'"> ');

Author Topic: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?  (Read 103843 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

New Home Expert

  • Global Moderator
  • Guru member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1625
  • Country: england
  • Expert advice for new home buyers
    • New Home Blog
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #45 on: December 10, 2019, 07:32:17 am »
Go back to the NHBC and instruct them to appoint a contractor and carry out the works necessary and project manage it.

It is not down to the homeowner to be a project manager on behalf of a lazy NHBC!
New Home Blog - New Home Expert is committed to providing help and advice for people having issues with their new homes and difficulties with house builders as well as helping potential buyers reduce the risk of possible problems if they do buy.


gdavies07

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #46 on: December 24, 2019, 03:34:05 pm »
Thanks for your response I have called NHBC a couple of times and have been told that they can look to cash settle rather than repair.
I advised I want the repairs and they said I have no choice! Is this actually true?

Do you know if floorboards should be fitted the same direction as the joists?

If you listen around halfway through this video you will hear the knocking noise!

Have a lovely Christmas and New Year!

Thanks


Maxell

  • Junior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 65
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #47 on: December 26, 2019, 02:15:27 pm »
As been said do not manage the work yourself,  you should be dealing with NHBC.
Noise from floors can not be totally eliminated,  how loud is acceptable is subjective and can vary from one inspectors opinion to another. Finding the cause of the noise requires a methodical approach and experience.

In my own opinion the use of joist caps in construction we see less 'cracking noise '. In your case wedge a 4 x 2 under each ceiling joist in turn to try and eliminate the noise.  Check walls for dabs touching, then a last resort would to cut the floor out and brace the joists with ply.
Your picture is a good example in an empty room this is a straightforward job and quick job .
Thanks 
 

gdavies07

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #48 on: December 26, 2019, 09:17:51 pm »
Thanks for your message.

I have been pushing NHBC as the resolution report admits there is a fault however there are adamant they can choice to cash settle a claim rather than carry out the repairs themselves?

The cash settlement is just over £1,000 (I haven't accepted this) and they are asking me to get quotes/specialist report and they will then review if quotes come back more  expensive (Attached is the schedule of works they believe may resolve this issue)

I will discuss your recommendations with some of the companies I get out to look at the issue and provide quotes.

It seems to be to be a along the whole floor in one straight line the knocking noise. I get a few noises close to the stand walls in certain areas as well which doesn't bother me that much compared to the knocking noises.

Thanks


New Home Expert

  • Global Moderator
  • Guru member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1625
  • Country: england
  • Expert advice for new home buyers
    • New Home Blog
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #49 on: December 28, 2019, 08:28:31 am »
The flooring should span across the joists not along or parallel with the joists.
Yes the NHBC do often offer cash settlement rather than carry out works.
This means:
1) The NHBC can forget about the defect forever - no coming back with another claim down the line.
2) The homeowner can choose to get works carried out, or just put up with it.

But you do not have to accept it. Under the warranty the NHBC has to get or arrange to carry out necessary works to remediate defects in the home covered by the warranty. If they do not the financial Ombudsman Services will probably rule in your favour if you raise a complaint.
New Home Blog - New Home Expert is committed to providing help and advice for people having issues with their new homes and difficulties with house builders as well as helping potential buyers reduce the risk of possible problems if they do buy.

new_home_17

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #50 on: May 04, 2020, 09:22:14 pm »
It is with quite a bit of annoyance I’m back (see posts on previous pages).
Snapping cracking noises from the ceilings, and the master bedroom floor is very springy and bouncy).

First repair was screwing back the ceiling tight, worked perfectly initially for couple of weeks then the issues gradually came back to what it was.

Then they added couple of horizontal noggins, no impact at all.

Finally late last year they pulled ceilings down and put resilient bars up. I told them many times that the noise was being generated by the really springy and bouncy floor and they should look at addressing that. They didn’t, and now the resilient bars work is failing.

No idea why the floor bounces so much just walking on it. It’s like a caravan floor. We find if we have the heating on the is always 2 or 3 very loud pops/cracks as things expand.

We can now also see that the freshly installed and plastered ceilings has several straight creases in it where the resilient bars run.

We’re waiting for them to return to log this officially and no doubt another bin fight about fault and repairs.

Has anyone had any experience of this? The spacing seems to be 450mm so cant be that.

gdavies07

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #51 on: May 04, 2020, 09:56:30 pm »
I am in a simular position NHBC are offering about £2,300 to have noggins fixed across the centre of the joists to reduce flexing.

They have tried screwing the ceiling up and didn’t work for me then they tried cutting hatches in the floorboards to inspect which had only made the floorboards even worse.

I am wary of getting the noggins as I didn’t want to take the offer so I’m in the process of seeking legal advice!

Do you think it could actually be the joist failing ?

