letter for builder for leaky roof: Advice please!

[lola71]

I just emailed the building company we used 2 years ago for an extension. Asked them to fix my leaky roof or refund me cost. Sent them pics. Given them 2 weeks and told them I will refer them to trading standards and get legal advice if we don't hear from them. Is this sufficient? Should I send them a letter recorded delivery or is email sufficient?

Seems extremely heavy handed as a first contact, and also after 2 years.

Why don't you see what they say before threatening them with trading standards and legal advice? They'll probably be much more forthcoming if you don't go full guns blazing

Agree with the previous poster. Unless there is more to this story, it does sound very heavy handed. That won't help you if this goes to court as it makes you look unreasonable.

I'm not clear how much of a refund you are requesting. You certainly won't get the full cost of the extension back. The most you are likely to get is the cost of fixing the roof and making good any damage. As it is two years since it was built, it will be up to you to prove that the leak is caused by bad workmanship or shoddy materials. Unless you can prove that you won't be entitled to anything.

The email you've sent them is certainly not sufficient as a letter before action. But, before going that far, you need to get an independent surveyor to take a look at your roof and write a report. If they agree that the builders are liable you can move on to the next step. This will, of course, cost money so you should only go down this path if the builders refuse to do anything about the leak.

Sorry there is more to the story, I am in a bit of state forgive me. I whatsapped the company's manager to tell him about the leak. He replied that the firm was closed because of covid. But I have checked and they are not. I whatsapped him again to see if they will take responsibility for the leak and no reply. Hence email. We have a 20 year warranty for the work . They built a tiny extension for us, when I saw the leak I went up to look at the 2 year old roof and it's all flaky, with holes and cracks! Clearly badly installed. With a leaky roof, Covid and home schooling I am losing it completely Thankyou for your advice.

Yes, I either want them to fix the roof or refund me the cost of fixing it.

In that case this is a warranty claim. Who provides the warranty? The builder or someone else? If it is provided by someone else (an insurance company, for example) you should contact them.

If you are considering legal action, www.which.co.uk has a template letter before action you could use.

The warranty is with the building company. Thankyou, I will look at the Which template.

Help! after a month of zero response the building company responded saying they take responsibility for the roof and they will fix it. In my last letter I told them I would take them to the small claims court as well as refer them to trading standards for false advertising (they have logos on their websites of a couple of trading bodies, sadly I now know they belong to neither of them).Except, they cannot tell me when they can come as they are on furlough. In the meantime I got an independent report that basically says the roof workmanship is appalling and it would have been obvious to anyone with some experience. The roof will need to be done from scratch. It s fibreglass, when laid by a qualified installer it will last 25 years. I want it fix asap, worried about the roof decking board becoming warped. Also worried that leaks will damage the ceiiling, furniture and flooring, they are ok now. I want to get my own fibreglass roof installer and ask the building company to pay for it. If they don't, I will them to court. Am I unreasonable?