No, the witness/report company are not aware of the name of the screening company who carried out the work (the one they will be reporting on).

Thanks BankFodder - i've been in contact with 2 companies for a witness/expert report. One seems not too keen and is due to provide me a price for such services, the other want to have a site inspection first before anything else, which sounds promising. I'm working out a date with the latter and going to speak with them tomorrow to schedule their inspection so they can then lay out what they can do for me. I like your suggestion and have done just that: ================ I acknowledge your reply – “in due course" is of no interest to me. A reminder that the 14-days I have given you expires on 19th November 2022. I am currently making arrangements for site inspections and will commission the go ahead for a report on 20th November 2022, if you have not taken the required action as laid out in my letter of 5th November 2022. As soon as the inspection has been carried out and confirms that the work is defective, I will then be sending you a letter of claim and will begin legal proceedings without any further exchange of dialogue in the absence of a fully co-operative response from you. ================ I don't intend to hang about here in getting things moving - Christmas has been ruined before its happened with the fact we only have a kitchen and utility room functioning in the whole of the downstairs so as soon as the clock has ticked, I'll be moving ahead. At what point am I able to commission the removal of the screed and new floor to be laid work by an alternate company? Mrs Penguin and myself would like at least like a re-laid floor before Dec 25th! Appreciate the guidance! MrP

Update: I've sent the letter out - I got confirmation of receipt via email in the form of - "Afternoon. I’ll take a look over this and respond in due course Thanks Very Much..." Lets see what comes back, if anything.

Thanks BankFodder, great points - I've amended the draft to remove the exact solution leaving that to NFS to propose. Also removed reference to the mediation and WhatsApp. Copy pasted below. ================== Dear [NAME] (director NFS Screeding Ltd), I am formally writing to you following our in person conversation at my address of [ADDRESS] on 25th October 2022, in regards to the screed floor you (NFS Screeding Ltd) laid at the aforementioned address on 5th October 2022. On 22nd September 2022 you visited my address to site survey and quote for the purpose of laying a screed floor to my circa 1965 era house. The screed floor was to be laid to the living room, hallway including understairs, lobby and downstairs WC (see appendix A of ground floor plan showing areas for screeding). At the time of the visit, the floor was a bare slab with just a single piece of unpinned carpet covering a section of the hallway. You were able to roll back the carpet and inspect the substrate. On 2nd October 2022, I queried with you via WhatsApp the suitability of some sections of the substrate in the hallway to be covered in screed (see Appendix B for message details). In response, you called me the following day to advise the method and materials you would use would mean that there would be ‘no issues’. Prior to the screed floor being laid, the floor area had been cleared and removed of nonfriable materials and any laitance. No chemicals or liquids had been applied to the substrate. The lower section of the stair case was suspended to allow screeding under the area where the bottom step would rest on the floor (see appendix C of pictures showing the areas of the floor immediately before the screed was laid). You came to my property with another person (assumption an employee of NFS Screeding Ltd) on 5th October 2022 and laid a sand and cement-based screed floor with Mapescreed 704 additive, to the floor areas specified. After the floor had been laid, your instructions were to avoid foot traffic for 24 hours and that it would be fully dried after seven days, at which point floor coverings could be applied. I asked you about setting the stairs down to the screed and you advised it would be fine after 48 hours. No foot traffic was set to the floor until in excess of 72 hours. The lower section of the stair case, which has previously been suspended to allow of screeding under the area where the bottom step would rest on the floor, was not set to the screed floor until in excess of 8 days (see appendix D for pictures of the screed taken within an hour of being laid). On the 12th October 2022 I received your invoice of £900 for the works carried out 5th October, 2022 for: ‘Supply and install fast dry bonded screed at [ADDRESS]’, (invoice 56879 dated 10th October 2022) and promptly paid this in full, via bank transfer on 13th October 2022 (see attached appendix E for copy of invoice). On 22nd October 2022 I became aware of an area of the laid screed in the hallway that had begun cracking and delaminated. I messaged you via WhatsApp the same day and asked what you would do about this. You visited my property subsequently on 25th October 2022 for an inspection. On your visit of 25th October 2022, I raised the following issues with you: 1. Use of in appropriate bonding agent between substrate and screed: You used Wickes own brand liquid DPM as a bonding agent, applied by broom directly to the substrate and laid the screed directly on top within minutes. This product and method of bonding screed is not suitable as this product is not designed or intended to be a screed bonding agent. 