Two questions. If a chimney is damaged on a semi detached house, what's the protocol for paying for repair ?
also what sort of cost can be expected, looks like the top brick (maybe two layers) on one side has come loose
Thanks
If it's a 'shared' stack, then both owners 'chip in' for the cost of the repair and you pay the builder upon satisfactory completion of the work - NEVER pay before the work is done to your satisfaction. If the builder insists on payment before hand, tell him to politely go away and find another, bona-fide one.
Obviously if one owner refuses for whatever reason, then there will be problems as it is unlikely that the damage will be confined to one side (although I have seen this on very rare occasions).
You won't find out what it will cost until someone climbs on the roof to see the actual damage.
The reason: the damage that you can see from the floor is the most obvious (a bit like the iceberg syndrome really) and it is quite possible that the whole thing will have to be demolished and rebuilt (worse case scenario) due to weak joints, crumbling brickwork etc.
Brian G
You will have difficulty finding a bona fide builder who will do the work without a scaffold these days (H&S looms it head) and the builder is not going to front the scaffold cost which might be about £500
I was interested to find you can get a used Transit with a cherry picker for a few grand. Obviously this won't have the "reach" for all jobs but it struck me as a useful investment if one were doing a major refurbishment where the access was OK.
Anna,
I presume that you are replying to my post.
There will be no difficulty in getting a genuine builder or roofer to do the job.
Under the current H&S legislation, there is nothing stopping a builder from using the correct ladders to gain access to the chimney - and that is what he would have to do to inspect and estimate the job (a quote rather than an estimate is better though).
A builder can do minor works off the correct ladders - such as tile replacement, pointing the stack flashing, fitting a chimney pot etc.
With major works such as a stack rebuild, a bona fide builder will include access scaffold, materials, labour costs, removal of rubbish, transport to and from the job and a small contigency allowance for unforeseen or 'guessed at works' into his price.
He will 'front' all these costs and will not ask for any payment before he starts the works - costs may be higher, but you get what you pay for after all.
If a 'cowboy' builder is used, then your assumption is correct - he'll do it off ladders irrespective of H&S rules (what's those guv'nor), demand payment 'up-front' (probably a small fortune), do unnecessary works and then add an extra charge for it (he may well add the charge and not do the works anyway) and then bodge the job.
As an old building maintenance foreman, if I have to get someone in to do the work (rare), I invite several builders to look at the job and then tell them exactly what I want done - no waffle or leaving the builder to choose what he "thinks" is best or to "guess" at what I mean.
Those that ask for an up-front payment are told impolitely to go away and then I usually take the middle of the road quotation (never an estimate) that has been given to me, along with a description of the works in a writing, from the remaining builders. All this may take time and effort, but it pays in the long-run.
Brian G
Yes
Maybe, though in my experience the good ones are well booked up and can pick and choose what work they do
Sounds reasonable... well for a small chimney pot not for one of those big victorian ones
But then you are asking the builder to take the risk that the client will not pay up and he will be left owing the scaffolder a bunch of money. Now I agree that you may well be able to find a building company who will take this risk but the company will be charging a premium for doing so
If I were getting the work done then I would be quite happy to pay for scaffolding up front, or more likely to pay the scaffolder direct. The actual stack works I would expect to pay for after the work is done
Yes noone wants a cowboy builder but there are many small companies or one man bands who are competent but quite reasonably do not want to take on unnecessary risk
That makes you the ideal punter. They are not all like you!
I agree that you are likely to get quality work and depending on what work it is, you may get it at a reasonable price by this method. Indeed, pointing a chimney stack is a job that could well be quoted for.
Where the work is more complex and uncertain I think my clients get a poor deal if they insist on a quote. I do conservation repairs and often there is no way to know what problems will be uncovered until the work begins so any quote has to be very high, just to cover myself against nasty discoveries
Anna
I've several times been tempted by using a cherry picker (to hire not to buy) probably cos I want to play with one! but every time access has been the problem. People have a nasty tendency to put rockeries or raised beds or have sloping land just where you want to take the cherry picker. In the end a fixed scaffold has been the answer and has the advantage that several people can work at once. Still looking for the ideal cherry picker job ...
Anna
then you need to cherry pick the jobs
lol
Anna
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