New house not meeting building regs

[bayswater]

I have recently purchased a nuw build property and have discovered that it doe's not meet building regulations.

The issue we have is with the headheight of the bulkhead abobe our staircase.

The builder and developer have admitted to this and NHBC will not take any further action.

My question is this: -

They can not resolve the issue by replacing the staricase and will need to move the trimmer bar to either increase the width of the staircase or to raise the entire ceiling across the whole of the house. they will give me final details by the end of next week.

When should i contact my mortgage company to inform them of the defect - could they withdraw my mortgage?

also when should the subject of compensation be brought up, as it looks like we could be out of our house for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Thanks

[The Builder]

.can't quite understand this.....if the builder and the NHBC refuse to act - who is "they"........:o)

[bayswater]

I advised NHBC to the problem as the builder, Tripod Crest, and Developer, Annington, where convinvced the house was built according to spec. After an inspection on the property both builder and developer have agreed that there is a major problem.

'They' refers to Tripod crest and\or Annington.

Hope this helps.

[The Builder]

....right....got it!
It always amazes me how these things can happen. The required measurements are very simple (no rocket science involved). Perhaps the architect/designer got it wrong, or the builder's carpenter - it shouldn't matter to you anyway.
I assume NHBC did the Building Regs inspections in this case (not the local Building Control?)
Whatever - the builder got the measurements wrong, and NHBC passed it as correct. They'll put it right - or else!
Moving the trimmer might have ramifications in the final dimensions of the room or landing above, but, it should be fixable.
In my humble opinion - I would get it physically resolved before even thinking about getting the mortgage company involved. You'll only spook them, and get into another level of legal proceedure..............good luck :o)

[bayswater]

thanks for your answer........ i feel a little more at ease now.

Nhbc didn't do the check as our next door neighbour has the same issue, NHDC did the check there and 'they' realised that it was wrong so ours was inspected by the builder and developer.

You are right about the rooms chaging size, everything is built to the minimum aloud, ie landing width is 900mm. They will need to reduce this by atleast 300mm so the bathroom and spare room will need to be reduced in size. This leads onto the problem with the layout in the bathroom nothing can move as everything is already as close to each other as they can be......... if they move the sink then it will over hang the bath....... the problems apper to be endless - i will never buy a new build again!!!!!!

Thanks again for your reply

[buildersmate]

As an off-the-wall alternative you might wish to negotiate a financial settlement in compensation for the lack of conformance. This sounds like it is going to be a load of hassle for you and you will end up with rooms upstairs smaller than what you thought. Alternatively let them deal with next door first so you can see what impact it has on them.
The current desire to squeeze as much space into the home means designers are running real close to the wire on the three-dimensional aspect of spaces up the stairs.
Much depends on what headroom you've actually got and to what extent you can get a bed or wardrobe up there. I have found houses that DO meet the minimum distances but are configured up the stairs so that it's impossible to get a 5ft bed up.
Just an idea - but you would need a clear statement that this is the only aspect of BC that your house does not confirm to.

[bayswater]

thank you for your suggestion buildersmate.

We have thought that this could be an option but our reservation is that we will could have problems selling the house, we feel that as we are a young couple with no children the impact on us will be bearable for the duration of the work.

[bayswater]

Hi zacsmaster, it is out by about 175mm, as the trimmer is an 'I' Beam and we have been advised that this can't be altered.

[The Builder]

Hi again Bayswater..........still thinking about this...........long shot, but what about a steeper staircase - if it's at the regulation 42 degrees already, then try asking Building Control for a relaxation of the rule in this case - they can do this as long as it's not too silly............. :o)