"Hugo Nebula" abuse@localhost wrote in message
...
On 25 Oct 2004 07:47:58 -0700, a particular chimpanzee named
(Chris V) randomly hit the keyboard and
produced:

... and 10 years NHBC cover to
pick up any structural problems.

...Any _major_ structural problems.

Actually it only covers thing which didn't comply with building regs.

There is this semantic difference between the NHBC
Requirements and the NHBC Standards. The "NHBC
Standards" are lovely and detailed, and any house built
to these standards would be superb. The NHBC
warranty only warrants that the house has been built to
NHBC Requirements - these are that it meets current
building control regulations.

An example - in the "standards" it suggests that ridge tiles
on rooves in exposed areas be fixed using a coarse mortar
and/or with additional mechanical fixing for the end tiles.
We lived in a close where this had not been done, and when
every house in the close lost one or more ridge tiles in a day
of high winds, the builder told us all to claim on our home
insurance policies. On enquiring to the NHBC about the
NHBC warranty covering the cost, it eventually became clear
that since this wasn't mentioned in the "NHBC Requirements"
then it wasn't covered by the warranty.

As it happens, the builder still had another ongoing
development nearby and when several people in the close
suggested to the builder that the press might be interested in
their lack of sympathy for our situation. Mysteriously, we all
arrived home from work the next day to find the rooves
repaired and damage rectified...

Ironically, you actually get more cover in the NHBC warranty
if NHBC did the building control (see www.nhbc.co.uk). I'd
still prefer the local authority to do the building control though.

Al