TLDR: I bought a shed and it's got a bouncy floor and no bearers. Do I have legal grounds to take action?
The more detailed version: I recently bought a shed at a cost of approximately £3500 with installation included. It was a bespoke 8x24' build. There are basically two issues with it:
Issue 1: I specified timber bearers when I called them up, and these were mentioned in the email quote they followed up with. Specifically they said this:
"19mm tanalised t&g floor, 13mm tanalised t&g roof with 44kg Ultrapol toughened polyester felt & tanalised par 3x2 cls framework throughout. To include tanalised par 3x2 floor bearers... Please let us know what type of base you have and if you need the floor bearers on your new building running in a certain direction."
Anyway, when they turned up they had no bearers, just the floor. I mentioned this to them and they said they "don't do" bearers and that the floor is all I'll need.
Issue 2: The floor is like a bouncy castle.
When they arrived I showed them the base, which is a concrete pad from a garage that had been demolished, which I then extended by around 8' to accommodate the size of shed we wanted. The base is not completely level/flat, but structurally sound. I assumed they would be able to level the shed fairly easily using shims, etc, but apparently not because he said my options were for them to leave the shed unassembled or they would have a go at levelling it using bits of timber I happened to have lying around if I gave them an extra £40 cash in hand.
I opted for the latter, but they evidently haven't done a good job because the floor is not sound underfoot. For context, I explained on the phone prior to installation that the concrete pad is not perfectly level and I even sent them photos and offered for them to inspect it before installation (they are a local company), which they declined. They also didn't say it would be a problem.
I'm now not sure what to do. I'm concerned about the longevity of the shed without bearers, and about whether it's going to stay level with the floor being all over the place. Do I have any legal recourse here? I paid the deposit by bank transfer and the rest of the balance by credit card.
I'm considering trying to fix it by taking up some floorboards to put shims in where the floor is springy (it's mostly fine around the outside, but not inside), but that won't be easy because I can't access the ends of the boards due to the walls sitting on them. I'm also conscious I might be overthinking this, and the floor might settle over time. Incidentally, when I mentioned the floor being springy in places after they'd installed it, the guy suggested that I should drill holes in the springy locations and fill with expanding foam, which doesn't sound like a remotely good idea to me.
I think I've got a good case for being reimbursed for the lack of bearers, but the bigger worry is that these had a purpose and the shed is not going to last as long/be sound without them.
Thanks in advance for any help with this. I'm attaching some photos. The lengths of timber propping up the floor in the first photo were some old batons I had lying around from my pergola roof build last summer, hence why they don't even run the full length of the floor.
The more detailed version: I recently bought a shed at a cost of approximately £3500 with installation included. It was a bespoke 8x24' build. There are basically two issues with it:
Issue 1: I specified timber bearers when I called them up, and these were mentioned in the email quote they followed up with. Specifically they said this:
"19mm tanalised t&g floor, 13mm tanalised t&g roof with 44kg Ultrapol toughened polyester felt & tanalised par 3x2 cls framework throughout. To include tanalised par 3x2 floor bearers... Please let us know what type of base you have and if you need the floor bearers on your new building running in a certain direction."
Anyway, when they turned up they had no bearers, just the floor. I mentioned this to them and they said they "don't do" bearers and that the floor is all I'll need.
Issue 2: The floor is like a bouncy castle.
When they arrived I showed them the base, which is a concrete pad from a garage that had been demolished, which I then extended by around 8' to accommodate the size of shed we wanted. The base is not completely level/flat, but structurally sound. I assumed they would be able to level the shed fairly easily using shims, etc, but apparently not because he said my options were for them to leave the shed unassembled or they would have a go at levelling it using bits of timber I happened to have lying around if I gave them an extra £40 cash in hand.
I opted for the latter, but they evidently haven't done a good job because the floor is not sound underfoot. For context, I explained on the phone prior to installation that the concrete pad is not perfectly level and I even sent them photos and offered for them to inspect it before installation (they are a local company), which they declined. They also didn't say it would be a problem.
I'm now not sure what to do. I'm concerned about the longevity of the shed without bearers, and about whether it's going to stay level with the floor being all over the place. Do I have any legal recourse here? I paid the deposit by bank transfer and the rest of the balance by credit card.
I'm considering trying to fix it by taking up some floorboards to put shims in where the floor is springy (it's mostly fine around the outside, but not inside), but that won't be easy because I can't access the ends of the boards due to the walls sitting on them. I'm also conscious I might be overthinking this, and the floor might settle over time. Incidentally, when I mentioned the floor being springy in places after they'd installed it, the guy suggested that I should drill holes in the springy locations and fill with expanding foam, which doesn't sound like a remotely good idea to me.
I think I've got a good case for being reimbursed for the lack of bearers, but the bigger worry is that these had a purpose and the shed is not going to last as long/be sound without them.
Thanks in advance for any help with this. I'm attaching some photos. The lengths of timber propping up the floor in the first photo were some old batons I had lying around from my pergola roof build last summer, hence why they don't even run the full length of the floor.