2. Excessive Cracking: Areas around door frames and across the floor areas are cracking. In particular in areas where there is foot traffic and under the foot of lower section of staircase (which had been rested on a wooden sheet to avoid direct contact with the screed. In some areas cracking lines join up. 3. Depth of Screed laid: You confirmed that you had laid the floor screed to a depth of 10mm. A 10mm depth of a sand and cement-based screed is less that half of the required depth as per British Standard BS-8204 (normal depth 40mm with a minimum of 25mm). There are areas of the WC where screed has simply flaked off revealing that screed depth laid in that area is no more that 2 to 3mm in places. 4. Delamination of screed from subfloor: At the time of your visit on 25th October, four areas of delamination were detected. As of 28th October, ten individual areas have been detected. In addition note the areas of WC floor that have flaked revealing the substrate covered in the Wickes own brand liquid DPM. 5. Levelling of screed throughout the area laid: During your visit of 25th October, I used your laser level to show you that the levelling throughout has many variations. One particular variation is at least up to 15mm in an area less than 2 meters, which is not in keeping with British Standard BS-8203. The example discussed on your visit of 25th October 2022 pertained to a section of the lobby area. 6. Overall finish of surface: The finish to the surface is furrowed and pitted in places. This is not a reasonable expectation of a screed finish. 7. Staining/damage to astroturf: While laying the screed floor on 5th October, a deposit of the Wickes own brand liquid DPM was left on my Astro turf lawn by you or you associate. I attempted to remove this with chemicals however is has left a stained. Of the above points, you have advised you would only address the delamination areas and ‘look at’ what could be one about the stain to the astroturf. Nothwithstanding any of the issues raised other than the inappropriate method and materials used in attempting to bond the screed and screed depth itself, there are no remedial actions that can be taken to the screed floor you have laid, in its current state, to correct them. i.e. a suitable bonding agent and method cannot be retrospectively applied; the floor screed height cannot be increased to the correct levels on top of the existing screed. To resolve the matter I would require the following to occur, all at your cost: NFS Screeding Ltd to propose a suitable solution to correct the defective and incorrectly laid floor screed. The proposed solution will be subject to assessment and consultation for suitability by an independent 3rd party (including written report). Carry out works to required standards (British and Industry Standards), which will be subject to assessment and inspection by an independent 3rd party (including written report). If you do not wish to engage with me and fulfil your obligations in a responsible way, then I will commission an independent survey to detail and report of the works NFS Screeding has completed. I will seek advice and quotations from alternate screed companies to complete the required works. Any such costs of obtaining quotations or reports I will seek to reclaim from you in addition to the costs of having the defective laid screed floor removed and re-laid correctly. In addition, I require you to address the Astroturf staining by removal of the stain or if the stain cannot be removed then, at your cost, arrange for the section to be replaced to a suitable standard. You may reply to me, in writing, to my home address or via email if more convenient. Your response to the above is required within 14 days from the date of this letter. Yours sincerely,

Thanks again for the advice and comments - I've included below a draft of my letter to NFS which I'll give them 14 days to respond to. I'm going to reach our to a some people I've had dealing with on the planning, structural engineering and 3rd party wall agreement side of things to see if they can point me towards someone who can complete the independent report. Have a read and let me know if I've covered it all - Dear [NAME] (director NFS Screeding Ltd), I am formally writing to you following our in person conversation at my address of [ADDRESS] on 25th October 2022, in regards to the screed floor you (NFS Screeding Ltd) laid at the aforementioned address on 5th October 2022. On 22nd September 2022 you visited my address to site survey and quote for the purpose of laying a screed floor to my circa 1965 era house. The screed floor was to be laid to the living room, hallway including understairs, lobby and downstairs WC (see appendix A of ground floor plan showing areas for screeding). At the time of the visit, the floor was a bare slab with just a single piece of unpinned carpet covering a section of the hallway. You were able to roll back the carpet and inspect the substrate. On 