New-build disaster house leaves dad in a neck brace
Catalogue of faults included unfixed stair carpet that led to serious fall
THE newly-built house on a ‘prestigious modern development’ was billed as offering ‘contemporary stylish living’.
But from the moment Geoff Casely and his family walked through the front door of their £450,000 semi, one disaster has followed another.
A kitchen flood on the first day was the start of a 14-month nightmare.
They discovered that showers were plumbed in backwards, sinks fell away from the wall, both staircases needed to be ripped out, and the garden was described as a ‘paddy field’.
The most serious incident came when Mr Casely, a 6ft 4in rugby player, tripped on an allegedly badly-fitted carpet laid without gripper and tumbled head-first into a wall.
He had to be taken to hospital by ambulance and was left with a ‘lifelong back injury’.
Mr Casely, 48, has blamed bad workmanship for the problems and has now moved wife Kathryn, 30, and their three children Sebastian, nine, Matilda, six, Tabitha, three, out of the four-bedroom property for three weeks while a ceiling is refitted.
The developer, Cala Homes, has sent tradesmen back to the house in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, over and over again to repair faults.
Mr Casely, a mobile security consultant, said he was considering legal action. ‘It’s appalling that this property was deemed fit for inhabitants,’ he said.
His back injury means he regularly wakes up in ‘excruciating pain’ and their eldest son, who is autistic, has found it ‘very distressing’ living on a ‘constant building site’.
The family bought the house on a new 45-home development in December 2015. Mr Casely recalled: ‘In the first 24 hours we had to call out an emergency tradesmankitchenthe sink becausesplit.’ after Sadly,a a valve floodthat beneath provedin the only the beginning. He said other faults included dangerous gaps between steps on the staircase, the gap between the door frame and floor was so big it had to be replaced, and a hole in the bedroom let in cold air from outside. Mr Casely said the stair accident happened last February when he ‘came legging it down the stairs and the carpet banana- skinned underneath me’. He hit the wall, bounced on his shoulder and was left injured on the ground. He was put in a neck brace, has been suffering spasms and was diagnosed with a permanent spinal injury. A Cala Homes spokesman said: ‘At Cala, we pride ourselves on our customer service and after care and take the issues Mr and extremelyMrs seriously.Casely have raised ‘We have apologised to Mr and Mrs Casely in person, have been speaking to them regularly and have been and continue to be fully committed to working with them to resolve matters.’