Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

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Berbatov

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Purchased house almost 12 months ago , nearly finished but received phone call from builder secretary last week (she was all nicey nicey on the phone) asking me would i like extra shower in main bathroom ...i said how much would this cost?..she said 400 euro....i said to her that its funny she should mention it but i was down at the house with the engineer the previous week and the shower was already put in...her tone then changed!!!..she said this was a mistake on their part and i could pay over the 400 quid or else they'll yank it out of the wall....surely not my problem as it was their mistake to begin with!!!...also 3 standard doors downstairs in the house that were due to come with glass panels - the glass is now being charged at a cost of 100 quid per door or else the doors will be left with no glass..is that not like buying a house with no windows?????...none of these extra's were portrayed at start of contract....any advice would be most appreciated....my solicitor reckons i should grin and bear it and cough up the dough!!....Builders eh?
 
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Regarding the shower you should at least haggle. They will have to remove the shower which will cost them and repair the area. I think the solicitors advice is a good one though as if they do reef out the shower and change the doors the finish will not be exactly great. Try to talk to the foreman or the builder directly.
 
is there a connection between the glass being removed and your not paying for the extra shower ?
you could always buy your own shower and stick it into the hole they leave behind.
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

Yeah i reckon there is a connection between the two as i'm now after learning that the site liason officer that i had been dealing with has left the company.....that after 14 extra showers had been fitted in to 14 houses mistakenly in the development...my guess is theyre trying to recoup the bobs by including added "extra's" like the glass in the doors....i asked builder why i wasn't told this at start of contract and was told that this was the way it is and that the builder decided on this new initiative...stinks to be honest.
 
Builder isn't going to leave the pipework there for you to attach a shower to. If he's taking the shower out, all pipes will be capped and buried in the wall and plastered over. Why not have a look at the price of the type of shower installed and offer him that - at the end of the day it wasn't your fault he installed the shower by mistake but €400 isn't mad expensive - most showers are around €250 then €50 for the isolater switch and the rest is probably the plumbers time.

If it was me, I wouldn't be getting on the wrong side of the builder this close to the end of the build - he might decide to walk off the job, which would really stuff you up!

Where your door glass is concerned - were you looking for a fancy glass? Maybe he didn't price it into the job - again not your fault - but fiddly thing to get someone else in to complete after he's gone.
 
On the shower, haggle as much as you can, and take advantage of the situation. The doors is different as glass in them would make a big difference in bring light into rooms etc. I would have thought you'd need different doors not just knock panels out.
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

Builder told me that 10 of the 14 houses have accepted and are happy to pay the 400 quid while the other 4 including me are being difficult!!!..i don't think i'm being difficult. But it does look like in all honesty i'll have to stump up with the cash as its so near the end of the build i could through no fault of my own be bringing trouble on myself by being difficult.. thanks for all replies everyone
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

i would just split the difference on the shower with them and tell them that you don't jump off of a cliff cause there is a cue for it but that because you are both winning by leaving it there you won't want it yanked out and replastered/retiled etc - headache ends there! smile and be a villan, don't worry about the builder play hard ball and but always be respectful, thats my experience anyway.
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

Yeah haggle

it would cost nearly 400quid to remove a shower, cap pipes, cover up and repair. The job would take 3 or 4 days for a plumber a joiner, a plasterer and a painter, some level of coordiation costs.........etc etc

If its a small project the one guy may do it all and the builder is not really paying attention to the tru cost but it would seem cheaper to leave it so I reckon throw them some cash. A shower in the 2nd bathroom IS very handy.
We have not and visitors often use the ensuite to shower.
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

And if you go for the 2 showers it may not be possible to use them both at the same time, as it may overload the electrics.
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

Berbatov said:
Purchased house almost 12 months ago , nearly finished but received phone call from builder secretary last week (she was all nicey nicey on the phone) asking me would i like extra shower in main bathroom ...i said how much would this cost?..she said 400 euro....i said to her that its funny she should mention it but i was down at the house with the engineer the previous week and the shower was already put in...her tone then changed!!!..she said this was a mistake on their part and i could pay over the 400 quid or else they'll yank it out of the wall....surely not my problem as it was their mistake to begin with!!!...also 3 standard doors downstairs in the house that were due to come with glass panels - the glass is now being charged at a cost of 100 quid per door or else the doors will be left with no glass..is that not like buying a house with no windows?????...none of these extra's were portrayed at start of contract....any advice would be most appreciated....my solicitor reckons i should grin and bear it and cough up the dough!!....Builders eh?
Click to expand...

Re: showers. I wouldn't cough up the dough. If they take the shower out, so be it - you didn't want it in the first place and if they leave it looking poorly you can raise that with snag.

About the doors - that would all depend on what was agreed at the outset. Which I'm unclear on...
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

Hi SidtheDweeb,

i was told i was getting 3 standard red deal glass panelled doors downstairs , it was only in the last week / fortnight that builder has come back saying that now i gotta pay for the glass panels or else if not the doors will be left standing without glass....what really irks me is i know they will carry out this threat if i refuse to give them the cash and afterwards i know this will be a finiky job to get done once the builder moves out...i'm in a no win situation i think.
 
Re: Builder wants €400 more for additional shower installed in error!

Hi

With the doors get your solicitor to start earning their money. The doors were to come with glass when you were first buying the property so therefore should be included in the sale price. What would you do if the builder said that a roof on your house was extra. There is no way you would stand for this. so dont allow the builder to get his own way

As for the shower, If it was something that you were going to get put in any way Haggle Offer 175 and settle for 200

PS if your solicitor thinks you should grin and bear it Offer him half of his professional fee and tell hiom the same thing GRIN AND BEAR IT!!!!
 
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