Thoughts on new builds........

[Gavin John Hyde]

Been to quote for some work today and the house is a new build.
Built by Linden Homes. At first glance looks good but when you stop and look a little closer you see several of the walls inside are not straight that there are big curves and deviations in them. when you look down on the accessories, there is gaps big enough to slide a 50p down behind in the middle due to the curvature... put a spirit level on wall to check for a tv bracket and on one wall i can put my little finger behind the level at one end as the wall is so warped.
They installed aerial points in lounge and master bedroom but told them cable is in attic, for you to connect an aerial... Linden dont supply one, but the best bit is that due to being in a low enclosed area surrounded by excavated mounds and other buildings, the signal is so poor everybody is putting up sky dishes but some houses cant get a line of sight, so no sky either!
Linden dont lay the back gardens anymore it seems, left them a pile of slabs and said for you to decide how you want it.
the most damming from my view is an outside tap, which is directly outside behind sockets, thought to myself a bit iffy... took socket off wall and behind the plastic back box in the plasterboard wall I can see the joint and pipe, so in the event of a leak or dodgy joint the water will be spraying into the back of the socket!
proves my point, never buy a new build house....
whats the worst thing you have seen on a new build?

 

[Dan91]

NHBC are jusy as much to blame as theyre the ones who are suppose to inspect these fixes before moving onto next stages, all back handers. I subbed to a contractor who wanted a supply to a detached garage, they want the 2.5 t&e run under the slabs no duct either. Told them to do the job properly and find another spark.

 

[Midwest]

I'd just pull it out and remake it off myself and don't tell them to not invalid guarantee etc. Plenty of slack there to make it neat.

Yep probably will.

 

[Midwest]

NHBC are jusy as much to blame as theyre the ones who are suppose to inspect these fixes before moving onto next stages, all back handers. I subbed to a contractor who wanted a supply to a detached garage, they want the 2.5 t&e run under the slabs no duct either. Told them to do the job properly and find another spark.

Don't quite know what the remit the NHBC has. The developer was pushing for completion before the end of June, they wanted their money (its their year end). Bit of a blip for them, the NHBC said the pan & rad were in the wrong place in the downstairs toilet apparently, i.e. by 10mm to plans! I hear their have to pressure test the property to get a pass by the inspector? Spent a day removing all the mastic from the bottom of the skirtings, ready to lay the flooring, yet there's trickle fans in bathrooms etc?

 

[cliffed]

In the 70’s council rewires we’re done in a day,2 men,costed about £250,depressing work,but earned your keep.
The old rubber cable was burnt & sold,any extras you got 50p for each one.
I don’t do houses anymore.

 

[johnduffell]

I hear their have to pressure test the property to get a pass by the inspector? Spent a day removing all the mastic from the bottom of the skirtings, ready to lay the flooring, yet there's trickle fans in bathrooms etc?

Yes the modern requirement is to have specific controlled ventilation rather than general draughts. The air tightness is supposed to come from the fabric of the building but it seems to be accepted practice to add superficial sealant on the finishes layer and leave it at that.

 

[telectrix]

so they don't fit air bricks anymore??? damp and mould are far worse than spending a few extra quid on gas each year.

 

[pirate]

NHBC???
Now, that's quite enough!
Gentlemen, please mind your language!

 

[telectrix]

NHBC.... a dog with no teeth:

 

[johnduffell]

so they don't fit air bricks anymore??? damp and mould are far worse than spending a few extra quid on gas each year.

Air bricks are still fitted in suspended floors to keep the void dry.
Air bricks into the living accommodation are not common in new houses because they are uncontrolled ventilation ie depends on the wind and temperature difference etc. Trickle fans are preferred as they give a controlled ventilation in the correct direction in all conditions. If your trickle fans are working correctly and your insulation is continuous without thermal bridges then you won't have trouble with mould unless you are running a cannabis farm!

 

[sunray]

I was on a newbuild last year where the sole plates of the stud walls hadn't been fixed before boarding and you could push the walls and see them move

A friend moved into a new build and found that the gap under the bedroom stud wall when the floors were loaded with furniture was so big the wall could be pushed over the carpet on gripper bar.
Builders solution... expanding foam... including all over the carpet.

 

[pirate]

My mum bought a new-build flat, and asked me to put in a shelf over a radiator...it was a simple job, on a short straight wall...
The shelf touched the wall at each end, and you could get a finger down the gap in the middle.
How come, with modern fixings, the builders couldn't get a stud wall straight for just a few feet?

 

[Phil Thompson]

My mate a kitchen fitted got a new build a year ago coming in August. He’s been at war with the developer/builder for months now, holes all over the floor above Downlights, gaps round the windows, staircase had gaps, all spindles had to be replaced as they were warped.

He phoned me one day as their spark told him his washing machine that was brand new was obviously faulty.

My mate asked me why it was knocking off the lights yet the lights stayed on, they’d the RFC in the 6A and the lights in a 20A.

Then he discovered the gas line to his had been leaking for 10 weeks and when he got someone who connects for him out to look at it the foreman for the builder came to the gas plumber and asked him not to say anything about something that was missing as they weren’t fitted in any house and shouldn’t have been commissioned.

Some of the snag list he gave was brutal, the developer was kind of saying nothing at a meeting and he couldn’t tell what way they were thinking until he pulled out the cake slice and slid it up the side of a window, then he mentioned the gas and something else really serious and the developer just turned to the builder and glared at him?
They left, returned 45 mins later and told my mate they’d rectify everything on his list. And anything else you see add it on and mail them to let them know.

A £287k home and in this area on a development that’s the most expensive for 7-8 miles in a very populated area.

Though I was in another last Sunday and I thought it was extremely well finished, that builder has a reputation for many years of building a good house.
Only negative I could see was no light in loft and no socket, despite being pre wired for aerials to the loft and satellite to outside.