Contractor has damaged my Soffit

[GaryK26]

Apologies if this in the wrong section.

Our neighbours [attached house] are currently having a load of work done on their house including replacing the guttering, soffits, etc.

Today, I noticed a hole in our soffit board - obviously caused when they removed our neighbour's soffit. I politely menrioned this to the contractor and he said it would be put right.

However, all he has done is stick a small square board (probably ply) over the hole. And whilst it covers the majority of the hole (there is still a small hole), it certainly doesn't look too good.

I shall be speaking with him again tomorrow, and was hoping you guys could advise me on my rights, etc. In my mind, he has damaged my property and is therefore responsible for putting it right. By "right", I mean as it was before he made the hole - ie, replacing the entire board. Either that, or fit new plastic soffits along the length of the house.

I'm not expecting him to agree to this, and if this is the case, what rights do I have and how should I persue the matter (court action or something).

Thanks
Gary

 

[big-all]

compromise
tell him your not happy with the repair
suggest to him he would need to replace the whole length to look right
and pause
give him a chance to moan then say if he does to the edge you will buy the materials as a compromise
he will get his discount on materials and charge you full price but you will get the front done every one is happy

 

[GaryK26]

Whilst I understand where you're coming from, I dont see why there should be any compromise.

At the end of the day, the contractor has caused damage to my propertry and it should therefore be his responsibility to rectify it such that at the very least it looks like it did before his guys made a hole in the soffit.

Now if I was seriously contemplating getting the soffits replaced (and could afford it), then yes, an ideal opportunity to maybe save a bit on the cost. But I wasn't considering this in the first place.

It's like if someone ran into your car - it is their responsibility to have the damage repaired to a good standard at no cost to yourself. Its not like they can offer to pay for it to be sprayed as long as you pay for the paint.

Anyway, I've tried calling the guy and left a message on his mobile. I'm more than happy to give him an opportunity to respond and propose a solution, but if I haven't heard from him by Monday, or he is unwilling to do a proper repair at his own cost, then I'll start moving towards legal action.

 

[wotan]

give him the opportunity to do a proper repair by all means, but don't expect him to replace the whole soffit just because he damaged a small portion of it, as a trades person he should have the necessary skill to effect a good repair.

Wotan

 

[Deleted member 105431]

You can't afford new soffits but you can afford legal fee's to pursue the contractor? Sounds like you want a freebie to me.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

To be fair if the builder damaged the soffit he should make good to the satisfaction of the OP. Its only upvc it can't be that hard/time consuming to make an effective repair. He should be more careful with his hammer. I'd expect him to replace the damaged part if proved unrepairable but not necessarily the whole length.

 

[GaryK26]

All I want is for my property to look exactly as it did before the damage was done. Sticking an ill fitting piece of ply over the existing soffit doesn't constitute a proper repair.

Am I after a freebie? Absolutely! In terms of a free repair of good standard.

If someone came into your garden and kicked a hole in your shed, I'm sure that you wouldn't be too pleased if the repair involved nothing more than simply nailing a square of shiplap over the hole.

As far as legal fees are involved, if I remember correctly, small claims dont cost that much and you can claim your costs back....It's been a while since I filed against Weatherseal who backed down at the 11th hour. ANd then I'm sure that my home insurance would be a good place for advice (not to mention the Legal cover that I have on my policy).

Anyway, this may all turn out to be academic - I'll wait and see what tomorrow brings (no reply from him this evening)

 

[hillshawroofing]

I'm with GaryK26 on this one.

I would also expect a free repair should anyone cause any damage to my property as I would expect to pay for any damage caused by us on someone else's property.

I don't think that you're actually asking for much either, it's only a length of soffit, or maybe the length of the property depending if the existing soffit can be matched.

Good luck.

 

[Mw Roofline]

small claims dont cost that much and you can claim your costs back....It's been a while since I filed against Weatherseal who backed down at the 11th hour. ANd then I'm sure that my home insurance would be a good place for advice (not to mention the Legal cover that I have on my policy).

Woah, slow down a tad. You posted this yesterday, it's now today. Give the guy a chance to get back to you. The house won't fall down in the meantime.

 

[WestmidsChippy]

one cant help but think that mwroofline has a sympathetic attitude toward said roofer.


I'd check to see if ya led is still attached to your chimney, these ***** gits needs to make living to lol

 

[GaryK26]

OK, so today the bossman called me and popped round to take a look. TBH, he was very good about it and said that they would rectify it for me.

The problem is that the material is hard to come by (something with a hint of asbestos in it). He said that they could either salvage part of what they removed from my naighbour's house, but it's quite brittle stuff, so not sure how good a job would be done.

Otherwise he would put in a new plastic soffit,but then half of the back of the house would be the old material and the other half new. Wouldn't that look rather odd?

The third option would be to have the whole lot replace (along with the guttering) and he would charge me £240 for the 4.5 metre length of the house. Not sure if that was inclusive of VAT - probably not I guess.

Speaking to some of our neighbours, it seems to me that he is looking to charge full whack and not giving me a discount.

Still undecided as to what to do - shall mull it over and get back to him. Although I am leaning towards asking him to rectify the problem and return my property to it's original state. If this is not possible due to the material, then I will probably ask him to replace the soffit along the full 4.5 metre at no cost to me (to ensure a match along the entire length).
If he is not willing to do so, can I then claim against his PL insurance (assuming he has PL)?

 

[cajar]

I would not rule out the possibilty the damage was intentional to generate another customer, considering one of the options now offered is a full cost (to you) offer of their product.

If you feel confident and willing to see it through then imo, stand your ground and let them bear the cost of the damage they caused.

 

[expertgasman]

|Excuse me if I'm being dim, but is this not what you need:

http://www.samuelkirk.co.uk/non-asbestos-soffit-strip-2400-x-150-x-4mm-7601-p.asp


It's cheap as chips.

 

[GaryK26]

Mulled this over the weekend and had more or less decided to just go for a repair. Spoke to contractor again this morning and he has made the cost of replacing the soffits, facias and guttering seem very attractive....

The total length (front and back) is approx 9m.
The job inculdes removal / replacement of the facia boards (not just a cover over).
Total cost £450 including VAT.

I doubt that I'd be able to get a quality job done any cheaper than this, bit then £450 still is a lot of money to find.

How does the quote sound to you guys?

Cheers
Gary

 

[hillshawroofing]

Doesn't seem to be a bad price to be honest but always haggle. Try him for £350 and hope he goes to £400.