that option already?
I think what you propose is entirely fair - to him and you. You also sound as though everything is documented so well prepared for the court process (under the value for small claims?).
Can you stomach the upfront costs of getting it sorted? Are you able to risk his company going pop and not paying you?
Sort the work out yourself then sue the builder for costs (small claims court if its less than £10k).
My brother in law and family bought shiny £600k house from local developer in Nottinghamshire.
Basically the whole floor and frames were not properly installed (plus leaky doors and other minor issues). 3 years later, having been moved out for 6 months to allow complete tearing out of floor joists, some internal walls and all stairs, which led to new bathrooms and carpets etc, they are now suing developer for six figure sum or thinking of rejecting the house.
What worked for them was getting NHBC involved and a solicitor letter or two.
Good luck - its a long road.
I think what you propose is entirely fair – to him and you.
That's what I wanted to know really. I don't want to jump in too fast.
Lack of cavity tray protection is my guess. Is there a step out of the bifold on to the upper flat decking area or is it a low rise threshold?