Handyman Warranty?

Hi,

2 years ago I had a handyman renovate my Rural IP bathroom/shower...This person had an ABN no. and I paid all my bills via cheque or Bank Transfer.

The Shower recess started showing signs of leaking within 6 months.

The Handyman refuses to return...ignores my emails/texts..

The Agent has no clue...hopeless.

The tennant has been putting up with tiles cracking, grout falling out..even electrical shocks whilst showering.

All my attempts to get this problem fixed, have failed.

Can I force the Handyman back..ie..is he legally bound to honor any kind of common law warranty?...even though one was never expressed or in writing?

I am now facing exhorbitant quote to fix the shower..($5-6,000) from people who either don't really want the job..or are ripoff artists.

What is my legal position?...Thank You.
 
Hi fATICAN,
Cheap is not always cheap.... Unfortunately I don't see much you can do about the original work. Ensure that whoever does your work moving forward is properly licenced (ask to see a copy of their licence or ask for their licence number and check it online).
All the best
Meg
 
Handy-unhandy-man

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your replies -

He was cheaper - H men usually are..Tradies are hard to come by in the country..he's well known to all the agents and most people like him...he was doing lots of work for us at the property..all paid quickly too..
so, I can't understand why he's dropped us like hot rocks...he just won't respond...if he's legally bound, we'd have him back - hell, we paid him enough.

If he's not - well. it's a real hassle finding an honest well priced Tradie.

I just thought ..him having an ABN obliges him somewhat..

Back to the drawing board.

cheers guys
 
You got a handyman in to do plumbing work instead of a plumber. I suppose you could go to Dept of Fair Trading, but can't really say if you will get any joy as they could put it down to you purposefully not using a lisenced tradesman. It's worth giving them a call to find out though.
 
Even a lic tradie might give you 12 mths, but two years ??? the electrical pulsing might be from a failed earth leak from water pumps on the site, cracked tiles might be result of a nasty tennent, and shower screens leak, and a re silicone would stop this leaking, i hope the water barrier was done under neath the tile work, bathrooms are difficult and should not be built by a handy man due to all of the structual integritys involved,

I see this so often , hiring a handy man to do work , i just dont get it? would you go to a freind to get a mole cut out of your back?? i don't think so! so why go to a handy man to get licenced building work done , the results speak for themselves.
 
Thanks Guys.

We had used him for other stuff, and he was confident he could do the job..we trusted him...wasn't a lot of Plumbing involved - mainly Tiling, painting.

I've had the sparky out and yet the shock problem persists.

We were quoted 5-6k to redo the shower..fair?

Thanks again.
 
Also usually handymen are working for an hourly rate not a job sum? If he quoted the job to fix a problem he is likely obliged to fix it, having failed within 6 months. If he quoted to do certain things which was really only a description of the work not the problem itself then he is not.

i.e. a quote to apply waterproof membrane and re grout is different to a quote to fix a problem which then details the remedy. One promises to fix the problem the other just details some work to be done.

It is likely he could say you approved the kind of work he did so it is your problem this did not work, i.e. he said what he was going to do and you OK'd this.

It is far better to get prices to actually fix things rather than ring around telling people you want some grouting / membrane applications done. The former they take on a fitness for purpose liability in the latter just standard workmanship at best. Whether it works or not is not their problem, they are relying on your instructions as to what to do. Another trap even with the former if you then start directing how to do the work they again can rely on your advice.
 
The ABN means nothing, it's just a means for the government to collect GST from him....

Thats if he is registered for GST. I check all my contractors that are about to do work for me even if they have and ABN I ensure they are registered for GST and if they are not I call them and advise them they show as not being registered for GST and I will need to retain (Memory loss on exact percentage48%) for tax purposes.

Easier for me to just use contractors registered for GST.

As for your handyman issue a lot will come down to what is in the quote and working as Tom32 has indicated. From what you are saying and the vib I am getting is he is fine until there is an issue then he's a no show, not worth using again if he will not back up his work.

Personally I think all tradies should warranty thier work for the same period as a builder 6.5 years, may cut out a lot of the poor workmanship issues.

For bathrooms a book called guide to Internal Wet Area Waterproofing is a cheap investment. People who are not sure hows its to be waterproofed can see and state what they want from a contractor and also ensure they get a certificate at completion.

Brian
 
Hi

There are some companies around that specialise in waterproofing shower recesses and tidying the grout up etc.

Regards
 
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