Sitting, working away at home. Big crash and rumble and all of a sudden I see a face through what should be the ceiling at an expletive espousing builder.

Recently bought the house, and upstairs neighbour is a nice chap.

I have already taken photo’s as has my neighbour. The builders in question are in as I type cleaning up the rubble and screwing a board over the hole from my side.

What now?

My neighbour is away to phone his insurance co, should I do the same or do I just get him to sort it all through his insurance?

The ceiling in question is in my walk in wardrobe so all my and my partners clothes will require washing. Do I start loading up the machine or take them en-mass to the dry cleaners to claim on insurance?

This is only month 5 of home ownership for me so all a bit new…

What are the odds of now getting ambulance chasers on the phone pestering me to claim for whiplash?

Can I be the first to say this thread is useless without pictures!

Let the builder’s insurance do it all.

Ask for clothing to replaced/professionally cleaned.

…as an aside, you bought a house, but have an upstairs neighbour?

Claim on the builder’s professional negligence insurance, I would have thought.

The builders public liability insurance would be what I would be claiming on if I were you/your neighbour.

Presumably they have it 😕

Surprised the neighbours going through his insurers – the builders should cover the lot.

[experienced home owner]

are you sure you bought a house – they don’t often come with upstairs neighbours?

[/experienced home owner]

Have you got them a cup of tea yet?

Thank you. It is a Colony house, specific I think to Edinbugh where there are a terrace comprised of 4-in-a-block houses.

Would prefer obviously not to have to claim on my own insurance.

Plenty of under/over dwellings in Hebden Bridge, maybe he lives there 🙂

We call them flats or maisonettes down south 😉

It’s tricky with your insurers – if you dont; tell them and subsequently try and claim if there’s problems they might get shirty. If you tell them and then don’t claim they may push your premiums up regardless…

Would prefer obviously not to have to claim on my own insurance.

There is no reason at all for you claim on your insurance.

The builders are 100% responsible and liable.

If your neighbour wants to bail them out that’s his choice, but I certainly wouldn’t if it was me.

I’ve never worked in or on anyone else’s property without the relevant insurance cover. And his builders shouldn’t be either.

Quick update, just had one of the builders round saying the chap whodunnit doesn’t work for him he was “just a mate helping out” and that he would pay for the dry cleaning.

Now quite suspicious this is a dodgy outfit my neighbour has brought in.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFuYIi5-igc[/video]

Not just Colonies (you have separate stairs IIRC) – looked at plenty double upper houses (right term? maybe not) in Morningside and similar. They’re not really flats, they’re not quite houses..

Quick update, just had one of the builders round saying the chap whodunnit doesn’t work for him he was “just a mate helping out” and that he would pay for the dry cleaning.

Not relevant, he was working for the builder, so he is the builders responsibility. As is any damage he causes.

They sound like cowboys though.

Is your neighbour Female?
Is the hole in the Bathroom?

You could, cough, leave the hole there 😉

Maisonette, house on a house, like a double floored flat above your house.

These things do happen, just hope the builder is ok, no broken bones etc.

read the thread title and my inuend-o-meter exploded 😀

not been stuipid but let me ask.. a BUILDER makes a hole in your ceiling i’d have thought the best person to put it right would be the BUILDER.

frankly happenend to me twice, once fell through a loft and rolled down the stairs.. floor in loft was rotten.. home owner repaired not my fault couldnt be expected to look under the carpet.

secomd time we had floor up on landing, doorbell rang homeowers dog pushed passed me to kill postman i stepped backward and foot went through ceiling.. i fixed it and paid for redecoration..

Quick update # 2.

Above my wardrobe, on the other side of the hole is indeed my neighbours bathroom. There had been a minor leak there a couple of weeks ago. This leak was apparently somehow caused by a cleaner de-laminating he vinyl flooring doing a homer, thus uninsured.

The leak had just resulted in some staining on the ceiling in my wardrobe and source of leak rectified by neighbour.

Neighbour has had builders in today to rip out his old bathroom to get it redone. Builder’s mate has forgotten that he was not on the ground floor and tried to stand on plasterboard.

Turns out the firm in doing the work is neighbour’s cousins cat’s friends or some other link.

Neighbour has called his insurance co and an assessor is coming tomorrow to assess.

In short the problem was (apparently) initially caused by an uninsured person. A rookie co has then been called in to rectify but in doing so has made the issue far worse. Now neighbour is hoping insurance will cover it.

I suspect this is going to turn into one major ball ache.

guess what the insurance co are going to say..

This is the point I’d contact your insurers.

I suspect this is going to turn into one major ball ache.

I agree. Whether the bodge merchant has insurance or not, it’s still his responsibility to put it right. Even if he has insurance, certain “minimum requirement” policies won’t cover certain balls-ups. Just stay on it. Be reasonable and patient and hope that the “builder” is a stand-up guy.

He stands up on plaster board, that’s the problem.

Whether the bodge merchant has insurance or not, it’s still his responsibility to put it right… …hope that the “builder” is a stand-up guy.

Yeah, but if you leave it to him to fix then the very best you can expect is another bodge job!

Yeah, but if you leave it to him to fix then the very best you can expect is another bodge job!

That’s a fair point actually. 😕

How big is the wardrobe? I’d just stick up a sheet of plaster board, paint it and ask for a bit of cash to cover it. Save a lot of hassle.

I think on that basis, the advice has to be claim on your own insurance then, just to make sure it gets repaired properly – and let them worry about who ends up paying for it afterwards.

I will hold off doing anything, other than try to calm down my partner once I show here all her clothes covered in rubble when she gets home tonight, until I have seen the assessor tomorrow.

I suspect the neighbours insurance co with shrug and say not their problem.

Does home insurance work in the same way as car insurance where by my insurance co chase the liable party?

Have a word with the neighbour/builder and ask them to post on this thread 😀
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sweet-jesus-tell-me-your-home-improvement-tales-of-woe

I would hold on a bit. There is nothing to say that the builder won’t do the honourable thing and it will be a damn site easier if he does. Be nice, try the “shit happens approach and see what comes out of it. don’t give it long but if nothing is said that starts to sort thing s out in , say 48 hours, point out to the neighbour that its needs sorting ASAP and its his problem more than yours. Being reasonable will pay dividends, let the other side getting stroppy first.

I would be very wary, and make sure that not just the hole, but sound & thermal insulation are reinstated & fire protection is at least as good as before.

If you do nothing else, start documenting everything, right now. Times, dates, what happened, who you spoke to, who said what.

Not sure as I’d be taking the word of the uninsured when it comes to making good something that could fall on my head, personally.

Be careful. Some insurers have a time limit on notifying incidents and if to late it may affect your cover – I am aware that some motor policies it is 24 hours from time of incident

Not much help to OP but I did chuckle when my 4 in a block/maisonette/flat was sold to me as a “quarter villa”

make sure that not just the hole, but sound & thermal insulation are reinstated & fire protection is at least as good as before

In my field (sound insulation) I’ve seen quite a few cases where this isn’t put back right. Not replacing the ash deafening and putting in much lighter ceilings than the original lath and plaster are the main culprits. I’m based in Edinburgh