# Linden Homes



## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

Purchased a new build from Linden Homes last October.

In my view there is not a great number of snags, but I did raise a few things with Linden Homes. Nothing has been done or actioned about those featured in the video. It has taken Linden Homes 12 month to sort a simple wiring fault on my central heating system meaning that the downstairs heating would stay on permanently unless I went into the garage and switched the boiler off.

All of the things in the video were deemed to be of an 'acceptable standard' during a recent visit from a representative of the customer service team at Linden Homes East Yorkshire, and so as promised to Linden Homes I compiled a video and thought that I would let other people decide rather than me saying what I think.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Their reviews sound similar to your experience.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/lindenhomes.co.uk

It is a real effort to find quality tradesmen these days. So many people out there just don't work to an acceptable standard.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

If i'm honest the price work on these new builds means loads of short cuts im afraid, is it acceptable no but that's how it is nowadays.

Some of the new generation of tradesman have no ethics it about money but that starts at top im afraid.

Heating wiring un acceptable state of the sealant on tiles a mess , door fitting well looks like lots of new build poor workmanship done at speed.

Most of those i would fix myself to save stress of trying to get them to do it ask them for a couple hundred pounds and sort yourself as they will likely do a botch to hide the repair work.

most of that is just that they have not got a good finishing joiner he is probably used to doing kits and fist fix no excuses but don't let the fight get you down, many builder don't care that's how it is, as terrible as that sounds


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

We've recently moved into a new build, small developer that classes itself as having exceptional build quality. To be fair the standard is pretty good seeing some of the stuff online however there are niggles that let it down. 9 triple glazed sealed units have deep scratches so are being replaced next week (taken 4 months to get this arranged), bath is chipped so being replaced, gel coat on garage door cracked, also being replaced. Many smaller issues including paint finish etc, I got to the point of realising that the smaller problems were worth doing myself even though I put them on the snagging list, the boss of the developer gives me paint and materials and lends me the tools to do it if needed  Yeah, I know that I shouldn't have to having paid £400k for the place but it's less stressful to me to do so. I'm still making sure that all major/expensive issues are being dealt with, in a weird sort of way me doing the lesser stuff seems to gain some respect with the developer in getting the bigger things done. As said, many tradesman have the 'that'll do' attitude and most wouldn't know a good job if it smacked them in the face...


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

I would not buy the house we live in that is for sure! I think a lot of the developers are not interested once the place is sold. The build quality of many modern homes is shocking. You might have some success with any plumbing or electrical issue because these trades are duty bound to have some degree of quality about them due to the safety angle involved.

The rest of it, you haven't got a hope in hell.


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## wish wash (Aug 25, 2011)

That's pretty much normal I'm afraid, I spend day in day out fixing work for other company's **** poor work, I wouldn't have a new build, there just thrown up. 

A lot of the door casings and skirtings are mdf ( compressed saw dust and glue) there's no strength to it so once it breaks it's hard to fix. Most of the doors are all pre hung nowadays, so there just firing screws in either side. 

You've got split marks near your latchs as the ends are solid timber but ply faced, so they split up where it's been glued. 

I fixed a broken bottom tread on a kite winder staircase the other day, someone thought squirting expanding foam in it would fix it. I took it to bits and braced it underneath, that's after I'd removed the mountain of foam that had fallen through onto the floor. 

There all contractors on price work, cutting corners makes them money. I've always been taught do it once do it right.


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

.......oh, another one of mine is paint splatter, been getting that off virtually everyting since we moved in. Radiators, kitchen doors, top of tile trim etc, small spots but evidence that no dust sheet is used. The painter boss is a ****y piece of work, keeps saying he has 30yrs experience, I'm thinking of buying him a dust sheet as a gift...... Regardless of 'price work' it takes nothing to sling a sheet over stuff to protect it. Most are absolute bodgers, in a million years I wouldn't class them as tradesmen. Having said that it"s similar to most walks of life, 99% of the people that have moved in on our estate haven't got a clue what quality is and what is right or wrong with the place.  As with most of us on here I'm pretty OCD but you have to temper that with the fact you ain't gonna get the perfect job without re-doing some of it yourself.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

When we moved in there was silicone sealant residue all over the kitchen worktops, you couldn't drag hour hand over them as they weren't smooth!

