Getting Remedial Work Done: Putting Faulty Building Work Right
The order of events for putting defective work right, when to bring in someone new, and how to approach the cost.
The short version
Putting defective work right usually starts with the builder who did it. A clear, fair process gets it done with the least disruption.
Remedial work means correcting building work that was not done properly: re-sealing a leaking rooflight, re-fixing a section of roof, taking down and rebuilding a poorly built wall. The aim is simple, but the order you do things in makes a real difference to how quickly it gets done and who pays for it.
In most cases the first step is to give the original contractor the chance to put it right. Their warranty and your consumer rights both point that way. If they cannot or will not, you can use another contractor, but there are steps worth taking first so that you can still recover the cost.
This guide covers the order of events, when it makes sense to bring in someone else, how to handle an emergency, what to agree before remedial work starts, and how to approach the cost. It is part of our guide to when building work goes wrong. This is general information, not legal advice.
The usual order
From spotting the defect to getting it fixed
Most remedial work follows the same six steps, whoever ends up doing it.
Record the problem
Photographs, dates and a short description, before anything is touched. Our guide to keeping evidence and records explains what helps.
Tell the original contractor
In writing: describe the defect, ask them to inspect and put it right, and give a reasonable deadline.
Let them inspect
Offer access at sensible times. An inspection is often where the cause and the fix are agreed.
Agree the fix in writing
What will be done, when, and how long it should take. If it was agreed in conversation, confirm it by message.
Check the finished repair
Look at it with the contractor if you can, photograph it, and test it where possible. A leak repair is best confirmed after the next spell of heavy rain.
Get it confirmed
Ask for written confirmation of what was done and whether the repair carries a warranty of its own.
Why the original contractor comes first
Giving the builder a fair chance
It can feel wrong to invite back the builder whose work failed. But there are good reasons to. They know how the work was built, they have an obligation to put it right, and it costs you nothing if the defect falls within their warranty or their legal responsibility. A remedial visit from the original contractor is often the quickest fix available.
It matters for cost as well. Under consumer law, the first remedy for a service not carried out with reasonable care and skill is for the business to put it right. If you go straight to another contractor without giving the first one a chance, it can be harder to recover what you pay. Our guide to consumer rights for building work explains the remedies.
A fair chance does not mean an endless one. If the contractor does not reply, keeps missing dates, or attempts the repair and it fails again, you are entitled to look at other options. What counts as reasonable depends on the problem: a few weeks can be fine for a cosmetic snag and far too long for water coming through a ceiling.
Choosing the route
Original contractor or someone new?
Our answer on whether to get another builder to fix it gives the short version. In general:
Usually back to the original contractor
- The defect is within the warranty period
- The contractor is responding and engaged
- The fix is straightforward and agreed
- You are still on reasonable terms
- No repair has been attempted yet
Reasonable to look elsewhere
- No response after written requests and a deadline
- Repeated missed appointments
- The same repair has already failed
- The contractor has stopped trading
- The contractor disputes the defect and will not inspect
Emergencies
Making safe comes first
Some defects cannot wait: water coming through a ceiling, a loose section of roof in high wind, an opening that is not secure. You do not have to wait for the original contractor before taking reasonable steps to stop further damage or make things safe.
Keep emergency measures to what is needed: a temporary cover over a leak, buckets and dust sheets inside, making a loose item secure. Photograph the problem before and after, keep receipts for any cost, and tell the original contractor straight away what has happened and what you have done.
Check your home insurance too. Some policies cover sudden damage that results from a defect, such as water damage to ceilings and contents, even though they do not usually pay to correct the faulty work itself. Read your policy wording and tell your insurer promptly.
Using a different contractor
Bringing someone else in
If you do need a new contractor, start with an assessment rather than a price. Ask them to inspect the work, explain in writing what is wrong and what caused it, and set out the remedial work needed. That written assessment is useful evidence as well as the basis for a quote.
Before anything is taken apart, photograph it, and give the original contractor notice and the chance to see it if you still intend to recover the cost from them. Once defective work has been removed, the evidence goes with it.
Get more than one price where time allows, and make sure each is for the same scope. Our guide to comparing building quotes applies here as much as anywhere. Expect a new contractor to be cautious about taking responsibility for work they did not do: their warranty will normally cover their own work, not what was there before. The usual checks on any contractor still apply.
