Unsolicited work on roof

[gregblack]

Hi sorry I am not very good at this, the before & after pictures the one with the ladder is the after picture and gives a totally different look to the front of the house.

pictures are in //www.diynot.com/network/gregblack/albums/

I have not discovered how to include the in the message
my apologies to all, its probably an age thing

cheers Greg

 

[cotswoldbuilders]

Your neighbour engaged the guy, and carried out the work without consulting you, the onus is on him, dont offer or pay for anything.

Wait until the new year and get your guy to inspect it, at least his pricing sounds right.

 

[gregblack]

Your neighbour engaged the guy, and carried out the work without consulting you, the onus is on him, dont offer or pay for anything.

Wait until the new year and get your guy to inspect it, at least his pricing sounds right.

Hi this is going to get messy as my neighbor says he wont allow anyone on his part of the roof other than a building inspector. who would I contact to organise that is it building regs? Should I be paying toward having the roof returned to its original look? Obviously I will have to pay the new contractor and then try and get the money back from my neighbors for the corrective work.

thanks every one
Greg

 

[cotswoldbuilders]

Hi Greg, It seemed okay when your neighbour had someone on your part of roof without your knowledge.

Has he actually seen the lash up the guy has charged him £800 , ie has he been up or seen the photos, maybe hes ignorant to the fact of shelling out all that money for a small amount of Acropyl.

No one needs to get on his part of the roof to view it, as your photos show enough, your guy can put his ladder up and survey it from there.
Get him to do an estimate of what needs doing.
Was your roof leaking before, ?

 

[cotswoldbuilders]

Greg, I can now see from the last photos the outlet has been changed, ie the woodwork from the bottom of both gables have been cut away and a section of guttering has been put up, ( which might not be large enough to carry the amount of water ) why did they alter it, and how did the water discharge into the existing hopper head.

 

[gregblack]

Greg, I can now see from the last photos the outlet has been changed, ie the woodwork from the bottom of both gables have been cut away and a section of guttering has been put up, ( which might not be large enough to carry the amount of water ) why did they alter it, and how did the water discharge into the existing hopper head.

Hi there was a central drain forward of central in the flat roof area this went under the roof and came out through the wood shingles just above the catch box on the drain pipe. (The lead pipe was inside of the flat roof except for the inlet and exit I don't know why they altered it. The council have updated similar properties in the street and replaced the lead pipe on them but retained the original drainage system under the flat roof area. I have added a rough drawing all the box appeared to be one piece with the pipe burnt in this would be done in 1938


Sorry the drawing is very rough I hope you get the idea


cheers Greg

 

[yorkie1969]

Hi,

I am a leadwork contractor from York. We work to 'Lead Sheet Association' recommendations. Please do not pay a penny towards this work, it is an absolute disgrace.

What you need to do is contact a reputable leadwork contractor in your area to have a look at this.

The previous posters who say this is 'Acrypol' or a similar substance are correct. It is NOT a primer, it is a temporary repair substance. Imagine the substance as a generic tomatoe sauce - 'Acrypol', 'Cromapol' & 'Flexacryl' would be the 'Heinz', 'Daddies' and 'Branstons' brands. It is basically a paint on version of fibreglass.

Please remember that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, and, that what you need to do is get an expert to look at something in their own field, NOT a general builder.

The leadwork should have been welded together at the seam or lap where the 'Acrypol' has been painted on, and, there should have been lead gussets welded where the lead has been cut over the drip edge.

I would respectfully point your neighbour towards this website and thread to let him see what the industry experts are saying. We have nothing to gain from helping you whatsoever, therefore this is totally impartial advice.

 

[cotswoldbuilders]

Well said Yorkie, totally agree.

 

[gregblack]

Thanks yorkie1969 the neighbors believe their contractor, I did show them and the contractor a print out of some of the earlier replies and got told that they did not believe them, I offered them use of my ladders to have a look that was declined I provided them with photographs of the work but they said it was fine and they were satisfied with it. I am not paying anything towards this and want the roof restored to what is was.
The original fault was the lead weld for the lead drain pipe had failed and the pipe had a hole in it it also had a big lump of silicon half way down but not sealing the hole in the pipe. I have seen the same contractor in the past poking the pipe with stiff wire and believe this to be the cause of the hole and the cracking of the weld. Had they got quote from a registered roofing contractor none of this would have happened instead the used a mate of theirs.
I have now this problem, they say they will pay nothing to put their work right unless it is examined by a building inspector. Does anyone know how I proceed? I agree that two estimates should be the way but if they refuse to let them on the roof and what if they refuse the estimates, refuse to let the work be done? Is there a building inspector ( goverment department) I can call in to examine the work So far the roof does not appear to be leaking but I am sure that it is just a matter of time. Last winter we had 3 storms of over 80mph one of the reaching 96mph and this is one of the wettest places in Scotland we also had heavy snow.

Can anybody add to the legal side of this as well as the quality of the work?

Did anyone understand my horrible drawing?
This is really depressing me.
Thanks all Greg

 

[yorkie1969]

Hi Greg,

With the greatest of respect, I am slightly concerned that you may get too worried over this unnecessarily. May I suggest that you get legal advice over this now, rather than later?

You share an adjoining lead lined gutter with your neighbour, therefore you have a legal right to instruct someone to inspect this at any time without prejudice.

I am no legal expert, however, I believe that negligence in one's work is, at the very least, inherently wrong. I would not dream of having a go at re-wiring someone,s house just because I work in the building trade. If, the gentleman in question has made the situation worse then, surely you are entitled to some sort of compensation.

Please bear in mind, you did not start this chain of events, therefore, you have done nothing morally, or, legally wrong.

Kind Regards,

Mark.

 

[gregblack]

I am not a roofing contractor and therefore need to get an unbiased opinion, will my local authority (council) have a department that would deal this? or where should I look to get this inspected. Next door argue that anyone I call in will only be interested in getting work, so it has to be an independent appraisal. They say that only a building inspector should do this appraisal. of the work done.


I have no alternative now but to pass this on to a solicitor I will try and organize that asap.

All your comments have been greatly appreciated and more or less confirmed what I thought.

Thank you all, enjoy your christmas an new year break it not the weather to be up on roofs working.

have good one

Cheerio Greg

 

[gregblack]

Hi the latest on this is the contractor has now changed his mind and says he is not finished, I have not yet been able to seek solicitors advice because of he holidays.
The question now is do I let him continue ?

merry christmas all
cheerio Greg

 

[palaceray]

Before he does any more work up there get him to put in writing what he intends to do and only allow him to proceed if your happy with the work to be done.
As we have all said this shoiuld involve proper lead burning in the gutter.

Good Luck

 

[gregblack]

Hi he is not working for me and has already done work without my consent and will probably do the rest when I am out. The neighbour has been told I do not want him on my roof. He puts nothing in writing.

Cheers greg

 

[joe-90]

Tell your neighbour you will charge him (the neighbour) with criminal damage due to the actions of his servant (the builder).