It's not different in the upmarket end of the world either; my in laws bought a new house, cost well over 1 million and it was still full of shoddy workmanship. Wooden cladding had no insulation behind it!


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

I guess the NHBC don't check cosmetic stuff but it makes you wonder what they do check when people report wiring faults and insulation missing ? We've also had a fairly large lawn re-laid out the back, they sold us the place as being laid to lawn, what we had was a dried out patchy mess with the usual compacted soil and debris underneath so not as advertised. For us to re-lay it would have cost thousands, we'd paid once and had no intention of paying again. Took them 3 days to dig it all out, rotovate and lay new turf.


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## Helicopter_red (Oct 28, 2017)

Could you not get a quote for remedial work then ask for that amount in compensation via goodwill or small claims court?


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Rundie said:


> I guess the NHBC don't check cosmetic stuff but it makes you wonder what they do check when people report wiring faults and insulation missing ? We've also had a fairly large lawn re-laid out the back, they sold us the place as being laid to lawn, what we had was a dried out patchy mess with the usual compacted soil and debris underneath so not as advertised. For us to re-lay it would have cost thousands, we'd paid once and had no intention of paying again. Took them 3 days to dig it all out, rotovate and lay new turf.


Christ on a bike, you did well to get your back garden sorted!


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Rundie said:


> I guess the NHBC don't check cosmetic stuff but it makes you wonder what they do check when people report wiring faults and insulation missing ? We've also had a fairly large lawn re-laid out the back, they sold us the place as being laid to lawn, what we had was a dried out patchy mess with the usual compacted soil and debris underneath so not as advertised. For us to re-lay it would have cost thousands, we'd paid once and had no intention of paying again. Took them 3 days to dig it all out, rotovate and lay new turf.


Going on some people i know used to be structural only really our house had NHBC warranty the inspector came to our house when it was 3/4 of the way finished and i happened to be on site as he said who started the build as he had not been authorised it was started so nothing had been checked, but i can assure you i wanted every stage so all was in order.
Have to say for us the warranties are all but a jock unless very major repairs needed IMHO, unless this has changed but i dought it if im honest


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

Basing this what I’ve seen on the video and the standards we used to work to that is crap! 
The carpenter should on been made to sort the before it even got to the painting stage, and the site manager who has let it get that far clearly has no standards.


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

I'm looking at things from the point of view of would I accept it as a one off job, for example I wouldn't spend several grand on a garage door or more on windows and accept damged goods so why should you as part of a new build buy ? Damage or faulty goods is easier to argue than the standard of workmanship from the trades. I've had several years of stress with work and all so this move was part of a life change, doing the lesser things myself is my way of me dealing with things, the major items will still result in legal action if not sorted. Looks like my builder is being fairly reasonable at the moment. 

As for the original post, not good but I would get the filler, paint and silicone out and do it yourself. As suggested earlier maybe ask the builder for a few hundred quid for materials etc. ??


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

Thanks for of your replies.

My father and grandfather are joiners by trade and they are from a generation where they have learnt a variety of practices such as making cabinets, windows, doors, staircases etc from scratch without needing to use posh modern-day tools or machinery. My grandad would have spent a number of years basically sweeping up and watching, times have changes and there is no getting away from that, materials also differ in terms of their quality - my dad mentions that a fair bit.

My aim has always been (and still is) to accept a payment from Linden Homes to allow for the making good of some areas. As I haven't reached an agreement, I will continue to put 'the above' out there and make sure that people can see for themselves that this is what you could get for your money. 

