Francis Jackson Homes are dedicated to excellence in the design and construction of the homes we build and are here to support you from reservation through to handover and into Customer Care.
Post completion, the delivery of our Customer Care service is managed in house by our own dedicated team. This service is centred around our online customer portal, Clixifix. On or around the date of completion you will be sent an invitation and details of how to access the portal, in addition you can use the links on our website to sign in or access the help sheet. The Clixifix portal also contains a library of useful information specific to your home.
When you purchase a new home from Francis Jackson Homes you can be confident that it has been constructed to our high standards. The home comes with a 10 year warranty from LABC providing a guarantee to cover any major structural defect to your home. For the first two of these 10 years, known as the Defects Insurance Period, we are here to support you in addressing and rectifying defects in our workmanship or materials that you bring to our attention. The guide below sets out our policy to meet this commitment and provide you with useful information for the handover and moving in process.
Whilst we do not arrange for formal pre-handover inspections with our purchasers, we are confident that our own internal procedures, including an inspection by our Directors, deliver a consistently high standard of finish. Please note, private snagging reports are not to be undertaken until Francis Jackson Homes have completed the snagging process for the property.
The property is ready for telephone and broadband connection; however, you will need to contact preferred suppliers regarding your requirements, we advise you allow plenty of time for this.
The fitting of customers’ own flooring is only permitted after legal completion. Please be aware that many of our properties have underfloor heating to the ground floor and if you are fitting your own carpets/flooring, the overall tog rating for the carpet/underlay or alternative flooring product must not exceed 2.5 tog to ensure the heating is not compromised.
There is no TV aerial fitted on your property but there is a cable connecting the TV outlets in the loft space. You can have an aerial connected to the cable coiled up in the loft. If you wish to install a satellite dish you should first seek permission from Francis Jackson Homes.
The Project Manager responsible for building your home will, where possible, provide you with the keys on completion and complete the handover. We appreciate that moving home can be stressful and therefore we operate a three-stage handover process.
Your Project Manager will take the relevant meter readings and store them on Clixifix for safe keeping. We will notify the relevant utility companies, thereafter you are free to organise your own suppliers.
Your Project Manager will also explain the following items:
Location of water main stop valve,
Location of electricity consumer unit,
Provide alarm code,
Explain heating settings,
Demonstrate BT incoming service and “Fibre to the home” point,
Answer any other questions you may have.
Within seven days of occupation, your Project Manager will arrange to meet you to provide an opportunity to answer any questions regarding your new home and how it works. If you have identified any defects in our workmanship or materials within the first week of occupation, this is the time to highlight these to our Project Manager. This is your opportunity to highlight any damage in the property, after this point items of this nature will be attributed to wear and tear.
Following the rectification of defects identified at this point we would respectfully ask that any other minor or non-emergency defects are noted until the Clixifix activation (after six months). Our Project Manager will explain the definition of these types of defects to you.
We are still committed to addressing any emergency defects that may occur between the seven day post-handover inspection and Clixifix activation. Examples of these defects are leaks to internal pipework, loss of power or loss of heating and hot water. In the unlikely event of such a defect occurring they can be reported to us by contacting our office by telephone on 01234 717700 or our customer service team by email: customercare@francisjackson.co.uk
If emergencies occur outside of office hours, please call an emergency tradesperson in the first instance to avoid further damage. We will provide further assistance the next working day.
Heating systems are covered by our two year warranty, strictly providing boilers/heat pumps and cylinders are serviced once a year by a registered engineer. This should include the checking and, if needed, re-charging of the expansion vessel.
The kitchen appliances are covered under the manufacturers’ two year warranty, please promptly register the appliances directly with the manufacturer to benefit from this.
If your home has an air source heat pump installed, we will be arranging for an engineer to attend your home to explain how the heat pump works and discuss all elements of ongoing operation. The engineer will be able to offer expert advice on matters such as personalised settings for heating and maximising the efficiency and future servicing requirements.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the soft landscaped areas of your home have been maintained prior to your occupation. With new turf and especially new shrub and tree planting it is very important to ensure these areas are regularly watered and maintained until fully established.
After six months of occupation our Clixifix system will be activated for you to report defects in materials or workmanship. Our customer care team will then contact you via Clixifix to arrange for an appointment to be booked for the defect(s) to be remedied by a member of our team.
Please note that in accordance with your LABC warranty, we do not attend to minor shrinkage cracks. We will repair nail pops (small disks of plaster that occasionally fall from the ceiling) and shrinkage cracks in excess of 4mm.
For the remainder of the two year Defects Insurance Period you will be able to raise items of concern or points of discussion with our Customer Care team through the Clixifix portal.
Full details of the 10 year LABC Warranty that covers your home can be found in the LABC documentation in the Clixifix portal, on our website and www.labcwarranty.co.uk
We have produced a FAQs sheet that hopefully may answer some of the questions you may have regarding the details of your Warranty.
