Crest Nicholson’s response to the snagging report came through late yesterday, and I’ve been going through it.

Of the 145 or so defects noted in the report, they’ve agreed to remediate all but 17 of them. And by 24th June. Which isn’t bad. I’ve got a couple of concerns and things I still need to do though.

The first is arrange a time after the 24th to go back and make sure that the work’s been done satisfactorily. That shouldn’t be too tricky, and will hopefully be on the 25th.

The second is to find out what the ramifications of not doing some of the work is.

For example, from the report:

3. Plastic roof canopy over the bay window requires mastic sealing between the fibreglass and the brickwork.

This is not in Crest spec for the development. No action proposed.

What happens if this isn’t sealed? Should I expect leaks down the road? Why aren’t they sealing it, when they will seal other defects that have been noted, such as this one:

45. The personnel door to the garage requires a mastic seal around the inside of the frame.

We will decorate.

The third, and to my mind most serious issue relates to NHBC compliance. Here’s one of the items noted in the report, and Crest’s response.

Could Crest Nicholson confirm that the manholes or inspection chambers at the rear of the property do not require screw fixings, to prevent children having access to the manholes.

There is no requirement for us to screw down lids. No action proposed.

Now I called the NHBC directly, and queried this, and was told that where manholes are in an accessible area (and these are in back garden) the lids must be screwed down to prevent access.

Why are Crest Nicholson telling me something different? I’ll be chasing this later.