What I was told by my next-door neighbour is that the reason why I had
almost no oil left in the tank on moving in was that the builder had
been running the heating continuously to dry the place out. As such I
believe my plaster shrinkage cracks are more numerous than necessary.

Do builders do this? Isn't it better to let the house dry out
naturally? In this case the builder wanted to hand over to the council
(in terms of roads maintenance) and could not do so while one house
remained unsold.

MM

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:11:59 +0100, MM wrote:

What I was told by my next-door neighbour is that the reason why I had
almost no oil left in the tank on moving in was that the builder had
been running the heating continuously to dry the place out. As such I
believe my plaster shrinkage cracks are more numerous than necessary.

Do builders do this? Isn't it better to let the house dry out
naturally?

Natural is better IMHO but the real question is what does the sale
contract say about the amount of oil in the tank on completeion?

If it says full tank or x thousand litres the that is what you should
have had on completion, not matter what the builder had been doing before
hand. With the price of oil these days you are looking at 300 to £600+ to
fill that tank up (1,000 to 2,000l of oil). Not an insubstantial sum of
money.

If it's not mentioned bollock your solicitor for not clarifying the
situation. You can try and argue for a tank full of oil or the monetray
equivalent but I wouldn't rate your chances that high.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

MM wrote:
What I was told by my next-door neighbour is that the reason why I had
almost no oil left in the tank on moving in was that the builder had
been running the heating continuously to dry the place out. As such I
believe my plaster shrinkage cracks are more numerous than necessary.

Do builders do this? Isn't it better to let the house dry out
naturally? In this case the builder wanted to hand over to the council
(in terms of roads maintenance) and could not do so while one house
remained unsold.

MM

If I had come across that situation I would have assumed that the oil
was actually in one of the builders cars/trucks/vans..Or the neighbour's
oil tank.


I have never known tradesmen be particular about drying out houses, but
I sure as hell have seen them nick anything that wasn't nailed down,
that would fit in their vehicles, and with oil the price it is, getting
a 1000 liters from 'next door' is a very attractive prospect.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:11:59 +0100, MM wrote:

What I was told by my next-door neighbour is that the reason why I had
almost no oil left in the tank on moving in was that the builder had
been running the heating continuously to dry the place out. As such I
believe my plaster shrinkage cracks are more numerous than necessary.

Do builders do this? Isn't it better to let the house dry out
naturally?

Natural is better IMHO but the real question is what does the sale
contract say about the amount of oil in the tank on completeion?

If it says full tank or x thousand litres the that is what you should
have had on completion, not matter what the builder had been doing before
hand. With the price of oil these days you are looking at 300 to £600+ to
fill that tank up (1,000 to 2,000l of oil). Not an insubstantial sum of
money.

Buying and running a dehumidifier would have cost them less than that,
plus theyd be left with it for future jobs, so it does leave a question
markt. Maybe you've not got the best builder, or maybe things arent
quite as they're presented. Ignorance accounts for far more in the
world than malice.


NT

On 13 Oct 2006 10:23:59 -0700, wrote:

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:11:59 +0100, MM wrote:

What I was told by my next-door neighbour is that the reason why I had
almost no oil left in the tank on moving in was that the builder had
been running the heating continuously to dry the place out. As such I
believe my plaster shrinkage cracks are more numerous than necessary.

Do builders do this? Isn't it better to let the house dry out
naturally?

Natural is better IMHO but the real question is what does the sale
contract say about the amount of oil in the tank on completeion?

If it says full tank or x thousand litres the that is what you should
have had on completion, not matter what the builder had been doing before
hand. With the price of oil these days you are looking at 300 to £600+ to
fill that tank up (1,000 to 2,000l of oil). Not an insubstantial sum of
money.

Buying and running a dehumidifier would have cost them less than that,
plus theyd be left with it for future jobs, so it does leave a question
markt. Maybe you've not got the best builder, or maybe things arent
quite as they're presented. Ignorance accounts for far more in the
world than malice.

It's not really the use of "my" heating oil that I cavil about now,
since it's been almost two years since I moved in. I should have made
a fuss at the time, I suppose, but with the hassle of first selling my
old house, then moving 150 miles, then settling in and doing the 101
things needed, I never got around to it.

No, what bugs me more, as I repair the shrinkage cracks in the
plaster, is that they maybe would not have arisen if the house had
been left to dry out naturally over several months. But maybe the
builder would then not have found a buyer for several weeks and not
been able to wrap up the estate.

My question was really just a general enquiry in case I happen to buy
another new house.

Thanks all for the feedback!

MM

In article ,
MM writes:

No, what bugs me more, as I repair the shrinkage cracks in the
plaster, is that they maybe would not have arisen if the house had
been left to dry out naturally over several months. But maybe the
builder would then not have found a buyer for several weeks and not
been able to wrap up the estate.

What form do the cracks take?
What is the construction of the walls they are on?
I have my doubts they are anything to do with speed of drying out.

--
Andrew Gabriel

On 13 Oct 2006 19:55:02 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
MM writes:

No, what bugs me more, as I repair the shrinkage cracks in the
plaster, is that they maybe would not have arisen if the house had
been left to dry out naturally over several months. But maybe the
builder would then not have found a buyer for several weeks and not
been able to wrap up the estate.

What form do the cracks take?

Hairline cracks.

What is the construction of the walls they are on?

Standard (traditional) construction. Internal block, external brick.
Solid walls downstairs. Partition walls upstairs (between rooms).
Builder has a good reputation for producing quality buildings. But
several neighbours have also mentioned "their" hairline cracks. One
bungalow had to have one wall replastered. Maybe the company employed
crap plasterers!

I have my doubts they are anything to do with speed of drying out.

MM

MM wrote:
On 13 Oct 2006 19:55:02 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

What form do the cracks take?

Hairline cracks.

What is the construction of the walls they are on?

Standard (traditional) construction. Internal block, external brick.
Solid walls downstairs. Partition walls upstairs (between rooms).
Builder has a good reputation for producing quality buildings. But
several neighbours have also mentioned "their" hairline cracks.

sounds normal.

NT

In article ,
MM writes:
On 13 Oct 2006 19:55:02 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

What form do the cracks take?

Hairline cracks.

What is the construction of the walls they are on?

Standard (traditional) construction. Internal block, external brick.
Solid walls downstairs. Partition walls upstairs (between rooms).
Builder has a good reputation for producing quality buildings. But
several neighbours have also mentioned "their" hairline cracks. One
bungalow had to have one wall replastered. Maybe the company employed
crap plasterers!

Not enough detail.
What direction are the cracks? Any regular pattern, or random?
What frequency (typically how far apart)? Has the plaster lost
key with the blocks (sound hollow when tapped)?
Are they on all the walls, only some walls, only block walls, etc?

Another question -- where you can still see thermal blocks (loft
gable-end, garage maybe), do a significant number of them have a
crack down the middle?

However, like I said,

I have my doubts they are anything to do with speed of drying out.

Cracks (bigger than hairline) are normal in new buildings still
settling.

--
Andrew Gabriel