Left over building materials.

£15

£15

£15

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I was wondering what people's opinions were on to whom left over building materials belong?

My drive has been laid with block pavers and there is about 80% of a pallet remaining which I can use to make a small patio area in my rear garden. My wife's thoughts are that we have paid for them and as the builder said he won't get a refund for returning them, we can keep them and use them.

I'm not sure. I've read/heard that builders quote for a job and as long as the job is done they get to keep what's left, maybe return to the merchant for a credit, or use on a future job, almost like a bonus. In other words, we haven't actually paid for them and they're not ours.

I wondered what the convention was and if there are any regulations? All I can think of is what might be said in a contract, but as there wasn't one that doesn't apply.
 
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Ask him?

Block paviours are relative pennies, the transport anf storage costs are more than they are worth and likely hood of him having a job with the same are slim.

Tell him your sister wants them for a small path or something.
 
Discuss it with your builder would be the best bet.
As macca says the cost to him of moving them may not be worth his while.
He may well have charged you for them anyway.
 
Of course they are yours. He would have charged you for them within his quote otherwise he would have already taken them away.
 
I gather the accepted protocol is to wee on them to claim ownership,
the builder should then accept you as the alpha male and let you keep the bricks.
 
The builder said he won't get a refund because he doesn't want you trying to claim credit from him for the unused bricks. Therefore I'm 99% sure they're yours to do with as you please. The builder's probably just glad he doesn't have to arrange for their removal.
 
Check your invoice, if you've been billed for materials and labour separately then you've simply bought the materials through him and then paid him to "install" them.

If you've been billed for the "job" then he's simply brought an excess of his own materials and they are still his.

All IMO of course :p
 
bitslice said:
I gather the accepted protocol is to wee on them to claim ownership,
the builder should then accept you as the alpha male and let you keep the bricks.
Click to expand...

If that doesn't work then most likely the suggestion here would be deficate in his letter box.

Seriously though, you paid for them so they are by right yours. Any idea how much they are worth? I know lots of people that sell off that stuff on local trade websites or through Facebook pages - particularly if you can still get that item from the merchant. Everyone likes a bargain!
 
boxman2000 said:
Seriously though, you paid for them so they are by right yours.
Click to expand...

I very much expect he paid for a job i.e. the drive, the builder owns the excess materials.

You wouldn't have the same stance if it was half a bag of sand, you'd soon be on his case to remove it at his cost.
 
Depends what was paid for as you say.

I've had quotes for jobs and tradesmen have always left the excess materials behind.

Actually these days I source most of the materials myself (tiles etc) as I have a trade account myself and I fail to see why I should pay 20-50% extra for that by the tradesmen buying it instead of me.
 
Just ask the Builder, depends what he quoted you for.
We had this happen to us once. We priced a drive by sq meter.(written quote)
We ordered direct from Eatons and had to have full packs for both the main colour and the charcoal border.
We had three quarters of a pack left on both colours. Enough to do another small job we had booked in.
Went back to pick them up and the guy had moved them all round to the back garden. He said he had paid for them and they were his. Wrong, he paid for x amount of sq meters and what was actually delivered was more as proved on the delivery ticket.
He was not a happy bunny bringing them all back round to the front of the house, even though we helped him.
Might not have cost a lot but they were not his. Simple.
We left him some just in case he had any oil stains etc. :)
 
There was no official invoice. I know, I know! It was sort of a gentleman's agreement, based on trust. There was an exchange of text messages and lots of talk, but nothing to suggest how the work was to be billed, other than the price for doing the job - and that has its own implications.

Left over materials never specifically came up in conversation. The pavers weren't cheap (we had to pay extra over the all-one-colour he was suggesting) and I suspect he may want to use them on other jobs, or return to merchant for a credit of which he obviously gets the benefit.

I told him I'd moved them around back and he seemed a little surprised, but didn't say anything. I think there are a lot of assumptions going around, but politeness prevents direct discussion. He then asked if he could have 6 of them for another job and I agreed. It then turned to 16 (he's just this hour collected them) and he let it slip that they're only to put underneath plant pots! Seems excessive.

I won't argue over 16 pavers, as he's gone the extra mile on the job (he had to replace a drain that was cracked and helped me lay my armoured elec & cat5 to the garage) but I'm reluctant to allow any more as I want to use them for a project in my back garden. It might be an idea to crack on with that, so he can't take any more. ;)
 
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Haggisman said:
Check your invoice, if you've been billed for materials and labour separately then you've simply bought the materials through him and then paid him to "install" them.

If you've been billed for the "job" then he's simply brought an excess of his own materials and they are still his.

All IMO of course :p
Click to expand...
Thats pretty much how i would get my head around it. Only way to find out is to ask.
 
maybe pay him to lay them in the back garden for you so then its no hard feelings? That way he's got something in his pocket and if you've been happy with his work you know its done well.
 
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