Oxley Woods Living

I should work for the red tops with such pun mastery as this.

Anyway, today the meeting that never was, twice, finally took place.  Almost all were present and correct, representing the builders corner were the site manager, customer service manager from Taylor Wimpey, architect (but from Taylor Wimpey and NOT from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners) and the director from Wood Newton.  Representing the householders corner, me, my wife, and our baby (our elder child made his excuses, something about legal requirements and education?).

The meeting seemed pretty positive, John from Wood Newton and our site manager were pretty much leaders of the meeting, explaining to the customer service manager and architect what our problems had been in so far as rain water entering the property, and what measures had been taken to resolve the situation.  I also learned from early conversation that the tape used on the house isn’t in fact by Tyvek as previously informed, but a completely different material, I’m waiting on details, but apparently it’s an aluminium based product, due to be used in the construction of the 2012 velodrome.

While the Trespa was not removed and the work beneath checked, it was agreed that the leaking on that side of the house appears to be cured, it’s been raining on and off for several days and no sign of water, on that side of the house anyway.  We are going to be provided with a side elevation of the house to mark on which panels have been damaged etc, before they can be replaced.

The same work is now due to be carried out on the front and back elevations as soon as possible, probably starting next Monday, but possibly as early as the end of the week.  I’m guessing Monday.  At the same time, remedial work will be carried out on those panels that are out of line or poorly fitted, most notably surrounding the Juliet balcony.

I also asked those present to check out the water on the upper bedroom window, and that is confirmed as condensation (a huge relief).  Basically because that is the warmest room in the house, and it’s on a corner of two panes of glass, it’s very much a cold spot in the room, which does lead to condensation.  There’s loads of it though, so we’re going to have to do something more than a pot of salt do dehumidify that room over winter!

I asked as many questions as I thought I could get away with, apparently only us and one other property who are in a similar position so far as orientation and protection from the elements have experienced water ingress like this.  I was pushing the point not just for our sakes, but for other residents and potential residents, about how, if the house is “built to spec” is it getting wet inside.  To be honest, they didn’t really have an answer for that, could be settling and movement, but I couldn’t disagree that the materials and methods used to seal one side of the house certainly seem to be doing the trick.

While we had a house full I thought it a good time to mention the disconcertingly bendy step, and to state my belief that the flexible filler previously applied probably wasn’t up to the task of securing stairs.  Not surprisingly it was agreed it needed a proper fix.  Unfortunately this will require another hole to be cut in our walls so the workmen and get under the stair to sort it out.  As much as I have every faith that the repair of the wall will be spot on, it’s still painful to see your new home undergoing surgery.

Subcontractors sent by Nuaire arrived later in the day to work out why our eco-hat has been going crazy.  They rather unconvincingly (never once looking at the data logger) diagnosed some incorrect settings on the fan speeds causing the problem, and made the required adjustments.  It seems to be working, but it’s an intermittent fault so we’ll have to wait and see.

The dry liner and his boss also came around and looked at our previously mentioned bulging wall, and have had another go at skimming and filling to smooth everything over.  Until it’s painted over (which wont be until the work on the leaks is complete) it just looks a mess, but here’s hoping it’ll do the job.  I asked if there was any way to cut the bulge back, rather than fill out around it, and was informed in no uncertain terms this cant be done due to the nature of the build.

There’s also an update on our warping fridge and freezer doors, Symphony (the manufacturers) are going to come and take a look, and have to work out what’s going wrong.  This is a common fault, and even doors that have been replaced on other properties on site are bending again.  So until they work out how to stop the bending, we’re going to have to put up with warped doors.  Only problem I can see here is the colour being dark red may fade, and then look dreadful when the new doors are in place.  Hope not!

I also raised my concern about the number of nail/screw heads popping out all over the property.  I was told this is normal and to be expected, and probably wont settle down until about a full year.  Joy.

I had a decent chat with all the team at the house about the problems we’ve had, about the site, about what they’re doing and I found out a few interesting bits and pieces concerning water and air tightness, thermal imaging and other testing that is carried out periodically on the Oxley Woods development, apparently our neighbours house had the full monty done to it.  I couldn’t help but quip they should have done ours instead, could have saved a lot of hassle and heartache.

Anyway, before I start rambling and waffling, I got a decent amount of insight from the team today, and I should be getting some more soon.  I’m keen to learn and understand as much as possible about how these houses are put and held together, the technology and the testing involved, as it’s a subject I’m interested in anyway, and even more so since I live in one of the properties.  Credit where it’s due, my impression of John from Wood Newton has completely turned around now I’ve actually had chance to discuss the matter with him, while there was a certain amount of people protecting their position at the meeting, it was generally open and well mannered.