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carpenter/plumber works necessary in purchase house

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  • 05-11-2019 9:31am
    #1
    murfilein
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭


    we bought a second-hand house. the way the house was advertised by the selling agency, it seemed that everything would be fine.

    now we all know in a second hand house, not everything is fine, and thats fine! whatever

    but, when the engineer came for the survey, he noted that the tap in the kitchen is loose and would need to be secured properly. alright. i'll just have a new one installed, i thought.

    then after moving in we notice, its not only lose, the countertop the tap is mounted on is wet and sinking in around the tap. i think its a laminate countertop with that wooden mince inside. its that stupid design where you have 2 seperate circles, one for the sink and one for the drying are, and the tap is not on one of the sinks, but on the countertop.

    the previous owner obviously tried to fix it themselves, as there is a rubbery flat square mounted between the tap and the countertop.

    its still leaking a bit under the sink and the wall behind the sink is wet and moldy, quite a lot.

    is this something we can request a refund for? i asked a plumber, he said he could just install a new sink, but due to the wet countertop it wouldnt be great. he would prefer a proper new countertop before installing a new sink. we agree. so i ask a carpenter, and he says he would need to replace the whole countertop as he cant do only the half thats affected.

    all in all, we are talking about at least 2 grand, depending on what material countertop we want to install + the plumber installing a new sink, plus fixing the moldy wall and wet cupboard below the sink.

    is there any basis for us to claim money for that? how would we go about that, if we have a chance?
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    #2
    Wildly Boaring
    Registered Users Posts: 3,630 ✭✭✭Wildly Boaring


    If you've bought a second hand house and something like this is wrong with it you will not get money back from anyone.

    Buyer beware


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    #3
    off.the.walls
    Registered Users Posts: 1,298 ✭✭✭off.the.walls


    When you're in the sale agreed phase you probably had a structural survey done?

    This provides you with a report of the current state of the property, also means that you agree to buy it in that state. This is why solicitors get you to get this so you can spot stuff like this.

    You would of had to of asked this to be fixed pre closing / signing if it was reported in your report. If it wasn't you got a bad surveyor, just gotta grit your teeth and fix it, but at least once its fixed its fixex.


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    #4
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,064 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    There are reasons why buying property is not covered by consumer law, two of the main ones are that in a house purchase, you have the benefit of being able to carry out your own survey and the benefit of your own legal advice. Once you buy, the property is yours, the owner will not refund you over a lose tap and countertop.


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    #5
    murfilein
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭murfilein


    so the engineer should have spotted this issue... i mean, if he noticed the lose tap with all those cracks and gaps on the countertop, why not go ahead and check under it? what a dense lad...


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    #6
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,513 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    murfilein wrote: »
    so the engineer should have spotted this issue... i mean, if he noticed the lose tap with all those cracks and gaps on the countertop, why not go ahead and check under it? what a dense lad...

    No, that's incorrect.
    If he noticed the tap, he would have mentioned in his report to have an inspection of the plumbing system by a qualified Plumber. The Engineer is not a plumber, so they don't check the system as part of a pre-purchase visual survey, which is what you got.

    Its a common misconception that second hand house purchases get a Structural Inspection, but that's not what happens. Its a visual survey only.


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    #7
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 7,499 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    murfilein wrote: »
    so the engineer should have spotted this issue... i mean, if he noticed the lose tap with all those cracks and gaps on the countertop, why not go ahead and check under it? what a dense lad...

    A dense lad with your 600e in his pocket.


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    #8
    Idbatterim
    Registered Users Posts: 17,841 ✭✭✭✭Idbatterim


    You can tighten the existing gap yourself and likely stop the leak. Two thousand ? Comedy!


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    #9
    antix80
    Registered Users Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭antix80


    Shop around and it should cost less than 2k.

    Worktop "depending on the materials"? Um laminate would be like-for-like... Not that it makes a difference as no one will be refunding you anyway!

    If engineer was negligent there's a chance you can claim against him. He'll prob say he only did a visual inspection.. I'd argue if it was clearly a faulty tap he should have pointed out leaks can cause a lot of damage.

    Use a kitchen fitter /company, may be cheaper than your carpenter


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    #10
    murfilein
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭murfilein


    BrownFinger wrote: »
    A dense lad with your 600e in his pocket.

    jokes on me, huh?
    Idbatterim wrote: »
    You can tighten the existing gap yourself and likely stop the leak. Two thousand ? Comedy!

    thats the price for an entirely new countertop produced and fitted, if we chose one from granite, marble, sandstone or something similar, anything not laminate. which we would probably do considering this is a long term thing.


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    #11
    AulWan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,653 ✭✭✭AulWan


    €2000 for a new sink and countertop is outrageous.

    I got a whole new kitchen for that.


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    #12
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,513 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    AulWan wrote: »
    €2000 for a new sink and countertop is outrageous.

    I got a whole new kitchen for that.

    Its a stone worktop, price is about right.


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    #13
    AulWan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,653 ✭✭✭AulWan


    murfilein wrote: »
    i think its a laminate countertop with that wooden mince inside.

    Sure, to replace a laminate countertop with a stone or marble one would be more expensive.

    But like for like would only cost a fraction of that.


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    #14
    Wildly Boaring
    Registered Users Posts: 3,630 ✭✭✭Wildly Boaring


    AulWan wrote: »
    Sure, to replace a laminate countertop with a stone or marble one would be more expensive.

    But like for like would only cost a fraction of that.

    Exactly.

    OP was that this was a 2k job and how to have recourse for same.


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    #15
    murfilein
    Registered Users Posts: 539 ✭✭✭murfilein


    oh i wouldnt expect a refund for a marble/sandstone/granite worktop of course, only like for like, but we would still put in marble/sandstone/granite haha :D

    but anyway, refund or not, we will have to get this fixed, and we are going to go with either of those options, not sure which one yet, more research is needed. and while we are at it, we might as well get a new hob, we'd love a gas hob. yolo etc. or rather, yobaho (you only buy a house once, at least i dont see me ever being able to afford another one xD )


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    #16
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Don't mean to sound rude or disrespectful, OP. But if a leaky tap is the only issue you have in a house then you're doing very well.


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    #17
    SozBbz
    Registered Users Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    As others have said you have zero chance of getting "refunded" by anyone.

    Owning a house costs money, more than just the mortgage, insurance and LPT. You should budget some money every year for maintenance, be that fixing things that go wrong or proactively replacing/upgrading items. Some years will be more than others but over time is a veritable certainty that any house needs reinvestment.


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    #18
    chooseusername
    Registered Users Posts: 3,607 ✭✭✭chooseusername


    AulWan wrote: »
    Sure, to replace a laminate countertop with a stone or marble one would be more expensive.

    But like for like would only cost a fraction of that.
    No point replacing it with laminate and drilling a hole for a tap.
    You'd have the same problem in a few months; a blown laminate.
    If you're going to spend 2k on worktop, then maybe better off replacing whole kitchen,
    which you'll probably end up doing down the line.


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