Ceiling in new House

W

Wiggles

Registered User
Messages
138
Bought a new house and snagged it two weeks ago. The ceiling on the ground floor has an inch and a half pitch in it. This is extremely obvious when standing in the kitchen. I put it down as a major issue with the house and now the site foreman wants to meet me to discuss. My belief is that he wants to meet to knock money off the price of the house and leave the ceiling as is. My fear is that the joists were put in on an un-even wall. I think this is a problem beyond a simple few euros being knocked off the price of the house.

Should I walk away from the sale if they cannot resolve?? Can I walk away without loosing money??
 
Get a long, true straight edge, 6' or longer and a 1m spirit level, bring both along to your meeting with the builder's foreman. Ask the foreman to inspect the ceiling with your level and straight edge. Anything more than 1.5mm off in a metre is considered poor in plastering but IMHO I think that what you're describing is certainly not acceptable. See what the foreman has to say. Don't commit to anything without "consulting with my engineer/ architect".
 
And make sure that the floor above is o.k.! The ceiling is not loadbearing ( yes,the lamp ) but the floor above would be. Packed with furniture and maybe a partition wall it can give if kept at level with the aid of some packers between joists and floor boards .I have seen cardboard and sawdust used for this purpose. Pull a floor board up if in doubt and check what is under . That would give you more reassurance than a few words.
 
Thanks for the replies.

So in your opinions the issue is something that can and most definitely should be fixed!
 
No, if the joist are not level this can't be rectified now, but you need to establish accurately the discrepancy and ask the builder for comment.
 
Carpenter said:
No, if the joist are not level this can't be rectified now, but you need to establish accurately the discrepancy and ask the builder for comment.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow. What do you mean I need the builder to comment?
 
What I mean is if the joists and ceiling are as off level as stated I would like to hear what the builder had to say about it, what explanation he could give. He's going to find it pretty difficult to argue with a spirit level and straightedge! Bad workmanship is one thing butbuilding to line and level is a basic first principle and this must always be followed, without exception.
 
Sorry to bring this up again but need a bit of advice.

The saga with this continues, got back into the house for the final snag and no work had been done on the ceilings. No foreman on site to question so I have not submitted the report. I contacted a surveyor about coming to see the house but his advice was if I got him in to fight my case the builders can dig in and refuse to do it. He said it will end up with the solicitors and the punter always loses out............ He said we should just try and talk reasonably to the builder and hope they fix the problems!!!


I don't know what to do.............
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top