Cheers


new_home_17

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #52 on: May 04, 2020, 10:29:51 pm »
Hi

I am in a simular position NHBC are offering about £2300 to have noggins fixed across the centre of the joists to reduce flexing.

They have tried screwing the ceiling up and didn’t work for me then they tried cutting hatches in the floorboards to inspect which had only made the floorboards even worse.

I am wary of getting the noggins as I didn’t want to take the offer so I’m in the process of seeking legal advice!

Do you think it could actually be the joist failing ?

Cheers
Couple of things I’ve thought, either they got excessively wet during construction and softened, Or they are not the correct hardness of wood.
Either way, they need to be reinforced as they are bouncing, cracking and creasing my ceiling. I posted a picture on the previous page of the kind of thing that I think would work (sheets of hard wood either side of all joists). They’d need to take up the entire floor and then replace it very carefully. The original poster of it had the same issue and confirmed it cured it. As an engineer myself it seems logical.

new_home_17

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #53 on: May 04, 2020, 10:33:18 pm »
My other hypothesis is that the joists are hard up against the outer walls and maybe during settling the walls are pushing on the joist (like pushing on both ends of a ruler forcing the middle up).
I’d need an engineer from the builder to check that the interaction between the joist and the wall is to drawing.

gdavies07

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #54 on: May 04, 2020, 11:07:26 pm »
Would you suggest cutting the flooring round the walls as I was told to bring the whole flooring up they would need to knock the timber stud walls down and sounded like a demolition job!

My joists are the timber web joists!

new_home_17

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #55 on: May 05, 2020, 06:49:13 am »
Yeah, I’d assume they’d have to cut just inside on the walls and lift from there.

New Home Expert

  • Global Moderator
  • Guru member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1625
  • Country: england
  • Expert advice for new home buyers
    • New Home Blog
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #56 on: May 09, 2020, 10:24:20 am »
The housebuilders and more importantly the NHBC, should know what the cause is by now.
Why they continue to follow the bodge up they do, considering to cost to them and the destruction of people's homes when ceilings are taken down to fit resilient bar is a mystery.

It is that the new I-joists do indeed get wet during construction often too much! The Moisture resistant (not rain resistant) chipboard that is fixed to them early (primarily for safety often gets saturated and distorts.

But a springing floor means it is deflecting too much due to bad workmanship, not following manufacturer's recommendations or under specifying (Joist not strong enough or close enough for the spans involved).

Anyone affected should also read this. http://www.brand-newhomes.co.uk/Joint-statement-on-cracking-sounds-from-ceilings.pdf

New Home Blog - New Home Expert is committed to providing help and advice for people having issues with their new homes and difficulties with house builders as well as helping potential buyers reduce the risk of possible problems if they do buy.

new_home_17

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #57 on: June 07, 2021, 06:27:51 pm »
As suspected, the resilient bars haven’t done the trick. As suspected, they didn’t address the root cause which is deflection/bounce within the joists.
Within a couple of months the issue was starting to reappear and it’s crept back to what it was.
Nightmare.
I’m pretty fed up of my house being a building site, and having to fight the builders to put it right.
FOUR failed attempts to fix it. Not once addressing what we said when we first moved in was a problem, the bouncy floors.
I have been telling them it was creeping back and they acknowledged some noise but felt the level wasn’t enough to warrant work.
As we flagged it before our warranty expired I hope they consider it still covered.

gdavies07

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #58 on: June 08, 2021, 11:36:16 am »
Hi Mate

I’ve just been through the same 2 years of fighting NHBC and the builder and they took
the ceilings down as they suspected micro cracking and resilient bars would resolve it.

When the ceilings were down it was clear the joists/floorboards where the problem as the noise was still present.

They tried to put ply either side of one joist to stop the flex and then said NHBC said to just do the resilient bars and they gave up.

Raised back with NHBC and they are now back tracking on the resolution report and saying the noise has improved.

Waiting for them to come back out!

new_home_17

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12
Re: NHBC standards for chipboard floors on I-joists?
« Reply #59 on: June 08, 2021, 12:20:00 pm »
Hi Mate

I’ve just been through the same 2 years of fighting NHBC and the builder and they took
the ceilings down as they suspected micro cracking and resilient bars would resolve it.

When the ceilings were down it was clear the joists/floorboards where the problem as the noise was still present.

They tried to put ply either side of one joist to stop the flex and then said NHBC said to just do the resilient bars and they gave up.

Raised back with NHBC and they are now back tracking on the resolution report and saying the noise has improved.

Waiting for them to come back out!
This is the problem, not just the hassle of having your house smashed around, pushing passed all their rubbish.
I am tempted to just get someone in to do it how I want it and pay for it. I know they should be on the hook for it but they all frustrate me so much. They’ll also suggest some other crappy half arsed experimental repair that’ll fail after a week again.