Problems | Oxley Woods Living | Oxley Park

Archive for the ‘Problems’ Category

Water on the ceiling, no fix on the horizon at Oxley Woods

January 30, 2010

So. We’ve got a LOT of catching up to do for sure. But lets start with one of our ongoing, long lasting, water related issues.

We’re not talking leaking windows (touch engineered hard wood), but problems with the skylight, or roof, or something. Nobody seems certain what the problem is!?

And here in lies the cause of much of our ongoing suffering and frustration with our Oxley Woods eco home. Not only are problems taking forever to fix, it seems that half the time a “fix” isn’t even available.

In early December 2008 we reported our problem of a worrying wet patch on our ceiling by our skylight on the top floor. It wasn’t addressed until November/December 2009, when we moved into temporary accommodation while our windows were replaced and various other repair work (and associated damage!) was underway. Here’s the original post on the blog concerning our wet ceiling: Skylight proves a damp squib.

The initial thinking was that this was due to a cold bridging problem, and work went underway to insulate the area around the cavity under the skylight.

Following the repair work, our walls, ceilings, and in some cases carpets were also repainted in an effort to make the property right as “good as new” for when we moved back in, and to put an end to the “patched look” our walls and ceiling were suffering from after a series of checks and repairs.

It took only a matter of days following our return for this problem to resurface. This past Wednesday (end of January 2010) Wood Newton and Taylor Wimpey were at the house again. They agreed with other comments made previously that it is not down to condensation (which we’ve been testing for personally anyway), but they do not know what the problem is, or how to fix it, and we’ll have to wait for better weather (better since Dec 2008?!) before they can investigate fully and (hopefully) come up with a solution.

Here’s what our “fresh” (as of December 2009) ceiling and walls by the skylight in our Oxley Woods home now look like (photo taken on the day of upload/posting)…

As you can see, it is stained yellow, cracking, and bubbling. Very unsightly, and very frustrating, not to mention upsetting to have in our “as new” fully repaired house.

Posted in Problems | No Comments »

Oxley Woods, where next week means what?

September 25, 2009

Nothing. Apparently.

When Peter from Wood Newton visited last Thursday afternoon, I had to tell him it was not convenient for the painters to attempt to paint the ceilings and walls of our property that same day. The reply came it would have to be “some time next week”. Which seemed fair enough at the time.

Only, here we are, Friday morning of that very “next week”. The painting still having not been addressed.

Have we seen or heard anything of Peter or the painters? Other than when Peter popped by the blog to effectively accuse myself, my wife and mother of being liars on an earlier post? No. Not a word.

So when does “next week” mean?

I’ve asked for clarification from George Wimpey customer care, who also appear to struggle with the concept of time where Wood Newton are concerned, but my request for clarification appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Tags: eco homes, eco house, eco houses, george wimpey, milton keynes, oxley park, oxley woods, oxley woods living, paint, peter, Problems, repairs, taylor wimpey, water, water ingress, wood newton
Posted in Problems | No Comments »

The incredible moving goalposts

September 22, 2009

In late June/early July this year testing was complete on our leaking windows and doors at our Oxley Woods eco house.

A report was compiled, explaining why Wood Newton and George Wimpey believed the house has had such severe water ingress, and remedial work was expected to be carried out quite soon afterwards.

After a while, we were given a date in August. Then a date in September. Then another date in September. As highlighted in a previous post, we simply have not been being told the whole picture, or even the whole truth. It’s a terribly frustrating situation.

Anyway, on Monday morning we received a letter from George Wimpey customer service, compiled on the previous Friday. The letter advises that the tests on our new windows have been completed (not the first time we’d heard this) and had passed on all fronts. I will now quote some of the letter directly…

Having said this I am very mindful that I previously advised you that orders had already been submitted, which was clearly incorrect due to the tests which were requested to be fully completed prior to manufacturing. Now the tests are complete and results (albeit verbally at present are good), I would with your agreement like to set up a meeting with John Green and Nigel Mitchell to go through in detail the results of the tests, the drawings and specification of your replacement windows to put your mind at rest for the pending fitting schedule.

If you are happy for us to arrange said meeting, I would be looking to arrange for week commencing 28th September 2009 onwards, once the full written tests results are in Wood Newton’s hands

May I take this opportunity once again to apologise for any confusion in time frames and indeed hope that if you are agreeable this meeting will benefit you greatly.