Before work starts
What to agree before remedial work begins
Remedial work can grow once things are opened up. Agreeing these points in writing keeps it under control.
The scope
Exactly what will be removed, repaired or replaced, and what will be left as it is.
What happens if more is found
How hidden problems will be reported and priced before extra work goes ahead. Our guide to variations and extra costs covers this.
Timing and access
When the work will be done, how long it should take, and what access to the house or garden is needed.
The cost
Whether it is free under the warranty or, if a new contractor is doing it, a fixed price, and when payment is due.
The warranty on the repair
Whether the repair has its own warranty, how long it runs and from when.
Making good
Who repairs the plaster, decoration or garden disturbed by the remedial work, and to what standard.
The cost
Recovering what you have paid
If the original contractor will not put the work right and you pay someone else to do it, you may be able to recover the reasonable cost from the original contractor. Start by writing to them with the evidence: the defect, your requests and their response, the independent assessment and the cost of the remedial work.
If they will not pay, the options are the same as for any dispute: a trade body's complaints process, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and, as a last step, a court claim. Our guides to raising a complaint and small claims for building work cover these. Citizens Advice can explain your options, and GOV.UK explains how to make a court claim.
Keep the remedial cost proportionate. If you replace a whole roof to cure a problem that a local repair would have fixed, you are unlikely to recover the difference.
Paperwork and approvals
When remedial work needs its own sign-off
Some remedial work is significant enough to need its own approvals. Rebuilding a structural wall, re-covering a large area of roof or altering a rooflight opening may fall under the Building Regulations. In England and Wales, that normally means involving the local authority's building control service, or using a contractor registered with a competent person scheme for that kind of work. Ask whoever is doing the remedial work whether approval is needed and who will arrange it.
If the original work was signed off by building control or certified under a scheme, keep that paperwork and make sure the remedial work is documented too. A buyer's solicitor may later ask about both. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own building standards systems, so check the rules that apply where you live.
Keep product guarantees in mind as well. If the remedial work replaces a product, such as a rooflight or a membrane, register any new guarantee and keep it with the rest of your records for the job.
After the repair
Watch it through a season
A repair that looks right on the day still needs to prove itself. Keep an eye on it through the next spell of heavy rain or cold weather, photograph it now and then, and report any recurrence straight away, in writing, referring to the earlier repair. Our answer on what to do if a roof still leaks after repair covers a common example.
If you use Mortaro
We push for the fix on your behalf
Mortaro coordinates domestic building projects: we appoint a contractor from our network, prepare your quotation, and handle communication and payment administration. The work, and the responsibility for putting it right, sit with the independent main contractor named in your quotation. Their workmanship warranty is a minimum of 12 months across our network, usually from completion, and typically longer on larger works.
If you need remedial work, tell us and send photographs. We contact your contractor, push for an inspection and a repair date, and keep following up until something happens, so you are not left chasing. We do not carry out, inspect or sign off the work, and we do not guarantee it. Contractors who fail to put their work right are removed from our network. Putting things right explains how escalation works.
Straight answers
Questions about remedial work
Should I get an independent report before remedial work starts?
For a small, agreed defect it is rarely needed. For a significant defect, or one the original contractor disputes, a written report from an independent surveyor or specialist helps agree the cause and the fix, and supports any claim for the cost later.
Who pays for remedial work?
If the defect is the contractor's responsibility, they should put it right at their own cost. Our answer on who pays to put defects right covers the exceptions.
Does the original warranty still apply after a repair?
Usually the repair falls under the original warranty, but some contractors give a separate warranty for it. Ask for confirmation in writing.
Should I pay the final balance while remedial work is outstanding?
Check your contract before holding anything back. Keeping back a fair sum that reflects the outstanding defect is different from refusing to pay at all. Our guide to when to withhold payment covers this.
What if the new contractor uncovers more problems?
Ask them to stop, record what they have uncovered and price it before going further. Tell the original contractor if the new problems relate to their work.
Start here
Tell us about the work you have in mind
We will confirm we cover your postcode, arrange a site visit with a contractor from our network and send you a written quotation. No charge, no obligation.