2nd October 2022, I queried with you via WhatsApp the suitability of some sections of the substrate in the hallway to be covered in screed (see Appendix B for message details). In response, you called me the following day to advise the method and materials you would use would mean that there would be ‘no issues’. Prior to the screed floor being laid, the floor area had been cleared and removed of nonfriable materials and any laitance. No chemicals or liquids had been applied to the substrate. The lower section of the stair case was suspended to allow screeding under the area where the bottom step would rest on the floor (see appendix C of pictures showing the areas of the floor immediately before the screed was laid). You came to my property with another person (assumption an employee of NFS Screeding Ltd) on 5th October 2022 and laid a sand and cement-based screed floor with Mapescreed 704 additive, to the floor areas specified. After the floor had been laid, your instructions were to avoid foot traffic for 24 hours and that it would be fully dried after seven days, at which point floor coverings could be applied. I asked you about setting the stairs down to the screed and you advised it would be fine after 48 hours. No foot traffic was set to the floor until in excess of 72 hours. The lower section of the stair case, which has previously been suspended to allow of screeding under the area where the bottom step would rest on the floor, was not set to the screed floor until in excess of 8 days (see appendix D for pictures of the screed taken within an hour of being laid). On the 12th October 2022 I received your invoice of £900 for the works carried out 5th October, 2022 for: ‘Supply and install fast dry bonded screed at [ADDRESS]’, (invoice 56879 dated 10th October 2022) and promptly paid this in full, via bank transfer on 13th October 2022 (see attached appendix E for copy of invoice). On 22nd October 2022 I became aware of an area of the laid screed in the hallway that had begun cracking and delaminated. I messaged you via WhatsApp the same day and asked what you would do about this. You visited my property subsequently on 25th October 2022 for an inspection. On your visit of 25th October 2022, I raised the following issues with you: 1. Use of in appropriate bonding agent between substrate and screed: You used Wickes own brand liquid DPM as a bonding agent, applied by broom directly to the substrate and laid the screed directly on top within minutes. This product and method of bonding screed is not suitable as this product is not designed or intended to be a screed bonding agent. 2. Excessive Cracking: Areas around door frames and across the floor areas are cracking. In particular in areas where there is foot traffic and under the foot of lower section of staircase (which had been rested on a wooden sheet to avoid direct contact with the screed. In some areas cracking lines join up. 3. Depth of Screed laid: You confirmed that you had laid the floor screed to a depth of 10mm. A 10mm depth of a sand and cement-based screed is less that half of the required depth as per British Standard BS-8204 (normal depth 40mm with a minimum of 25mm). There are areas of the WC where screed has simply flaked off revealing that screed depth laid in that area is no more that 2 to 3mm in places. 4. Delamination of screed from subfloor: At the time of your visit on 25th October, four areas of delamination were detected. As of 28th October, ten individual areas have been detected. In addition note the areas of WC floor that have flaked revealing the substrate covered in the Wickes own brand liquid DPM. 5. Levelling of screed throughout the area laid: During your visit of 25th October, I used your laser level to show you that the levelling throughout has many variations. One particular variation is at least up to 15mm in an area less than 2 meters, which is not in keeping with British Standard BS-8203. The example discussed on your visit of 25th October 2022 pertained to a section of the lobby area. 6. Overall finish of surface: The finish to the surface is furrowed and pitted in places. This is not a reasonable expectation of a screed finish. 7. Staining/damage to astroturf: While laying the screed floor on 5th October, a deposit of the Wickes own brand liquid DPM was left on my Astro turf lawn by you or you associate. I attempted to remove this with chemicals however is has left a stained. Of the above points, you have advised you would only address the delamination areas and ‘look at’ what could be one about the stain to the astroturf. Nothwithstanding any of the issues raised other than the inappropriate method and materials used in attempting to bond the screed and screed depth itself, there are no remedial actions that can be taken to the screed floor you have laid, in its current state, to correct them. i.e. a suitable bonding agent and method cannot be retrospectively applied; the floor screed height cannot be increased to the correct levels on top of the existing screed. Therefore, the only available option is to mechanically remove the screed floor that you have laid and remove the liquid DPM to then have an appropriate bonding agent applied and suitable screed applied and levelled to the required