Hi Everyone
I've come to a dead end in trying to get these issues resolved & I feel that I am just getting fobbed off because a) I'm a woman & b) I know sod all about structural problems. I first noticed the problem in the living room in the bay window at the front of the house (house is north-facing) around October time 2010. I suddenly discovered (hiding behind where the vertical blinds where fitted) huge brown water spots on the ceiling in both the left and right corners (as you are facing said window) and water leaking down onto the window sill from the left, staining the woodwork on the window sill. We picked it up again at the beginning of this year. Reported to the housebuilders (Persimmon), they told us as we are out of the 2yr warranty to contact the NHBC because we where covered by them for 10yrs. (We have 4yrs left with them). Our house is 3 storeys high. The ground floor and the first floor bedroom at the front both have bay windows. The 2nd floor has french windows and iron railings balcony thingy. So I contacted NHBC and waited for the guy to come out. (one of my uncles who lives in another country had a look at our house on Google maps to give him a clearer picture of what I was talking about. During this conversation, he noticed that we had/HAVE no lead flashing whatsover on the roof of the bay window on the first floor and also no drainage or downpipe - just a flat roof with half of the mastic piping hanging off it) *sigh I go out and look at every other house the same build spec as mine on the estate and every other house has got this lead flashing done on it. All except mine.
NHBC sent a Rep to visit along with the site manager rep from Persimmon Homes. Persimmon Homes absolve all responsibility. I asked the obvious like 'why was my house not done to exactly the same spec as everyone elses, why is mine missing the lead flashing etc - he said 'no comment' (the persimmon homes chap) - he would give me nothing - answer to every question was either a shrug, a smirk or a no comment. The NHBC chap took photos inside and outside and came back in and told me that the problem is between the rendering on the front of the house and the top of the window frame, that this is where the rain is getting in when its lashing it down and blows the water up and in and because theres no stains in the middle of the ceiling (in the bay) that the ceiling won't cave in, the rendering does not need taking off or further investigation because its dry and he can clearly see where the rains getting in. Then he tells me this IS something they would be responsible for BUT NHBC have a caveat in that they only take on jobs worth more than £1.5k (or something like that) otherwise its not worth there while bothering and as he reckoned that this is a low cost job, there is nothing they could do. They advised me to go to B&Q and get some mastic and a gun and pipe it all around the outside edges of the window at the top. So then I mentioned the other issue, the lack of lead flashing, no downpipes, nothing etc on the roof of the first floor bay window. He asked me if the was any water stains on the ceiling there. I told him no, cos there wasn't. So then he said 'so the roof is clearly fit for purpose and doing its job albeit missing its flashing, persimmon made it fit for purpose, so they cannot address that issue.
He sent me a copy of his report in July. I've not had anything done since but we did go out and buy mastic and apply it to the outside window upper framework.
1. Stay-at-home-mum with a 2yr old
2. I'm unsure whether I have been fobbed off
3. I'm peeved with Persimmon - are they responsible for any of this?
4. I don't know whether I can claim on my Home Insurance for this?
5. I did not have a structural survey done on this house when we bought it because its a new build and I thought I wouldn't need it. More fool me.
Its getting worse, started to leak again with all this bad weather at the moment, snow and rain. Thanks for reading.
Constructive replies would be helpful, unlike someone who offers sod all at all & thinks he's smart by commenting & adding FA substance at all.
I've come to a dead end in trying to get these issues resolved & I feel that I am just getting fobbed off because a) I'm a woman & b) I know sod all about structural problems. I first noticed the problem in the living room in the bay window at the front of the house (house is north-facing) around October time 2010. I suddenly discovered (hiding behind where the vertical blinds where fitted) huge brown water spots on the ceiling in both the left and right corners (as you are facing said window) and water leaking down onto the window sill from the left, staining the woodwork on the window sill. We picked it up again at the beginning of this year. Reported to the housebuilders (Persimmon), they told us as we are out of the 2yr warranty to contact the NHBC because we where covered by them for 10yrs. (We have 4yrs left with them). Our house is 3 storeys high. The ground floor and the first floor bedroom at the front both have bay windows. The 2nd floor has french windows and iron railings balcony thingy. So I contacted NHBC and waited for the guy to come out. (one of my uncles who lives in another country had a look at our house on Google maps to give him a clearer picture of what I was talking about. During this conversation, he noticed that we had/HAVE no lead flashing whatsover on the roof of the bay window on the first floor and also no drainage or downpipe - just a flat roof with half of the mastic piping hanging off it) *sigh I go out and look at every other house the same build spec as mine on the estate and every other house has got this lead flashing done on it. All except mine.
NHBC sent a Rep to visit along with the site manager rep from Persimmon Homes. Persimmon Homes absolve all responsibility. I asked the obvious like 'why was my house not done to exactly the same spec as everyone elses, why is mine missing the lead flashing etc - he said 'no comment' (the persimmon homes chap) - he would give me nothing - answer to every question was either a shrug, a smirk or a no comment. The NHBC chap took photos inside and outside and came back in and told me that the problem is between the rendering on the front of the house and the top of the window frame, that this is where the rain is getting in when its lashing it down and blows the water up and in and because theres no stains in the middle of the ceiling (in the bay) that the ceiling won't cave in, the rendering does not need taking off or further investigation because its dry and he can clearly see where the rains getting in. Then he tells me this IS something they would be responsible for BUT NHBC have a caveat in that they only take on jobs worth more than £1.5k (or something like that) otherwise its not worth there while bothering and as he reckoned that this is a low cost job, there is nothing they could do. They advised me to go to B&Q and get some mastic and a gun and pipe it all around the outside edges of the window at the top. So then I mentioned the other issue, the lack of lead flashing, no downpipes, nothing etc on the roof of the first floor bay window. He asked me if the was any water stains on the ceiling there. I told him no, cos there wasn't. So then he said 'so the roof is clearly fit for purpose and doing its job albeit missing its flashing, persimmon made it fit for purpose, so they cannot address that issue.
He sent me a copy of his report in July. I've not had anything done since but we did go out and buy mastic and apply it to the outside window upper framework.1. Stay-at-home-mum with a 2yr old
2. I'm unsure whether I have been fobbed off
3. I'm peeved with Persimmon - are they responsible for any of this?
4. I don't know whether I can claim on my Home Insurance for this?
5. I did not have a structural survey done on this house when we bought it because its a new build and I thought I wouldn't need it. More fool me.
Its getting worse, started to leak again with all this bad weather at the moment, snow and rain. Thanks for reading.
Constructive replies would be helpful, unlike someone who offers sod all at all & thinks he's smart by commenting & adding FA substance at all.
