Damage classification

[pipbl]

Hi - Have been looking for advice regarding what a builder's responsibilities are when causing mess/damage to a client's property.

My scenario is that I have had a loft conversion carried out and as part of putting in new walls downstairs for stairs to go up into the roof, there had to be a fair bit of plastering done. Unfortunately the plasterer did not put any sheets down to cover our floor, which is parquet. They did send a cleaner round to try and clean up the mess, but the cleaner baulked at the work and as much as they tried to clean, in the end we still have a lot of plaster on the flooring. The building firm have said that this cleaner was sent "in goodwill" and will not be paying for any more cleaning despite there being a significant amount of mess left.

This is what the plasterer did.

And this is after the attempt to clean it.

Am I being unreasonable in expecting this to be repaired/cleaned properly?

Any comments appreciated.

 

[FiremanT]

Pics not loading, for me at least

 

[pipbl]

Hopefully the links have been repaired.

 

[KenGMac]

pipbl, hi

The pics did load for me, OK they are rotated 90 degrees, no matter.

It is obvious that the floor, walls and even as far as I can see the treads and risers of the new stair have been splattered with Plaster, simply not acceptable, I can understand why the cleaning Company walked away.

The end result, the lack of "Protection" is quite simply horrendous!
From the images available, the Parquet is shall we say damaged and may need to be replaced.
The wall surfaces will have to be scraped clear of plaster spatter and re-decorated with a lot of sanding down.
As for the "new" treads and risers on the access stair? they appear to be in need of scraping, sanding and re-finishing, or is there a carpet to go on to them?

As to where you go from here? suggest you inform the Builder that he is responsible for the damage occasioned by his operatives, or Sub-Contractor, as such the main Contractor is liable to make good the obvious and apparent gross defects occasioned by the Contractor, his operatives or Sub-Contractors.

I have a feeling that the Builder will deny any wrong doing, attempting to mitigate his position by noting that he has sent in a cleaner,

As to where to go from here? suggest you await further comments from the board, but?
1/. Tell the builder he or his workforce have damaged your property and you require the damage to be rectified at the builders expense, do this in an e-mail [that form of contact is fully traceable]
2/. Advise the Builder that if he dies not rectify the damage he has caused you will seek the services of some other builder to rip up the damaged parquet and replace it as well as scraping off the plaster spatter on the walls and sanding down prior to re-decoration of the entire area of all walls in the affected areas.
3/. Advise the Builder you are seeking the advices of the local to you Trading Standards
4/. If the Builder is a member of some sort of trading body inform the Builder that you intend to complain to that body as regards the Builders attitude towards your complaints.

And almost finally, get loads of digital images, individual pictures and video footage, using Zoom in onto acoin directly adjacent to spots of deopped plaster on walls and floors tells a really good story??

At least some ideas on where to go? lets see what the board thinks?

Ken.

 

[Bosswhite]

One has to accept that replastering is a very dirty job, ( that should have been explained before commencement of the work) I have seen worse.

needs several attempts at cleaning , washing the floor just spreads it around ,

I cannot see any damage to the Parquet flooring, other than splashes of plaster, caused by people walking around treading in dollops of wet plaster

Other than that the Plasterer could have made a bit more of an effort to clean up after the job.

 

[pipbl]

I know plastering is a dirty job, I'm not disputing that. We're just a bit put out by being told that they won't clean it up.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Who employed the plasterer?

 

[pipbl]

Who employed the plasterer?

I believe they are working directly for the building firm who are doing our loft.

 

[FiremanT]

One has to accept that replastering is a very dirty job, ( that should have been explained before commencement of the work) I have seen worse.

needs several attempts at cleaning , washing the floor just spreads it around ,

I cannot see any damage to the Parquet flooring, other than splashes of plaster, caused by people walking around treading in dollops of wet plaster

Other than that the Plasterer could have made a bit more of an effort to clean up after the job.

