Porch light positioned incorrectly - can this be fixed?

[barrattnewbuild]

Our porch light was positioned before our canopy, and seems to have been measured incorrectly. It looks ridiculous where it has been placed because it is squashed right up to the canopy and is much higher than everyone else's. All the other houses have their light below the frame of the canopy.

The canopy also looks like it has been squashed in to fit there because of the light and it is not exactly in the centre.

My questions are:

1. Is it possible for the position of the light to be fixed? The hole was drilled through the bricks before the house was rendered. I'm worried that repositioning it will damage the render. It looks like a new hole will need to be drilled through the render and brick, then the existing one filled and re-rendered to make it look like it never existed which I'm not sure is possible?

2. Will Barratt fix this or will they say it is within tolerance?

Thank you

[Primus]

Its hard to see the alignment of the canopy but if it's not central then you would be well entitled to question the workmanship. As for the light again its hard to understand without seeing the others, there's certainly nothing wrong technically as to where its positioned but if its different to every other plot then again its worth questioning on the basis your house doesn't fit in with the rest of the kerb side aesthetics and that it stands out as an error / poor workmanship, this may sway the builder to put it right to save face.

[barrattnewbuild]

Its hard to see the alignment of the canopy but if its not central then you would be well entitled to question the workmanship. As for the light again its hard to understand without seeing the others, theres certainly nothing wrong technically as to where its possitioned but if its different to every other plot then again its worth questioning on the basis your house doesnt fit in with the rest of the kerb side asthetics and that it stands out as an error / poor workmanship, this may sway the builder to put it right to save face.

Thank you. Yeah with the canopy it's hard to tell being so far away, but I think the difference is small and something I could live with. But I'm just pretty upset about the light because it does stand out as an error and looks shabby compared to all the others. The others have been placed underneath the frame rather than at the side of it so high up. It's also the fact there is no gap at all between the light and the canopy which makes it look so bad.

I'm guessing taking it off and putting it lower will leave some holes in the render. I've read that coloured render like this is near impossible to patch up invisibly which I'm concerned about.

[Maxell]

The builder will probably say it is not a defect.
It can be lowered, it would involve cutting out plasterboard on the inside to gain access to extend the cable . It would leave a couple of 6mm holes and a 10mm hole. These can be filled with a small ball of render but as you say it is unlikely to match exactly.

[barrattnewbuild]

Hi , the builder will probably say it is not a defect. It can be lowered , it would involve cutting out plasterboard on the inside to gain access to extend the cable . It would leave a couple of 6mm holes and a 10mm hole. These can be filled with a small ball of render but as you say it is unlikely to match exactly.

Regards

Thank you for your reply. I presume the builders won't fix it then if it is going to involve removing the plasterboard also. Would doing that be noticeable on the wall inside after it has been repainted?

Do you think it would be possible to move it at all without the need to access the inside of the plasterboard? Even if it could just be moved a little to the right so it isn't touching the canopy. Hopefully moving it only slightly would also not reveal the holes?

Thank you

[Maxell]

Sorry I thought you wanted it moved inside the canopy and up higher . To move it slightly to the right should be straightforward  but I don't think you would gain much before the holes showed . The lighter colour renders patch better than the darker ones and a surface finisher could touch it up if it was noticeable . If you want it moved I would email the sales and say it is in the wrong place.

[New Home Expert]

From the photograph I assume you have yet to move in.
In the grand scheme of things, this is very minor issue but I agree it is not right.
You need to decide if you want it moved or re positioned so it is the same as the other homes with the risk that you may just notice the resultant making good or live with it as it is.

I would suggest that your new home will have hundreds of snags when you move in and you would be wise to have it professionally inspected and snagged before you legally complete, even more so given what you said in your post.

[barrattnewbuild]

From the photograph I assume you have yet to move in.
In the grand scheme of things, this is very minor issue but I agree it is not right.
You need to decide if you want it moved or re positioned so it is the same as the other homes with the risk that you may just notice the resultant making good or live with it as it is.

I would suggest that your new home will have hundreds of snags when you move in and you would be wise to have it professionally inspected and snagged before you legally complete, even more so given what you said in your post.

Thank you for replying. Yes I am yet to move in. I have booked a snagging survey also but disappointed to see this on our first glance of the house from the outside.

It isn't a functional issue but the way it looks will really irritate me. It also looks worse because it is a terraced house and it looks different from the others.

I have written an email to express my concern which has apparently been passed to the manager, but not had a response yet.

I definitely would like it to be moved but if it's going to be noticable that it has been repaired I don't know if that would irritate me even more. It depends on how noticeable it is but I guess there is no way of knowing as it depends on the skills of who does it? It is a brand new house so I don't want it to look like damage has been already done to the render.

[New Home Expert]

I understand your point.
You have noticed it and it will irritate  you every time you approach your front door forever more!
Probably best to be happy and take the risk even if it could look worse.