Mains operated smoke detectors with a battery backup are fitted in your home. It is recommended that you test the smoke alarms regularly. When the battery is running low an intermittent warning beep will sound. Please make sure that the battery is replaced with a new one immediately.
Francis Jackson Homes are built combining traditional materials and the most up to date construction methods and technologies, a lot of water is used in the construction of your house and time is needed for it to dry out fully. By heating your home, the water will evaporate causing shrinkage cracks in the finishes. These are perfectly normal. It is advisable to use heating sparingly, keep rooms well ventilated and leave any redecoration for at least 12 months to allow any initial shrinkage to occur.
Your home may experience efflorescence, this may leave white deposits on internal and external walls but causes no harm. Efflorescence is caused by salts coming out of the building materials. On external walls efflorescence will gradually disappear; internal walls can be brushed clean.
Keep an eye out for any water leaks in the heating system; a drop in pressure could indicate a leak in the absence of visible signs.
Never leave the central heating switched off for extended periods of time in cold weather. Keeping the system turned off can lead to freezing, burst pipes and damage to your home and possessions. Keep the system turned on, setting the room thermostat to around 10°C (50°F) with the programmer set to provide constant heat. In very cold weather even this may not be sufficient to stop the system freezing.
On the side of your radiators, near the top, you will find bleed valves which are used to free trapped air in the heating system. If it is necessary to bleed your radiators, you may need to re-pressurise the system afterwards.
Your new home has been built to current Building Regulation standards, which means it is highly insulated and carefully sealed to improve energy efficiency, comfort and reduce heat loss.
One result of this improved airtightness is that everyday activities such as cooking, showering, drying clothes indoors and even normal breathing create moisture in the air. If that moisture is not allowed to escape, it can settle on cooler surfaces such as windows, walls and ceilings as condensation.
Good ventilation helps remove this excess moisture and keeps your home comfortable, healthy and performing as designed. Mould growth gives warning that heating and ventilation needs increasing.
Trickle vents are the small vents fitted to your windows to allow a gentle flow of fresh air into your home, they work best when left open as part of your home’s normal day to day ventilation.
In summary:
Keep trickle vents open,
Open windows when cooking,
Ventilate bathrooms after showering or bathing,
Use extractor fans,
Avoid drying clothes indoors where possible.
The underground service pipe supplies water to your home. Upon entry, the pipe goes through a stopcock, which is normally located beneath the kitchen sink. It is important that you locate this main stopcock in case of an emergency. All water is mains fed. All WCs have an integral overflow, which means that any water discharging down the WC bowl at any time other than when the flush has been operated indicates that there is a fault and maintenance is required. Please note the following important information.
Your external tap is vulnerable if water is allowed to freeze inside the pipes. In the cold season, it is recommended to drain and protect it. This can be done by turning off the water supply to the outside tap using the isolator valve which is usually located under the kitchen sink. You then need to leave the tap on so that any remaining water can drain away. Once the cold weather has passed, you can turn the supply back on and start using the outside tap again.
All stopcocks should be operated once a year to keep them in good working order. Visible pipe joints and water-resistant seals should be checked regularly for leaks. Do not allow taps to drip. A dripping tap will stain the bath or basin and may result in frozen waste pipes in the winter.
Electricity is supplied to your home through your meter, located on an outside wall. The cables entering the box are the responsibility of the electrical company and must not be tampered with. Inside your home there is a ‘Consumer Unit’ which contains the master switch and individual MCB’s (miniature circuit breakers). Each circuit breaker will have been labelled by the electrician for easy identification. If an MCB is tripped, firstly disconnect the appliance you believe caused the problem, and then reset the switch. An MCB that continues to trip indicates faulty circuits/appliances; by resetting the MCB you cure a symptom, not the problem. If the MCB does continue to trip, either replace or repair the appliance before reconnecting.
Care must be taken when drilling into walls where cables may be hidden. Use a cable detector to locate hidden cables; if you are not confident contact an electrician. Electricity is highly dangerous and can kill. Do not undertake any electrical work in your home if you are not suitably qualified.
Please note the following vital information:
Switch off the main switch before attempting any work on an electrical circuit.
Unplug the appliance you are working on; this isolates the appliance completely.
Never use electrical appliances in the bathroom, the moist atmosphere can cause them to short circuit. Built-in shaver points fitted by an experienced electrician are exempt.
WARNING: Be careful when drilling into or nailing into walls. Electric cables, and in some cases pipes lie underneath. A cable detector will give positive recognition of cables and is available from DIY stores. A 6 inch/150mm vertical strip should be left fixing free around electrical outlets. If using power tools to drill holes, make sure you are protected by a circuit breaker.
If in doubt obtain the services of a qualified tradesman to carry out the work on your behalf.