In fourth of his diaries of a new home purchase, David Frise details how his builder consciously flouted health and safety laws
I mentioned in my blog introducing this series that the builder of my new house – a major listed housebuilder – has shown a total disregard for health and safety. My subsequent blogs detailed the firm’s construction failing and inability to provide me – the customer – with basic information about its performance and functionality.
But it’s time to come back to this disregard of health and safety. This came as a genuine shock. I have worked in construction for over 20 years and, genuinely, had not experienced this hugely disappointing lack of care.
Examples? Well, let’s start with the windows.
The flats have tilt and turn full height windows. So, to stop people falling out glazed guards are fitted, which are half the height of the window and very heavy.
One has already fallen off – fortunately from a ground floor flat. A second was found to be loose. There are four floors in the block, so you can imagine the result if someone leans against a guard on the upper floors and i