An Experience of Buying a Barratt / David Wilson Homes New Build Property
Sections in this Article:
The Chimney
Chimneys are not exciting at the best of times, but ours isn’t even real, it’s artificial, made of fibre glass, and was a requirement of the planning consent to keep in fitting with existing properties neighbouring the development. So, imagine our surprise when the first photograph of our property was sent across by the sales team proudly showing us progress on our new home; a surprisingly Simpson's yellow rendered property [not the brick we had expected] with a chimney positioned smack bang in the middle of the roof!
When I was a child, this was the way I drew houses, but on a professional build this looked odd. After we checked the building schematics, it was confirmed; the builders had mistaken the position of the loft hatch for the position of the chimney. No-one on site had noticed this so it filled us with an un-easing sense confidence knowing that builders can make such mistakes; what more could be lurking away?
After we highlighted the issue, the mistake was confirmed and a commitment made to rectify this issue before we moved in.
In November, a month after we had expected to be moved in, we visited the property to see what was going on. The chimney was still in the incorrect position but work appeared to be underway to reposition it.
Finally, by the end of November we had moved in and over the Christmas break I decided to have a look in the loft. I was surprised to see daylight lighting this dark void. It looked wrong to me, so I posted the photograph below on Facebook and the general consensus was ‘cowboy builders’. With my opinion confirmed and after looking at similar properties on the site, I contacted Barratt to report another issue with the Chimney. After the Christmas break, the roofers would be back to refit the roof tiles tighter to the chimney.
In January, on a cold frosty morning, a cherry picker arrived and contractors for Barratt Homes began relaying the tiles tighter to the chimney. This I am told are how these chimneys are supposed to be installed.
Almost a year later, the house was once again covered in scaffolding and I was able to take a closer look at how the chimney had been installed. I’m told this is now correct but I’m certainly interested in opinions; please let me know in the comments at the end of this article.
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