British Standards (i.e. BS-8203 and BS-8204). As a result, I therefore require you, at your cost to: · Mechanically remove the defective screed floor that you have laid, using an appropriate method. · Remove the liquid DPM from the substrate using a suitable method, leaving it in a prepared state to receive new screed floor installation. If you are so prepared, I would also invite you to, at no additional cost to myself, to: Install a new level screed floor using an appropriate bonding agent and suitable screed applied and levelled to the required British Standards (i.e. BS-8203 and BS-8204) (the work would be subject to a 3rd party inspection to ensure it has conformed to said standards). If you are not prepared to install the new floor then I would require a subsequent refund of the £900 paid to you by bank transfer on 13th October 2022. In addition, I require you to address the Astroturf staining by removal of the stain or if the stain cannot be removed then, at your cost, arrange for the section to be replaced to a suitable standard. If you do not wish to engage with me and fulfil your obligations in a responsible way, then I will seek advice and quotations from alternate screed companies to complete the above required works and commission an independent survey to detail and report of the works NFS Screeding has completed. Any such costs of obtaining quotations or reports I will seek to reclaim from you in addition to the costs of having the defective laid screed floor removed and re-laid correctly. If you are a member of a professional arbitration scheme, then I am happy to engage in an arbitration process to help bring this matter to a resolution. You may replay to me, in writing, to my home address or via email or WhatsApp if more convenient. Your response to the above is required within 14 days from the date of this letter. Yours sincerely,

Thanks for the comments - The work was carried out by NFS Screeding Ltd, Company Registration No. 8945777 (Need for Screed) on 5th October 2022. NFS SCREEDING LTD overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK FIND-AND-UPDATE.COMPANY-INFORMATION.SERVICE.GOV.UK NFS SCREEDING LTD - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return... The price quoted and paid was £900 (the invoice was actually higher as they forgot to add VAT to the quote but honoured the price quoted). I have already contacted two large screeding companies who are due to provide me quotation's for remedial works, both of which suggested this is the required course of action given the details I had shared, so I guess they are no longer independant In terms of getting an independent examination of the quality of the job, should this be another screeding company, a structural engineer or someone involved in building control (by that I mean would any suffice or must it come from a particular one of these)? Thanks for your comments and direction! MrP

Hi All! Can you advise and guide me? Situation - I appointed a floor screeding company to screed a specified area of my downstairs floor. Job was completed by company (will share later if necessary). Post installation instructions followed in terms of traffic to screed and drying times. Job was paid via bank transfer upon receipt of invoice. 2.5 weeks after floor laid, defects detected (delamination and cracking as a start my list is longer). The Floor screeder attended for inspection and robust discussion ensued about the quality of job. Amongst other issues it included 2 key points: 1. use of a product particular as a bonding agent for the floor and screed. The product used was a liquid DPM. A liquid can be used in conjunction with a bonding agent on top (once dried with required coats applied and sand blinded etc) but is not a bonding agent itself. The product was applied by broom and screed was laid on top within minutes. 2. The depth of the screed applied is way too shallow. Declared by the screeder to be 10mm but its obvious is some spots is only 2 or 3 mm. The depth does not confirm to the British Standards BS 8204 for the type for screed laid. Following the site inspection and discussion, the screeder is only prepared to acknowledge and address the spots of delamination. I’ve since counted 10 separate areas of delamination. This is a sign the whole thing is doomed. I’ve contacted some other ‘larger’ screeding companies and shared the situation including pictures. They have declared that the only option to correct is to remove the screed that was laid, remove the liquid DPM and then relay a new screed using correct bonding products and correct depth floor screed. At this time I’ve drafted a formal complaint letter to the screeder (is a registered company on companies house) highlighting all of the issues I had raised and concluding that the floor has not been laid correctly using appropriate materials. I’ll post all the letter and appendix materials here later. (in addition they also left a stain on my astroturf from the liquid DPM) I’ve not sent the letter just yet (needs a final proof read) but given the screeders attitude I’m fairly certain it wont be fruitful in terms of a result for me. I think I have the basis for a case in a small claims court, I’d appreciate any advice on what to do next. Regards, Mr P