Render over flashing

[siu01jam]

Hi,

I recently had some work done to fix 2 leaking chimneys - damp patches were appearing around the chimney breasts. The invoice for £250 listed:

"Carried out repairs to brickwork", "apply sealant to flashings" and "using spray apply brick sealant to rear of both stacks".

After the work was done I asked another company to review the work, and they told me it was like something from "rogue traders off the telly" and advised me to refuse to pay.

They also said the layer of render is paper-thin, and the sealant wouldn't work because the render would have to be very smooth to be effective.

Finally the guy left a load of render in the gutter, blocking it.

The photos are below.

What are people's opinions on this work? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

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• siu01jam
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

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• siu01jam
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

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• siu01jam
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

 

[Mw Roofline]

 

[colind86]

Most people when theyve got spare muck in there bucket they take it down and skip it. This chap appears to think its better practice to throw it at the chimney! Thats london for you!

 

[siu01jam]

Thanks for the comments!!

I'm trying to decide whether to refuse to pay entirely, or offer a small payment in order to avoid a prolonged dispute. The guy has indicated that he'd be happy to go to court over it. He told me that currently I'm in breach of contract.

This is what I've been reading:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/engla...hat_can_you_do_about_a_service_done_badly.htm

Do you have any advice?

 

[Alastairreid]

Counter sue for the damage to your stack and leadwork.

 

[colind86]

I think it would be alot less hassle on his behalf to forget about the £250 rather than put that right for the sake of diesel money and about 6 quid materials. Give him the option to put it right and also mention you ll be getting a second opinion on completion of the job. Im sure the last you ll see is the back of his head and dust coming from his heels.

 

[siu01jam]

It's actually too late for that. I confronted him about it over the phone, he got quite angry about it, raised his voice and said he wanted to come and remove the render.

I specifically told him not to come and remove the render in case I needed to get a surveyor to assess the work if there was a dispute.

I'm now at the point where I don't want him to come back on the property because I don't trust him. I can't easily monitor him working or review his work when it's on the roof!

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Never mind the rubbish 'render', you might want to have a good look at the top course on that chimney, in the first photo the mortar would appear to have mostly rotted away (rather like one I found last year)- good odds if you could reach the bricks they'd lift off no hammer required, it tells a story that your 'builder' hasn't attempted any sort of repointing.

 

[tony1851]

What's wrong with it?

 

[siu01jam]

Do you think it looks alright, Tony?

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Photo res isn't brilliant but.....

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• oldbutnotdead
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

When you get a proper builder/roofer up there they really ought to have a go at that lot

 

[tony1851]

Has it leaked since he did it?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

What's wrong with it?

tony, are you drunk again?

 

[tony1851]

I don't drink!

 

[siu01jam]

It's difficult to tell because it's just a big damp patch on the chimney breast. It certainly hasn't dried out at all since the work was done two weeks ago.

I took some photos a few days ago, so I'll wait a week, take some more and compare to see if the damp patch is growing.