Uneven walls due to Insulation methods - Is this acceptable?

D

dowlinj

Registered User
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38
Hi,

I recently bought a terraced house and was having a look at a similar unit in the estate to determine any alterations I'd like done to mine before moving in. Everything seemed fine except for one anomaly with the interior walls. All the interior walls adjacent to the front and back exterior facing walls had 2 tiers of plastering. The first plaster layer came in a few feet into the house then there was a 1-2 cm lip inwards followed by the second layer.

Anyway, the builder informed me that this was due to some HomeBond regulation requiring exterior walls to have thermal insulation and that they had placed extra insulation a few feet into the interior walls out of the goodness of their hearts!!

Now, this seems very strange to me as I'm used to having straight walls in any house I've ever lived, except of course where a chimney stack is pertruding etc. So the long and short of it is, I told the guy that I wanted some straight, flat plastered walls. He said that I'd have to fork out the extra money for the plaster board etc. I wasn't too happy about this as I would consider this a basic requirement of any new home and on the plans supplied with my contract I don't see any lips in the walls.

Does anyone know where I'd stand from a legal viewpoint on this? Is this a normal building technique? It's a small amount of money in question but, on principle I don't feel I should have to pay extra just because the builder's too cheap to finish the job properly.
 
It sounds as if it is a new home. Get a good surveyor in to do the snag list is what I would advise.
 
Yeah, I'll definitiely be doing that. I guess the best thing to do is get them to sort it out now and see what the surveyor has to say on the matter. If it turns out at snagging that they're doing things by the book, I don't want to be left with this oddity which I have to spend even more on to get fixed.
 
Have a look at the show house. If it has this lip, I think you're stuck with it. If not, you may have a case.
 
I think it was standard for the build as the builder was showing us one of the houses which was the same type as ours. I still don't think that this makes it ok though. Is a builder not obligated to meet certain standards with regard to this sort of thing? Anyone know the regulations with regard to plastering a wall properly?
 
Can someone stop fixdirext from posting his advertisment on every message posted. its a bit annoying.
 
Yeah, what the hell was that all about? That doesn't answer my question buddy.:mad:
 
Folks, use the "report this post" facility to alert moderators to such posts in future.

Well done ClubMan for spotting this and dealing with it quickly.
Leo
 
Leo said:
Folks, use the "report this post" facility to alert moderators to such posts in future.
Click to expand...

Where is this function? I've seen it on boards.ie but can't seem to find it here:confused:
 
I'm guessing that the house in question is constructed of hollow blockwork (external walls) and yes the intermediate party walls do need an extra measure of insulation to comply with building regulations. So technically your builder is probably correct, in that he is complying with building Regulations but his solution (as it stands) is not common or accepted practice- i.e it is not accepted practice to have steps in the wall finish like this. The entire wall of the room should have been lined to accommodated the additional thickness of insulation material.
 
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