Advice please - Builders overcharging after job changes? Or am I undervaluing work? Repointing/sealing.

[WillShatsWig]

On the ground floor of our 1980s ex-council terraced house, we had quite a bit of damp/water damage to the wall from the bay window ceiling to the window sill.

We also had what looked like damp/water damage coming from the ground between the bay window and the main entrance to the house. This would be the lounge and part of the downstairs hallway.

See the pictures for the internal damage

In August 2024, I contacted a general builder company, who identified that the water was coming in from the corner of the roof bay window, and travelling down the bay window wall, and then following cracks in the wall across towards the main entrance.
They are highly rated on Google/Facebook, and a friend of a friend recommended them.

The builder quoted £2600 to:
- source a roofer to install a new fibre glass roof.
- install new roof facia and guttering.
- rake out and repoint brickwork.
- seal up vulnerable areas with sealant.
- Internally seal any weak points, fill and sand using interior filler over cracks.

I then waited until October for their roofer to become available. After admitting that they had no idea when he'd be available, I asked if they'd be fine for me source a roofer and for them to re-quote, minus the roofing parts.
I also sent them some new pictures of the internal wall damage.

They replied saying that the internal wall will now need replastering / skimming due to the damage and quoted £1968 for:

- rake out and repoint brickwork.
- seal up vulnerable areas with sealant.
- prep internal walls for skimming.
- reskim water damaged walls.

So I organised a roofer, who I had used before, to do the following early December 2024, for £1550:

- Ladder work used.
- Cleaned the area above the front bay window and made ready for roof works.
- Supplied and fitted a 4x2 treated timber and fixed to the front and sides of the roof to extend. Removed the rear flashing and disposed of.
- Supplied and fitted OSB3 boards to the base of the roof and screwed and fixed in place. Supplied and fixed GRP trims to the roof ready for the fibreglass.
- Supplied and wet the boards with resin, applied CSM glass and worked into the resin. Allowed setting time.
- Once dry sanded the base coat.
- Supplied and laid a topcoat, covering the whole roof and allowed curing time.
- Supplied and fitted a new flashing to the rear wall and fitted in place to seal, pointed the open joint with a sealant.

The builders (2 of them) then came on Monday 6 January 2025. They said that the internal wall didn't need replastering / skimming. They can fill and sand it instead.

They were here for no more than 2 hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Totalling no more than 10 hours (always between 9:30 and 12:00).

They are coming one final time on Wednesday, to make sure all looks okay and is dry, and the internal walls are flat enough to paint on.

I mentioned that, as they didn't have to replaster/skim, could they resend the quote. They then said we'd only be saving on the skimming materials, as the time to fill and sand would be the same.

Only a small section of the bricks on the outside wall were raked out and repointed.

Also they said the section in the downstairs hallway didn't need to be treated.

I don't have anyone I can check this with, and I feel that £1968 for 10 hours work (and possibly another hour on Wednesday) is a lot of money.
Especially as they were £2600 with the roof fix, which ended up costing me £1550 with a trusted roofer.

I attach all before photos, followed by the completed repointed/sealed exterior brickwork and filled in/sanded interior walls (and the part in the hallway they said doesn't need treating).

Thank you for reading this. All advice welcome. Even if you think this is good value and that I am over-reacting.

The last 4 photos are of the finished areas.

 

[blup]

So the first roofer didnt turn up, leaving a net quote of a grand or so which was doubled for extra work they then said wasn't needed. However you have accepted the quote and the variations.

Replacing the bay roof was probably needed as it was leaking, but was the random tracking of rainwater the cause of damp above the skirting. That could be rising damp on the inside.

 

[WillShatsWig]

They said it wasn't rising damp, as it didn't seem to be behind the skirting. Just slightly above. Which coincided with cracks in the internal plasterwork that ran from the window sill and down the internal wall.

The skirting is dry, and the wall behind it was dry.

 

[WillShatsWig]

The roofer they offered to use didn't turn up, so I used a roofer I had used before. So I knew was trustworthy and reliable.

 

[WillShatsWig]

My main concern is that as it was only 10 hours work, for 2 people, and that they've said reskimming is not needed, and would have take just as much resources and time as filling and sanding, that I've been taken for a ride.

However, does the quality of their work and how much they're charging (~£2000) coincide with what you'd expect to pay for this type of job?
My funds are very limited. If it is the going rate (for a large town in Devon) then I will blindly to pay it.

 

[blup]

There isn't a going rate, different trades charge different prices according to their overheads, what the job is worth to them and what they think they can get away with. As said you have agreed a quote and it is not so high as to be unreasonable under trading standards rules.

They said it wasn't rising damp, as it didn't seem to be behind the skirting. Just slightly above. Which coincided with cracks in the internal plasterwork that ran from the window sill and down the internal wall.

The skirting is dry, and the wall behind it was dry.

The way they have filled the plaster doesn't suggest a continuous crack the full depth of the cavity, more a surface crack.

 

[blup]

The roofer they offered to use didn't turn up, so I used a roofer I had used before. So I knew was trustworthy and reliable.

No problem with that but he added to the overall initial quote which included the first roofer

 

[blup]

My main concern is that as it was only 10 hours work, for 2 people, and that they've said reskimming is not needed, and would have take just as much resources and time as filling and sanding, that I've been taken for a ride.

However, does the quality of their work and how much they're charging (~£2000) coincide with what you'd expect to pay for this type of job?
My funds are very limited. If it is the going rate (for a large town in Devon) then I will blindly to pay it.

20 man hours seems a lot for a bit of pointing and filling, but you accepted the quote and variation

 

[WillShatsWig]

I've just checked, and a week on, since they've removed the paint to show the plaster, there are these white circles appearing (that can be wiped with finger):

Also, this section, by the front door, they said doesn't need any action now (even though they did at first, and is covered in the quotes). However, the wallpaper was coming away in the bottom right, and the skirting looks damaged. They said as it's being covered by wallpaper, it should be fine and won't need treating / skimming:

 

[WillShatsWig]

I am running a dehumidifier in the room, under the builder's advice. To help dry out the section from the bay window ceiling to the window sill.

 

[blup]

I've just checked, and a week on, since they've removed the paint to show the plaster, there are these white circles appearing (that can be wiped with finger):
View attachment 369169

Probably salt from the damp or when tne plaster dried. Tne plaster and external paint look newer than 1980 so probably a previousattempt to cure the problem

Also, this section, by the front door, they said doesn't need any action now (even though they did at first, and is covered in the quotes). However, the wallpaper was coming away in the bottom right, and the skirting looks damaged. They said as it's being covered by wallpaper, it should be fine and won't need treating / skimming:
View attachment 369170

It will need new wall paper now

 

[blup]

I am running a dehumidifier in the room, under the builder's advice. To help dry out the section from the bay window ceiling to the window sill.

Keep the room heated, dehumidifying can prevent moisture build up but doesn’t completely remove damp which may still be present in the wall/plaster