The Roof That Leaks Money: Timber Wharf

THE roof at Timber Wharf in Castlefield, the Glenn Howells designed block developed by Urban Splash, needs to be replaced at a cost of £1m.

Owners are having to battle to protect their and other's investment, becoming experts in roof finishes, construction techniques, patent and latent defects and tender documents.

And it is the owners of the 181 flats in the building who are being asked to pay.

They face bills varying from £2,000 to £8,000 depending on the size of their property and they have to stump up by January 25 so work can start in March.

All are understandably deeply unhappy. Most don’t have that sort of money sat in the bank and many think it should be the developer, the contractor or the insurers that pay – not them. Especially since the fault is long standing.

It would appear the roof has never been water tight with leaks first appearing not long after the building was completed in 2002.  Several of the 8th floor penthouses have suffered severe water damage but apartments on the 7th are also affected and at one point the central atrium had its own unwelcome water feature.

One owner who is facing a bill of more than £11,000 said: “It is an on-going nightmare for owners. Some have not wanted this to be exposed because it could damage the building’s reputation and affect values, but it needs to be brought into the public arena.

 “It irks all of us to see Urban Splash boast about all the awards the development has won whilst really the building has never been watertight and had defects from the start, and now the company is leaving the owners to pay the £1m plus bill.

“I, like many owners, struggle to understand how Urban Splash can avoid their responsibilities from a moral and ethical standpoint, if not legally.”

Legally the situation is complex.

The list of people involved in the £18.5m build is long – Listed on MIMOA, a guide to the world’s architecture, we have:

Glenn Howells (architects also of the soaring One St Peter Square presently under construction) will have had insurance that covers latent defects that appear once a building is complete, but they could argue that it was the contractor and the construction process that was at fault not the design.

The building did have a 10 year NHBC (National House Building Council) guarantee but the NHBC guarantee specifically states that it does not cover flat roofs. So who opted for that and not an alternative guarantee and are they not responsible?

Urban Splash as developer should have insured the building so could that be an avenue or could Urban Splash as client not do the suing themselves seeing as the roof is clearly not fit for purpose.

This is after all their company headquarters with a reception area crammed with Awards.

Having seen the minutes of one leaseholders AGM I feel the utmost sympathy with the directors who bought in good faith and are having to battle to protect their and other's investment, becoming experts in roof finishes, construction techniques, patent and latent defects and tender documents.

At one point they were meeting weekly as the extent of the problems and the lack of responsibility from anyone else became terrifyingly apparent.

It is a weighty and stressful responsibility to have, presumably on top of having their own day jobs.

With the situation only getting worse they took the brave decision to commission works to completely replace the roof, a huge and disruptive job hence the huge bill.

Timber Wharf - just after construction

Urban Splash’s offered solution to overcoat the roof terraces on the 7th floor to try and stop water getting in and carry on making isolated repairs to the upper level roof but leave saturated insulation in place was dismissed by other owners as laughable.

Owners would still have had to pay more than £200,000 and there would be no guarantee on the works.

Progress has been driven by the building’s managing agents, Mainstay, who come in for a great deal of praise from many owners who feel they have helped steer the  problem to some sort of resolution, however painful and expensive.

The roof problems have blighted sales in the block in the past with decent surveyors picking up on the fault which led to mortgages being withdrawn and buyers backing out.

Anyone buying in the last five years and not being made aware of the leaky roof should rightly be furious.

Sometimes when you try new stuff it can go wrong and you won’t be damned for that but you will be damned if you don’t put your hand up and accept responsibility.

Now that the extent of the problem is apparent and the solution decided it all gets a bit easier. The cost can be quantified and either the price reduced or a retention made on the purchase price while works are carried out satisfactorily.

One owner who is having to spend savings he had intended for a college course, on the roof bill said: “We are all really angry. My neighbour has had a sale fall through because of this and one guy on the 8th floor has had to move out because the water damage is that bad.

“We do not think the cost of a new roof should be our responsibility but we feel helpless, like we have no alternative.”

Timber Wharf resulted from a RIBA competition, a system which is aimed at pushing the boundaries of design and construction and back in 2002 it was innovatively stunning.

Sometimes when you try new stuff it can go wrong and you won’t be damned for that but you will be damned if you don’t put your hand up and accept responsibility.

The roof at Timber Wharf was defective a decade ago and should have been replaced then. It would have spared years of uncertainty and stress for individual owners whose apartment is their biggest asset and who are reminded of its failings every time they come home.

That they now have to pay the price of repairing a defective building is scandalous.

What The Parties To The Problem Say

Urban Splash

“We are aware of this issue and sympathise with residents as we too own a large number of apartments within Timber Wharf and are similarly affected.   

“Mainstay manage the building on behalf of residents and are leading on resolving these issues. We are working closely with them and we believe that they are exploring all available options." 

Mainstay

“I can confirm that Mainstay manages Timber Wharf on behalf of the leasehold directors and takes all instructions for works from them.  Mainstay is aware that there is a problem with the roof at the apartment complex and surveyors have been instructed to advise.  

 “Following regular liaison with all leaseholders at the apartment complex, work on the roof is scheduled to start in March 2014. 

 “As always, regular communication will be maintained with all leaseholders and relevant parties as the work progresses.”

 Glenn Howells Architects
 “We are aware of the leaks and sympathise with residents who have been affected by them. We understand that Mainstay manage the building and we have offered to continue to work with them and Urban Splash, to assist them in identifying and resolving the problem.”

NHBC

“NHBC is currently carrying out investigations at the Timber Wharf development to assess whether we can assist under the Buildmark policy and help resolve matters as soon as possible for the homeowners.

 “Under the Buildmark cover during the first two years, NHBC will ensure that the builder puts right any defects that breach our technical standards reported to them by the homeowner. It is the responsibility of the builder to ensure that the defects are repaired to the required standard and at no cost to the homeowner. In years 3-10, NHBC provides insurance cover for damage caused by defects in, mainly, the structural parts of the property.

 “At the time this development was registered with NHBC, the Buildmark cover in years 3-10 was for the load bearing parts of the roof and for tile and slate coverings to pitched roofs, as described in the Buildmark policy document.

“Cover for flat roof coverings was not included at that time. 

“Our policy cover is changed from time to time and, for properties registered since April 2007, NHBC cover in years 3-10 was extended to all types of roof coverings.  Unfortunately changes to our policy cover cannot be applied retrospectively to properties already covered.

“We are, however, currently involved in detailed investigations at this development to understand the location and reasons for the damage in order to assess whether we can be of assistance under the terms of the policy cover.” 

There are photos of Timber Wharf under construction here for anyone who wants to try and identify where it all went wrong.

Nice apartment - careful about the issues above