Might have been easier of he protected the area first, which any reputable trade would have done, if expecting spillage. Ultimately, the builder is responsible, (providing the OP paid HIM, not the plasterer), it is up to him to claim off any subbies.
I use to use a plasterer (I always had the client pay direct). whp always wound me up by not using sheets. When I suggested he should, he pointed out that the plaster is supposed to go on the walls, not the floor! A biut arrogant, but to be fair I never had any complaints or problems about him.

 

[Bosswhite]

Putting down Dust Sheets will not necessarily do away with the splashes of Plaster, they can soak through sheets and still get walked around by builders traffic,
Putting plastic sheeting down on solid flooring or underneath dust sheets can cause a "slip Hazard" to workers

Sorry but IMO one has to accept it, but as I said before the Plaster could have made a better effort in cleaning up after he completed the work,
maybe the dollops of plaster were still wet and he felt it was best left until dry to remove.

 

[FiremanT]

Boss, you are right about sheets being a slip hazard, but I really don't get you defending this mess. Hazards are easily avoidable. There are sticky surface protectors, and I use a ply boards laid on top of dustheets, when appropiate. It is not gthe clients responsibility to clean up the mess afterrwards, unless, of course, the contractor has agreed with the client that the client is responsible for protection

 

[Bosswhite]

I am not defending the Plasterer but I do find that these sorts of complaints posted on this forum are a bit one sided, there may be a perfectly good explanation that we are not told about,
I notice in the first photo there is a piece of plaster board and some spacers on the floor, plus there is an item of furniture that is very well covered by a poly sheet

 

[geraldthehamster]

I've had the same plasterer in to do significant work in my house on several occasions; he has plastered complete walls and ceilings and left no mess at all. In my opinion the state your house has been left in is completely unacceptable. You've given the builder the opportunity to put it right and he has failed to do so. I would put him on notice that unless it is properly put right, you will have the surfaces cleaned/repaired/replaced as appropriate and deduct the cost from what you will be paying him. I believe this is consistent with consumer law, but it wouldn't hurt to take advice from Citizens' Advice and Trading Standards. Bottom line is it's not acceptable.

Cheers
Richard

 

[FiremanT]

I am not defending the Plasterer but I do find that these sorts of complaints posted on this forum are a bit one sided, there may be a perfectly good explanation that we are not told about,
I notice in the first photo there is a piece of plaster board and some spacers on the floor, plus there is an item of furniture that is very well covered by a poly sheet

True, I thionl I said somethonhg earlier about only hearing one side of a story.
I had not noticed the covered furniture - and the carpet also has protection, but not across the whole width, so suggests a walk route.

OP:
1/ Who placed the partial protection
2/ I now notice what looks like a fireplace opening (2nd pic), and what looks like a capped gas pipe? (*could be wrong of course) What is going on there?

 

[pipbl]

OP:
1/ Who placed the partial protection
2/ I now notice what looks like a fireplace opening (2nd pic), and what looks like a capped gas pipe? (*could be wrong of course) What is going on there?

1/ I did. The reason being was that we had to move out of our property as we have a six month old son (at the time, now nearly 9 months old). This was meant to be a simple vellum conversion but they knocked through when there was still a hole in the roof (no security, wind coming in) and two holes through the roof and external walls to fit steel beams. We hoped that they'd have the job finished within a few weeks, but then the crew lead left the company without telling anyone, including the company but that's just another facet of the debacle we have been through.

2/ Yes, capped pipe as we had to have a radiator moved. That hole is for storage which is beneath the new stairs.

We were never told by the project manager, build manager or indeed the crew manager that we'd need to provide any floor protection but lo and behold there is a mention of it in the contract so I guess we might be fecked. However, I would cite that it's kind of hard to put floor protection down in places when you do not know what is in scope to be worked on and when, especially when you have to move out. Their whole selling point was respect of property and tidiness.