Hi,
I have a slightly long winded problem.
After a burst pipe and insurance claim, and a year full of problems with the appointed building contractor and surveyor who were doing their best to claim all of the bad workmanship and extensive damage they caused throughout the property were "pre-existing" so I could not hold them responsible, I find myself 4 months after the "practical completion" in a situation where there is damp in an area of the house.
The wall in question was said to be damp by a surveyor from the neighbours house which was also damaged by the water. The problem was that the loss adjuster had not informed the drying company that all of the house was stripped out so they could take further moisture readings before work commenced, and over half of the rebuilding had taken place already without the official Dry Certificate (rewiring, replastering etc etc) which was a disaster
The drying company technician told me the wall was wet and that the new kitchen should not be fitted. When I kicked up a stink about this the same technician visited the house with the building contractor, the surveyor and loss adjuster about 1 week later where he changed his mind about everything, said it was dry and issued a dry certificate .....
Now I have discovered high moisture levels in this very same wall 4 months after practical completion. The surveyor and builder visited and told me it was due to water ingress from a poorly pointed wall. The same surveyor in his written report to the insurance company actually wrote that I had been switching on the washing machine feed and wetting the walls myself !!??
I have since had 3 independent damp surveys done, all of them point to the wall not being dried properly, and the fact the builder did not use any kind of insulation membrane on the plasterboard and just stuck the plasterboard directly onto the brick of the external wall, (wet wall)
The insurance have said they're not interested anymore because practical completion took place and they passed over the final payments for surveyor and builder to me and essentially said you deal with it.
The builder and surveyor are claiming that the wall was signed off as dry by the drying company , which obviously it was officially, but not genuinely which is why they are suggesting ludicrous reasons for the high moisture levels now, and in their view plasterboard against brick on the external wall is fine.
So my question is, am I able to withhold this money for the repairs, and also withhold lost rental income as I am currently 4 months out of pocket due to this problem, (the insurance were paying me a monthly fee for lost rent during the rebuilding schedule)
I also discovered a damaged toilet after practical completion (which took place while I was on holiday) which of course they claim was damaged by me afterwards, and I would like to withhold the money for this until they replace it as it's obviously damage of a building nature (a large deep groove/scratch) The house is currently vacant and nobody else has access to damage anything.
Who is responsible ? and what can I do as they are starting legal action to claim back this money.
many thanks (if you made it this far)
I have a slightly long winded problem.
After a burst pipe and insurance claim, and a year full of problems with the appointed building contractor and surveyor who were doing their best to claim all of the bad workmanship and extensive damage they caused throughout the property were "pre-existing" so I could not hold them responsible, I find myself 4 months after the "practical completion" in a situation where there is damp in an area of the house.
The wall in question was said to be damp by a surveyor from the neighbours house which was also damaged by the water. The problem was that the loss adjuster had not informed the drying company that all of the house was stripped out so they could take further moisture readings before work commenced, and over half of the rebuilding had taken place already without the official Dry Certificate (rewiring, replastering etc etc) which was a disaster
The drying company technician told me the wall was wet and that the new kitchen should not be fitted. When I kicked up a stink about this the same technician visited the house with the building contractor, the surveyor and loss adjuster about 1 week later where he changed his mind about everything, said it was dry and issued a dry certificate .....
Now I have discovered high moisture levels in this very same wall 4 months after practical completion. The surveyor and builder visited and told me it was due to water ingress from a poorly pointed wall. The same surveyor in his written report to the insurance company actually wrote that I had been switching on the washing machine feed and wetting the walls myself !!??
I have since had 3 independent damp surveys done, all of them point to the wall not being dried properly, and the fact the builder did not use any kind of insulation membrane on the plasterboard and just stuck the plasterboard directly onto the brick of the external wall, (wet wall)
The insurance have said they're not interested anymore because practical completion took place and they passed over the final payments for surveyor and builder to me and essentially said you deal with it.
The builder and surveyor are claiming that the wall was signed off as dry by the drying company , which obviously it was officially, but not genuinely which is why they are suggesting ludicrous reasons for the high moisture levels now, and in their view plasterboard against brick on the external wall is fine.
So my question is, am I able to withhold this money for the repairs, and also withhold lost rental income as I am currently 4 months out of pocket due to this problem, (the insurance were paying me a monthly fee for lost rent during the rebuilding schedule)
I also discovered a damaged toilet after practical completion (which took place while I was on holiday) which of course they claim was damaged by me afterwards, and I would like to withhold the money for this until they replace it as it's obviously damage of a building nature (a large deep groove/scratch) The house is currently vacant and nobody else has access to damage anything.
Who is responsible ? and what can I do as they are starting legal action to claim back this money.
many thanks (if you made it this far)
