nhbc

[BigDogsWang]

I moved into a house last November which was built around 4 years ago. A few days back a double glazing salesman knocked on our door. He was told where to go (politely) but before departing he noticed that our front door was difficult to open / close, and that the paint was peeling quite badly.
He told my wife that under the NHBC guarantee, we should be able to claim a new front door.

Is he telling the truth, or talking out of his hat. If it's true, how do we go about it?

[DillyGent]

The people who sold you the house, or their solicitors, should have passed the NHBC guarantee pack on to you. It is valid for 10 years. I suggest you contact the solicitor who handled your purchase in the first instance. Good luck.

[turboped]

I suspect that due to the fact the paint is no longer doing it's job, moisture has gone into the front door, it is wood isn't it? I suspect softwood. The wood will soak up moisture and swell. This is a maintenence problem and I guess not under the NHBC remit. Houseowners are really required to maintain their property. The original housowners should have received an NHBC pack which they really should hand on to you. In this pack should be specs and details of all the materials used in construction.

My first port of call would be to seek advise from the builders. The NHBC guarentee sounds very grand but all it really covers is the structure and unless you have structural problems i'm sure they won't take much interest.

To rectify it would take a good joiner an hour or so to refit the door. Repaint and it should be okay.

[buildersmate]

Just to add a bit more on what turboped says (which is right) - the 10 year bit of the NHBC warrantee is for structural problems - like the foundations sinking or the roof sagging. The non-structural bit is for 2 years and covers things like the CH pump or valves going kapput. I think you won't get anywhere with claims for peeling paint.