Central heating engineer has stepped a hole into our ceiling...

[everdene]

We are having a new central heating system fitted at a total cost of £12,000. Have had to take a loan to have it.

I've arrived this morning and the apprentice has fallen through a floorboard with a hole in and out his foot nearly straight through the ceiling.

Wtf do we do? We are so short of money. They say we are lucky he wasn't further injured and we shouldn't have had a dodgy floorboard. It was near a cupboard but very obviously had a hole in - v v historic woodworm (house is Victorian). It's next on our to-do list.

Do we complain to their head office or is it our fault? House is completely empty so the floorboard wasn't hidden in any way, totally obvious there was a hole in it. And now there's a bloody great hole in our living room ceiling.

How do we address this? They are part of a large company and have otherwise done a great job.

Call your buildings insurers and ask them about it. If you didn't point the hole out and warn them to stay away from it then chances are you are liable, but your insurance may cover it.

There may be some liability on their part too, in which case their insurance may cover it.

Our roofer did the same. My dh just patched up the hole it's fine. A plasterer will sort this out it's not a big job so don't panic. You do not have to plaster the whole ceiling!

My dh says they will likely to be liable for it. His company was when one of their engineers did something similar.

contact your insurers, get the details of theirs and let the two sort it out.

thats a lot of money for central heating it should be their responsibility to put it right, thats what they have insurance for

You say woodworm, was the hole obvious or did the wood crumble because of the woodworm when he stood on it? As someone else said a plasterer would be able to fix it quite easily, it's not a big job.

Thank you SO much everyone, I had visions of the whole ceiling needing to be done!

Re the woodworm, there was a hole of about five inches on a beam and the young guy just stepped straight into it and through to the plaster beneath.

I'll get our insurance company on it (maybe I'll get a quote first in case it really isn't too bad!)

Hi, I'm pulling my hair out...!! I need to find a builder capable of knocking through a supporting wall between the lounge and dinning room in order to create a much larger room; without trying to (1) charge the earth and (2) look so unprofessional and unkempt that you would certainly not want them in your home!!! I've searched through the local Thompson's etc but the two builders that eventually turned up filled me with no confidence so I sent them both on their merry way. Why is so hard to find decent / professional builders and decorators??? Can anyone recommend a very good builder and decorator in or around the Greenwich / Blackheath area, as that would be so helpful.