Redrow Garden

[mswgb2012]

We bought a Redrow home last year. Within days of moving in we had terrible flooding of the back garden - to within 3 metres of the house. This was before it had been landscaped. We informed Redrow but were fobbed off with their response that we need to allow the water to find its natural drainage course. Following this we then had the garden landscaped and prepared for turf to be laid by Redrow, as the site manager agreed to it to help the drainage. The builders removed buckets, scaffolding, blocks of cement and other building materials. Being first time buyers we thought this may be normal so didn't query it.

Within weeks of the turf and patio being laid we had flooding again. Redrow came to 'investigate' and dug up the area that flooded and removed several huge boulders.

Fast forward 12 months and we have been unable to get the turf to grow. It still floods onto the patio by the house but does drain within 48hours, there are patches in the turf are where large rocks, nails, cement blocks etc are working their way to the surface. What worried us was that our sons were playing football one day when our eldest found some glass protruding from the ground. We dug it up and recovered two palm sized pieces of glass from the ground - which were obviously working their way to the surface. This obviously worried us so we contacted Redrow who sent someone round. We also informed the NHBC.

Redrows decision, initially, was that it was preparation by the groundsmen that laid the turf that was to blame. This was great news for us as Redrow themselves had done this prep. We are now awaiting a visit from an independent landscaper, hired by Redrow, to assess the garden. Certain employees at Redrow have lied and attempted to intimidate us out of our complaint. The NHBC have been really helpful to date and have said that without a resolution from Redrow they would still carry out an investigation.

All we want is a garden that is fit for purpose, safe for the kids and are not out to make any gains.

We are concerned that Redrow have loop holes they can disappear through and have already been dismissed by them saying 'see you in the meeting' which we took as an intimidation tactic.

Apologies for the long post.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[mswgb2012]

Further to the above we have noticed that the bottom bricks, which we believe are under the damp proof course, around the house walls have moss growing on them, the cement is crumbling and are damp to touch. Could this be due to poor drainage etc?

[New Home Expert]

Garden Flooding
It is an NHBC warranty standards requirement 10.2.6 states that "drainage should be taken into account"

Standard 10.2.8 states: "...immediately around the home areas up to 3m form the habitable parts of the home shall not be waterlogged"
Standard 10.2.9 states: "Old foundations concrete bases and obstructions within 300mm of finished ground level should be removed." "Construction rubbish and debris should be removed from the garden and other areas around the home." 

So it is clear that Redrow are responsible under the warranty, to carry out works to ensure at least, the area up to 3m from your house doesn't flood.  They are also required to remove all builders debris. Topsoil should be at least 100mm thick (previously this was 150mm) not including turf.

The fact that they appear to be fighting against this is surprising given their marketing! I suggest you write to Redrow CEO John Tutte and inform him that Redrow is failing in its obligations under the NHBC warranty.

Bricks and mortar
It is a requirement that the dpc is 150mm above finished ground level. In your case more so, with the flooding!  The bricks under the dpc are in contact with the ground and will be damp. On north facing walls they will remain damp for longer. You can get rid of the moss/mould with Algon but it will come back.

The mortar could be more serious. The below ground mix should be 1:3  I part cement 3 parts sand. I suspect he above ground silo mortar was used (half the required cement content). The reason below ground has stronger mortar is because of the action of freeze-thaw which may be the case here.
It may be a good idea to check the mortar above ground too. Drag a screwdriver along a joint and see if it powders.
Weak mortar in new homes is more common than the industry acknowledges and expensive to rectify so expect a fight with this too!

[mswgb2012]

Thank you for your reply.

With regards to the garden - we do have pictures from when the rear garden was a building site and also following completion. The ground looks exactly the same and I don't think any top soil was put onto our garden. There is definitely flooding within 3 metres of the house, which does clear in 48 hours or so. Ultimately we don't know what is buried in the garden and having removed scaffolding, buckets, large boulders and cement blocks we wouldn't be surprised to find more of the same. We just want what we paid for - a safe and use able garden.

Bricks and Mortar.

Thank you for clarifying this. We were concerned that the poor drainage was having some effect on the brick work which could cause long term problems. We will try the process of using the screwdriver to test the mortar and will report to Redrow and the NHBC if any issues arise.

NHBC have confirmed today that they are coming to assess the garden on Friday. Hopefully we will be able to move forward and actually have a use able garden at some point soon! We have written it off for the summer.