OK. So this sounds positive. But, and it seems there’s ALWAYS a but…

I can’t arrange a meeting inside office hours for the week commencing 28th September. I stated as such in an email reply, requesting the meeting be put forward to the previous Friday, or be held outside of office hours so I may attend.

I don’t feel it’s fair to say why, as it’s personal to the third party, but the meeting could not be put forward to this week. The reason given raised serious doubts in my mind about the meeting taking place as assured in the above letter. In fact, I put this in my reply to George Wimpey…

This feels like another pending chapter of our ongoing farce. I truly hope this is not the case.

Well, this afternoon a reply came back from a separate member of George Wimpey customer service, who had been on site today in a meeting with Nigel, and other Wood Newton and George Wimpey management.

Here’s an extract of that email:

…he also thinks it would be better if they could attend the meeting with a copy of the report with regard to the Windows in their possession and they do not expect to receive that for approximately another 14 days

Can you see the discrepancy here?

It’s amazing how many times this is being pushed back, and even when customer service management say sorry, and apparently attempt to put things right, the following afternoon it’s all back again to changing schedules and “confusion in time schedules”.

I seriously don’t know who or what to believe anymore. It’s so confusing. And so, so disheartening.

Tags: eco homes, eco house, eco houses, george wimpey, milton keynes, oxley park, oxley woods, oxley woods living, taylor wimpey, wood newton
Posted in Problems | 7 Comments »

Positive movements?

September 21, 2009

Well there’s been a lot going on lately that I’ve not been blogging about, purely because a lot of it was timing based.

Unfortunately, it appears that the wishes of over half of the residents here at Oxley Woods may have fallen on deaf ears. Hopefully this will not prove to be the case, but time is running out. More on that perhaps another time, maybe with good news for everyone!

Anyway, aside from the doom and gloom, it does appear that last week and this, there is more activity on site in terms of joiners and other workmen flitting about. I have heard from a number of residents that they have been contacted by Wood Newton about issues that they had not had any news on for some time. This is good stuff.

Perhaps so many residents coming together to express their support for one another, and their frustration, in some cases dismay with the situation on this “landmark development” of eco houses, is paying off. It shouldn’t need this in my opinion. I think everyone expects problems to a degree, but it’s when there’s too many, or they just don’t get solved in good time, that’s when things start to get out of hand and become intolerable for some.

Anyway, hopefully the increased activity on site IS following through and resulting in more people getting their problems solved now. There’s some people out there in a terrible position and maybe that is about to improve! We live in hope.

As for us, after chasing Taylor Wimpey head office/customer service on Friday I had a copy of a letter sent over this morning which sounds very positive indeed for our personal situation. Again, we can only hope it bears fruit and things do improve. We’ve felt positive like this before and had our hopes dashed, this time it does seem different.

Hope so.

Tags: eco home, eco homes, eco house, eco houses, george wimpey, milton keynes, oxley park, oxley woods, Problems, residents, taylor wimpey
Posted in General, Good stuff, Problems | No Comments »

Tired of being lied to, and the same old same old…

September 18, 2009

So Yesterday afternoon, weeks after we had our walls and ceiling filled on every floor of the house, out of the blue Peter from Wood Newton arrives at our door.

The painters are on site “I assume you want it painting” (could he be any more antagonistic with his choice of words?!) and can they do it today?

The answer had to be no. We had visitors, my wife and I both had work to do, and I was leaving the house in a couple of hours while my wife would be sorting out the kids.

Apparently it now looks like next week.

As for our windows and doors all being replaced. Fed up of the lies on that one.

The work due originally for sometime in August (18th I believe was the first date we were given), has simply vanished. The windows were going to be tested weeks ago, were tested last week, are being tested as I type. Depending who you ask when. It’s just bull, and it’s pathetic and rude and damaging.

June we had holes drilled all over our house, windows taped and filled up as a “temporary measure”, walls pulled off and radiators removed.

Here we are in September, weather getting colder by the week, and we’ve no idea what on earth is going on.

Shameful, disgraceful behaviour on behalf of Wood Newton and Taylor Wimpey. The way they’re treating our family, their disregard for the well being of us and our young children, I believe, is totally scandalous.

Tags: eco homes, eco house, eco houses, george wimpey, john green, leaking, leaks, milton keynes, oxley park, oxley woods, oxley woods living, peter, Problems, taylor wimpey, water, water ingress, wood newton
Posted in Decor and DIY, Problems | 8 Comments »

« Older Entries

Newer Entries »

Oxley Woods Living

Life in an Oxley Woods eco house