I am a firm believer in that there are many things that should just be right first time. In time, I shall be changing the doors for oak (or rather as close to oak as you can buy these days) and shall take the time to hang them carefully. Similarly, I shall also be changing the handrail. I have done a number of things already, such as painting and resealing/siliconing. I am fortunate in the way that I have access to the tools and skill-set to be able to do it; most buy a new-build because they don't or otherwise don't want the hassle of doing it.

The NHBC standards are quite vague (in my opinion), especially when it comes to decor and interior fit and finishing; the standard is set with a view to it being easily surpassable by all. Unfortunately, I don't believe that these issues aren't just limited to new-builds, there are undoubtedly flocks of sub-standard tradesmen and women working on older properties too.


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

One of the reasons I moved into an office based job, kept finding it harder and harder to compete with people that could do it for half the money, but then finding out that they’d buggered it up and wanted me to put it right.


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

c87reed said:


> Thanks for of your replies.
> 
> Unfortunately, I don't believe that these issues aren't just limited to new-builds, there are undoubtedly flocks of sub-standard tradesmen and women working on older properties too.


Exactly, also if you think how many house owners that also don't have the skill set or experience yet attempt DIY projects. In 'used' houses I've seen some p*ss poor bodges, either carried out by the home owner or by who they've employed.

The amount of people having major structural work done these days, massive bifold doors with supporting walls ripped out and steels put in, they haven't got a clue who they are employing and what they should be looking for as far as workmanship goes. My last neighbour did just this, the builder they used was a glorified handyman ripping out supporting walls etc. and the local Building Control officer didn't have a clue either so don't feel safe just because they've signed it off.

I'm an Engineer by trade, as you say it's got to be right first time for me too, even in this industry though standards are dropping. I recently worked for many years at a well known UK Certification body that approves products and processes for companies and the decline in staff experience and skills over recent years there was shocking, and these are the people 'testing' and checking many products that are in everyones homes from windows to smoke alarms.

The old school guys with proper apprenticeships are retiring, this leaves wanna be Engineers to try and fill their boots, just not the same level of skills. :wall:


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## shycho (Sep 7, 2010)

I regularly get accused of being old before my time, but it’s part and parcel of every industry now.

I see it in healthcare where someone offers up contract to a trust for £1m less than the current operator, but when it gets taken over either the quality of care drops, or they simply ask for more money (making them more expensive than those they replaced). 

In IT, I see it all the time with development work being shipped off to India, where the developers have no business acumen and end up doing exactly what the spec (also written by the cheapest labour available) said, as opposed to what the client actually needs. 

In DWP we see it with their changes to mobility allowance, where there essentially two questions “Are you mentally retarded?” “Can you leave the house by yourself?” Answer yes to any of those and you’re quality of life isn’t their problem, but they’ll save a few quid because of it. 

Heck I can’t even go to my local super market and buy bagels any more, as they’ve cut corners to maximise profits and as a result have been consistently out of stock for months.


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

shycho said:


> I regularly get accused of being old before my time, but it's part and parcel of every industry now.
> 
> I see it in healthcare where someone offers up contract to a trust for £1m less than the current operator, but when it gets taken over either the quality of care drops, or they simply ask for more money (making them more expensive than those they replaced).


 MOD have always been good at this sirt of thing.

Refuse to buy an existing ship/aircraft/vehicle /system, on the basis of British jobs need filling and British manufacturing needs supporting. So change the spec to include British engines / electronics / parts manufacture as that represents "better value to the taxpayer"

Then it comes in 10 years overdue, at twice the original budget, and it wont quite meet the original performance requirements.

Finally a Govt Minister admits it would have been cheaper / quicker / simpler to have just negotiated volume discounts with the OEM.

It was ever thus.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Don't start me on the MOD! If I was in the hot seat I would start with a purge of the whole lot, rank and file.

Anyone ever having served above the rank of Major would be summarily banned from ever working for any defence contractor when they retired from the service!


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