Builders using broken materials

[x799sej]

HI there I was wandering does anyone know if builders are allowed to use broken materials since moving in 8 yeras ago we have had lots of problems with our roof. Whenever we get slight gusts of wind the roof bangs about really badly it gets so bad it feels like it is lifting up and down we also keep having tiles slipping out of place constantly. We have contacted the builders many times and also the housing association who we bought our house off to get advice but both pass the buck and refuse to take responsibility. We went up into the attic space top have a good look and found two broken roof trusses which had been repaired with a nail gun through the centre to pin back together. Can we do anything about this or do we just have to put up with it our house is 8 years old.

[buildersmate]

Materials used to build a new house should be new. But 8 years after the event, it is hard to see what recourse you now have. The house may have had an NHBC warranty but the only elements that stretches out to 10 years is the structural integrity bit, and if the trusses are supporting the weight of the roof structure then the fact that they have been repaired initself doesn't mean there is a claim now possible.
No, the trusses should have have been repaired in this way, or if they were, only subject to a qualified structural engineer approving the repair method.

[The Builder]

If only these things had been spotted eight years ago, x79 :o(
As BM has said, surely NHBC, Zurich, or an Architect's certificate would have been in place, if only to arrange the mortgage? This should all have been picked up then. Sadly, I guess it's too late now without protracted legal battles.
Whether you go down this route, or even for your own peace of mind, I would encourage you to hire a Structural Engineer, or a Surveyor to look at it. Quite often, dramatic problems with roof structures need only simple solutions. It might cost you a couple of hundred pounds for his time, but I promise you, you'll feel a lot better for it.

[bednobs]

it's your house, why can't you pay to have the roof fixed (and why must someone else take responsibility?) if the roof was rubbish when you bought it, why didn't the survey pick it up?
I'm really confused (but it doesn't take all that much!!!!)