Walking Away From Trade

[chuckalicious]

Has he got in touch because he received your letter?

No actually, I missed the call as I was driving but decided to contact him over text so we had a written history of any further conversations, which I explained in the text. He replied back saying that was worrying and didn't know why I'd say that and that he was calling to say he had been bed ridden. I explained the situation and it went on from there.

Even if he had been bed ridden he knew about these issues long before and had let me down with promises of trades visiting so many times that was just the straw that broke me.

The history of the build is that it was anticipated it would take approximately 7 weeks to do. It took 20 weeks to do and that was with me chasing and chasing to find out when people were coming back. It quickly got to the stage where we had the odd trade popping over for an hour or so and then leaving again, obviously with somewhere else to be. There were a few alterations which caused a bit of delay but not enough to warrant the above.

 

[securespark]

So has he told you what he is going to do about it?

 

[chuckalicious]

One guy will be round on Tuesday, who did the decorating. Whether or not he will properly flash the roof, change the fan for the proper one, investigate the cracked tiles etc is anyone's guess. I've explained he has 14 days from the date of the letter he will receive tomorrow or Monday to have all points rectified. All he said was fine.

 

[Brigadier]

The builder is not a member/ lurker on here, I wonder?
Or, his phone call today was just coincidence?

Only kidding.

 

[chuckalicious]

So someone did come yesterday to look everything over and start prepping the cracks. A roofer is supposed to be out today (no sign yet) to flash the roof properly.

They have also agreed to remove the cracked tiles and replace. They have now removed them and I'm surprised at what I can see. The tiles are directly onto ply of some form and the cracks perfectly follow the joints. Why would this be??

 

[Lower]

So someone did come yesterday to look everything over and start prepping the cracks. A roofer is supposed to be out today (no sign yet) to flash the roof properly.

They have also agreed to remove the cracked tiles and replace. They have now removed them and I'm surprised at what I can see. The tiles are directly onto ply of some form and the cracks perfectly follow the joints. Why would this be??

View attachment 115392

Firstly, that's not tanked. Secondly, the ply has obviously moved at the joint and cracked the tiles.

 

[chuckalicious]

It certainly isn't tanked. I know waterproof plasterboard was used at points as I saw it go in (after I reminded them). Is it ok to use the ply?

Edit *the guy did say he put extra screws in as it had hardly any in

 

[Lower]

I am a Diyer, not a pro, so take my opinion as such.

I've used WBP ply in the past and had an issue where tiles cracked across a join that i hadn't supported correctly. I used travertine tiles and it was around a shower. The ply moved slightly and the tiles cracked just as yours did. Because it was honed and filled travertine i was able to open out the crack and fill it with colour matched flexible grout which meant that it was barely visible. It didn't leak but the flex would have remained.

There are not many fixings in the the join so that might be the cause of the flex, but what is supporting the join?

 

[chuckalicious]

No idea what's supporting the join, but you would *assume* there was some form of batten behind there which is then attached to the blockwork. Either way he has put more screws in to hopefully stop the movement. Makes me wonder what other wee surprises there are waiting.

 

[DaveHerns]

He might have put more screws into nothing behind ! I have a very similar crack in my bathroom over a plasterboard joint

 

[chuckalicious]

Perfectly possible. Time will tell I guess. If it happens again I will make more fuss.

Also, the fan has been replaced (incorrectly but I've sorted it). Just waiting on the roof being done now.

 

[conny]

As another DIYer take my suggestion for what it may be worth also. Surely when you butt join boards, (whether they be ply, plaster, block etc), you should leave a slight gap to allow for expansion/contraction and cover the joint with some form of scrim tape?

 

[DaveHerns]

I would suggest it's leaving a gap for expansion / contraction that causes the tiles to crack.

 

[HawkEye244]

The ply should be primed with SBR Primer (good brand) available at topps tiles : http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod8763/bal-bond-sbr-primer-1ltr.html

before fitting the tiles on top. Tiles should never be stuck straight onto ply, I wouldn't even trust marine grade ply for this purpose.

It's no wonder the crack line appeared where the two ply boards are butted. It would have helped had he left a minor 2-3mm gap between the boards to allow for contraction and expansion (may have got away with it) but the lack of adequate sealing with primer was the icing on the cake and when the boards moved the tiles had no choice but to shear apart.

 

[chuckalicious]

Update, and likely the final one.

All but the roof have now been fixed. As per my other thread, although the fan was replaced with a suitable one, it wasn't fitted correctly and clearly wasn't tested. One of the lives was in the neutral terminal. Not the safest of things. Sorted that myself.

Builder had originally said roofer would have been with me last week. No show. He texted this morning to say he is busy this week but I would be a priority. I simply explained that the deadline was Friday and has been for 2 weeks.

He replied saying deadline won't be met. I replied and said I'd cost the repair myself and if he gave me his bank details I'd transfer 9ver the remained of the retainer. I also told him about the poor job of the fan.

His last reply was "keep your money".

So I guess that's that. Shame, but they just couldn't get anything right. I've got some flashing to deal with but have just saved a fair bit of cash I suppose.