I am looking for some advice if anyone can offer it.
I purchased a new build from Persimmon Homes. I know the bad history they have unfortunately we where not really able to afford any of the other house builders and also we have to move slightly further out to where we would have liked to live just to get on the property ladder.
I will save a huge read by skipping out huge delays, we are just happy the house is now nearly finished.
So the house is like a week away for habitation checks and I have a few queries which I can't go to Persimmon with untill we get out demo/snagging visit.
I have been keeping an eye on the build and make regular visits at least every second week, and fortunately for us where our plot is the back garden on looks some private woodlands which we are able to walk through and see our house and now and then when Persimmon don't close the fencing properly, we have been able to get in to our garden and house and have a proper look.
Knowing the house is not finished yet but the things I have picked up are clearly finished
1. When we chose our plot we decided on our house because it was one of few gardens with the nearest to level gardens front to rear, back garden has now been finished and completely fenced around so I took some measurements tonight using my laser level and from finished slab level to the rear of the garden is 700mm minimum, on the drawings it show 350mm difference from slabs to rear garden.
Im getting the whole garden redone when the weather gets better with mostly slabs and was planning on pulling everything as level as I could which wouldn't be too hard with 350mm difference but with 700mm I would be miles under the fence post never mind the fence.
2. Our kitchen has been finished for a few weeks now and noticed they have started doing work in it again and have boxed out the corner of the kitchen on top of the worktop with a access panel, the thing I have no idea why, there was a pipe in the concrete floor there, which wasn't on the drawings.
Everything has been connected up sink etc and they all have there own waste, above is a bedroom cupboard so no reason for the pipe to go up stairs, I believe some one has messed up and they are trying to hide it by connecting a pipe to it adding a access panel and capping it from there possibly?
3. We have a semi-detached house so have a pathway to the side alongside our neighbour who has their pathways next to ours, their house has a slightly higher ground level than ours which is fine but I have noticed that instead of moving our side gates to the front of the house they have them at the rear which now means my neighbours path is 400mm higher than mine is with no fall protection at all?
It is literally 600mm wide path with a 400mm fall from there path to ours.
It's not really a issue for us but really dangerous for our neighbours especially the dark nights and icy mornings.
I think then gates should have been pulled forward to the front and the fence follow which would have separated our path and gave then a protected walkway.
4. Also just found out that Persimmon have now changed our driveway finish without even notifying us, there are houses just been completely finished and when we where looking at them noticed the drive ways where tarmac, when I asked the sales advisor she told us that they are all getting tarmac now instead of what we where to have previously which was slabbed and chipped.
A bit annoying as we are redoing the whole front garden as well when the better weather comes in and the tarmac is more work trying to get it all out, just thought it would be nice to at least be advised it was happening.
All the above issues I will be pulling up at the demo, I can't really say anything just now because they are going to know I have been on site.
I'm looking for advice on how to approach them and deal with them as I know they are a pain to get stuff resolved.
I am from the building trade myself, Stonemason also training for site manager and the company I work for would not have got away with any of the above and rectified these issue either before or after they where made aware of them, we deal more with refurbishment rather than new build so im not sure what tolerances Persimmon have. I have dealt with NHBC a few times on our jobs and I know most of their tolerances for all the snagging etc but could not really find anything relating to the above.
I have read and made the mistake now of using the builder's solicitor, I can only be annoyed at myself that I didn't do more checks beforehand.
All of this is first time for me
Any advice/help is appreciated
