Jothetaxi

Thank you for the replies. This incident happened last summer - around August time. UKPN have only just written to the contractor. . The contractor hasn’t supplied anything so far to show they didn’t act out of negligence. We are at the end of the building work now, with snagging to deal with. Working with the contractor has not been great… The Architect is also telling us that UKPN holds the homeowner responsible. Looks like they are both trying to shunt responsibility onto us but we will stand our ground.

Last summer (on the first day of our holiday) we received a call from our building contractor saying they had drilled through the main electrical cable. UKPN were called out. UKPN said they would lay the cable but would not dig a trench, as it was too close to a tree. The contractor dug the trench and UKPN laid the cable. The contractor claims that the cable was too close the surface, which is why they drilled through it and this was cause to dispute any charges that might be made by UKPN. They said on the phone they had lots of photos. They have since supplied only one photo. The contractor has presented us with a bill for the digger and for labour. They have also passed our details on to UKPN, who will now pursue us for payment for laying the cable. We have been told that because the cable was close to the surface, we should dispute this with UKPN, however, without more than one photo of the alleged badly positioned cable, we are not sure we have much of a case. We also face a bill from the contractor for equipment and labour. We are questioning whether the contractor dug the cable by accident or through carelessness. Without proof of more photos etc, we are unsure how we can prove the cable was too close to the surface. Would UKPN keep notes on the position of the cable? would they have notes regarding the issue? should we push the matter back to the contractor,as we were not present at the time? Any thoughts on how we should approach this would be appreciated.

How do you gauge whether a light fitting needs extra support above the ceiling/between joists? Are there any online links regarding how to give extra support to weighted fittings?

Thanks for the replies. Really helpful.

Thanks for the reply. Do you think brick cleaning would help to make it look less obvious?

Do you think this wall could be repaired or a section rebuilt? The tree roots have affected it quite significantly. Obviously the tree will be removed. Any suggestions or ideas welcome. Thanks.

Thanks for the recommendations. We Will explore these options

We will have stabilised gravel. A temporary surface will need to allow heavy vehicles to unload on it, as the rear garden will also need landscaping etc.

With building work coming to an end our driveway is a muddy mess, which was of course expected. It’s a large area and will need to be used daily. We don’t have the budget to landscape this area at the moment. it was previously gravel over tarmac finish. It was never the best surface. any ideas what we can temporarily put down on the ground so we can park on the driveway and not wade in mud when it rains?

Thank you. That’s a good idea.

The contractors electrician has butted a spur switch right next to the heating thermostat. It’s a child’s bedroom and near the door, so the child may think it’s a light switch. how easy is it to move this to a lower level? do you think a different electrician could move it? He hasn’t done other thermostats in the house like this so it’s very odd.

We're having Lutron RA2 Select set up for our lighting system. The electrician has a lighting plan showing a circuit for a dimmable LED tape in a media unit. The LED tape will be connected to the RA2 select using the 0-10v dimming module. The electrician says this can work via the 5 amp socket, but i'm a bit confused by this - would it have to plug in? The media unit is free standing so I thought a cable would be required for the connection to the media unit. I'm waiting for him to come back to me but thought I would ask here as well. Thanks.

If used, the LED tape is for effect under the overhang of a deeper worktop, such as an island seating area. They can also be used along the base boards of the kitchen units. Personally, I would keep it simple and stick to under cabinet lighting for tasks, pendant lights over islands or lighting inside units. These are all functional.

Thanks. Actually might give this a go at the top of the stairs.

Thanks. This looks interesting.

Thanks for replies. Builders says he will remove it next week. If he doesn't we will take it up with the council or seek legal advice. It could be hazardous materials from other jobs - we just don't know, as there is so much piled up.

We want to add lighting into a kitchen pantry unit that has two concertina doors. The plan is to add two vertical led tape in diffusers internally, either side of the doors. If we had a trigger switch, that turns lighting on when the doors are opened we would need two - one for each door. Does this mean we would need two lighting circuits because there would be two switches? The other thought would be to be a sensor at the back of the unit that triggers the lights to come on. Some sensors have timers built in too, so they don't flicker on and off if you move away slightly. Any guidance on what might work best would be great. Would also welcome advice from anyone who has done something similar. Many thanks.

Thanks. We witnessed them dumping it as we were walking by. No money owed to them and always paid on time. We have asked them to move it and clear it. Such an amount of rubbish/rubble, so if they haven’t cleared it by Monday we will report to the council as fly tipping and let them deal with it.

We are renovating our home and the work is coming to the final stages; the RIBA contract should complete this week. We are renting nearby and are not living at the site. The contractors have been working since January. The main construction is done and plastering and internal finishes taking place. Recently they have not been at the site and it is locked up most days, other than our own trades going in. It has come to our attention today that the builder is using our front driveway to dump building materials, rubble and debris from other jobs they are working on. The house also has some rooms full of left over boarding and building materials. We have asked them to clear this today but would like to know what other options we have here to ensure this is removed quickly. The driveway looks like a scrapyard filled with rubbish. It is also causing further damage to the land: at some point we will be resurfacing the driveway but we do not have the budget to do this immediatel>We are so angry about this.

Thank you Nick. When you say it is not uncommon for these things to happen, do you mean getting surveyors involved? or for the work to overrun? apologies if I haven't understood. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

I’m not sure whether I am posting in the right area, so apologies if it isn’t in the right place. We have had our architect overseeing an RIBA contract with our builder and the architect will be responsible for signing off the completion certificate. In recent months the project has become rushed (due to the absence of the builder for 2.5 months). They are now trying to meet the deadline of the build, this month, to fall within the contract period. The architect has also had enough of it all and seems to want to draw a line under the project. Our concern is that their checks for sign off will be inadequate. We have considered hiring a surveyor as part of the check off, but wondered whether this will be helpful? Or even worth it? We have been told it is pointless doing this, as it doesn’t mean the builder will enforce it; they will argue the contract is administered by the architect and therefore down to them to sign it off. We have asked the architect to outline the standard expected in their sign off but to date haven’t received a reply.

Thanks so much for the replies and all the info. All really helpful. I will have a look at your previous posts too Nickfromwales😄

Contractors have laid underfloor heating everywhere in a cloakroom and have screeded the floor. They have undertaken all the first fix for pipe work and cistern. They have not considered there will be a floor standing toilet, as well as a floor standing vanity unit. What are the option here? is this still acceptable? Our architect has outlined it will be an issue drilling into the floor because of the pipework. Thank you.

It would be interesting to get views on this.. Our contractor has sent us a bill for plumbing costs in our bathrooms. The contractor has increased the price of this of this after undertaking the plumbing work for our bathrooms. They have outlined the following reasons: The inclusion of integrated taps, integrated cistern systems with wall hung WC would not have been considered standard bathroom furniture. Does this seem reasonable? Thank you

Can Diathonite go over existing plaster walls, or should it be applied to bare brickwork? Thanks