Disintagrating wall, advise needed??

[Canal Navvy]

I would advise caution.

 

The wall looks to be part of an old building, old bricks laid with lime mortar.

The remaining part looks to be very sound for its age.

 

Check that it isn't listed/consevation area, it could cost £500 just in roll up and tea breaks.

 

It may be best to leave it to your insurer to fight.

 

Best of luck

[Rick2517]

I would advise caution.

 

The wall looks to be part of an old building, old bricks laid with lime mortar.

The remaining part looks to be very sound for its age.

 

Check that it isn't listed/consevation area, it could cost £500 just in roll up and tea breaks.

 

It may be best to leave it to your insurer to fight.

 

Best of luck

 

I know its not conservation area as a checked before works on the tree but Im not sure if the wall is listed, the owner has said that if it is re built he wants it back to the same hight which I found strange as it would just be re building a potential future problem! I think he has planes to build a structure from it!!

im starting to think that insurance is the way forward now but ive gained some confidence in my case from some good comments made on hear that makes me feel like I should maybe put up more of a fight!

it just comes down to pride over anything as this guy has been such a **** and i dont want to pass it to the insurance and let them pay him anymore then he deserves!! not that thats what insurance companies do lol!!

[Rick2517]

Years ago we properly destroyed a rusty old metal five bar gate. The farmer went mental and wanted it replaced so we said we would, and returned a week later and replaced it with an equally rusty old five bar gate.

 

He went even more mental cos he wanted a new one but we walked away!

 

this is what I want to do but the problem is that if I was to re build it without additional supports it would again be unsafe and I would never do that! plus I dont think I would find a respectable builder who would ether.

the alternative of course is to get 2 separate quotes: 1 to re build the wall we damaged

and 2 to build a support to make the wall safe

I pay for the wall and nothing more and they pay for any additional work that should have been done a long time before we where evan there!

[John Barleycorn]

I suspect that the end of the day it will come down to wether your insurance company can be bothered to contest his claim.

A few years back a vehicle caused about three grands worth of damage to an outbuilding of mine, or I should say that is what it cost to rebuild it. In fact it it was in a shite state prior to damage, my insurance company simply pusued his for the cash & they did not contest it. So in fact the bloke did me a huge favor by hitting it!

[tommer9]

At some point I would be inclined to consider what sort of publicity this customer can (or cannot) provide for you, as to how much of a battle you are prepared to enter with him.

[Big Bolt]

My pennys worth in this day of building regs would you be allowed to rebuild as you would then be liable for the wall or ex side of buiding , i would expect that for that hight it would have to be double brick and at least 2 pillers to be whithin regs ? to be hornest i would stack bricks up tell him to come down to level ground calm down or you will walk away

Edited July 22, 2011 by skyhuck
language

[David Goss]

My pennys worth in this day of building regs would you be allowed to rebuild as you would then be liable for the wall or ex side of buiding , i would expect that for that hight it would have to be double brick and at least 2 pillers to be whithin regs ? to be hornest i would stack bricks up tell him to come down to level ground calm down or you will walk away

 

[Paul Jenks]

We were carrying out some routine works for a client where we were cutting back overhanging branches. One of the trees, a sumach, was smothered in clematis and leaning on the owners fence, pushing it over. Once all the overhang had been cut back, one of the team target pruned the offending stub back to the main stem. This relieved the pressure on the fence, made for a neater job, was better for the tree and resulted in a claim for criminal damage. This was because the 10-12" of stub was cut back beyond the line of the boundary.

We took the matter in hand as our client and our reputation are valued. Regardless of the benefits to all of correct pruning she was aggrieved. We built a new and better fence to replace the one she alleged we damaged and took out the tree, at her request, as a gesture of goodwill, even though it was fine. We also fabricated a new gate, which she paid for.

The point here is that whilst what we did was well intentioned, the initial tree pruning that is, we did do something wrong. In the end it cost us a lot of money and our reputation was intact as we took the problem away from our client. So we still have the client, who give us loads of work.

That piece of legislation posted on here is very powerful. Offer a reasonable sum towards rebuilding the section of wall you broke and tell him that the wall has to be re-built to modern regulations as it is inherently unstable and therefore dangerous, for which you are not prepared to pay. Give him a cheque with a letter stating that the payment is for 'full and final settlement'. Copy your client and keep a copy for yourself. If he cashes the cheque situation over. It means he's accepted your gesture.

Good luck. Some people are just gits. Pay up, move on.

[likeitorlumpit]

Just to get some balance on here

Some people are absolutely fantastic and will work with you to resolve the problem. I met one the other day. It often pays to have a face to face meeting and that saves all that e mail/letter writing crap which only escallates as each party becomes increasingly entrenched in their position.

Can a compromise not be reached?

[Highland Forestry]

From looking at your photo, and reading the posts you've made about the scenario in which the wall collapsed, it seems to me as though the tree roots may have lifted the left hand side of the wall, causing a linear crack or weakness through the wall. Add frost damage, age and lime mortar to the mix and it's probably very lucky that the wall fell the way it did rather than onto your crew on the other side.

 

It's such a can of worms you have here, I think you should just let your insurance company fight this one as you don't have a leg (or a wall) to stand on!!

 

The insurance company, surveyors etc will drag the whole thing out for months anyway, so another option may be to be a little more assertive with the property owners and tell them that they have two options - you rectify the damage and reinstate the wall 'as was' or they fight your insurance company and you walk away.

 

Be good to hear how you get on, best of luck mate!