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Property/DIY

Extension chaos and adjusted quotation

4 replies

Extensionmire · 23/10/2017 15:42

Okay
So we have employed a construction company with 25 years experience in the area.
We required a kitchen extension with cloakroom and utility spaces.

We started early July and it's not finished yet. Original quote said 6-8 weeks. We allowed for 10-12 weeks. We're now approaching 16 weeks later.

The extension itself was brilliant. The workmanship. Amazing. Done really fast. However, the finer details is where things start to fall down. Where the boiler is situated in the utility space, the pressure lever which should be outside was inside the house. The flue is extra long (but that's another story), to accommodate where it is now in relation to the extension. The floor wasn't complete as they were waiting for the bifold doors which arrived 4 weeks late from the supplier (not their fault, trying to cut corners by doing the flooring before the door arrived was).

We purchased the flooring, because they couldn't find flooring that matched. The rad they wanted to supply , I wish I could show you, it was white and not very modern. We requested the silver towel rad, but they couldn't get it from their supplier. So we supplied it.

Light switches were placed on the walls out of alignment. The doors to the utility and cloakroom, couldn't close without locking you in there. They are on runners and they don't close properly. The sink in the cloakroom is leaking.

We didn't get them to fit the kitchen (thank god), but when they said they were finishing up, we got our kitchen installers in. We had to stop work because of the floor situation. Did I mention that after the door arrived they didn't fit it properly. There is nothing holding it up in the frame except filler. It's a bifold door and the middle doesn't open.

Anyway move forward a cuople more weeks where nothing has happened in my home. Our gasman who came to fix our boiler (holes in the pipes, nothing to do with extension), on checking the flue pulled it apart from the join and we had a leak in our house (ruining the ceiling of my brand new lovely extension. Dripping onto cupboards that had been put in place.

Anyway, it turns out the ktichen fitters know another builder, who has carpentry skills (and equipment, don't want to tell you about the cut of the skirting boards). They offered to do the work and we have come to a an agreed price. We have yet to pay our original company the last payment (snagging list had over 20 items listed). And we had money for the installation anyway and for the decorating.

The original guy said that he would still do the electric work and plumbing required. Which is fine, as the others are carpenters and flooring people.

One of the reasons we went with the new people is that the original guy kept saying we were talking about aesthetics. It's just aesthetics, implying we were being picky, our thoughts is that it's our house, and so our requirement is for the asethetics to please us.

Anyway. When we said, they should just finish up the electrics and the plumbing the owner of the company wanted to know how much the new builders were going to cost as well as the products we have purchased. To adjust the invoice. Our thoughts were that he ought to work out how much up supplying and fitting were separately (the quote shows them as a complete price) and adjust accordingly. I mean regardless of how much the flooring costs, it must know how much it would cost to lay the amount of flooring and since that was not complete and poorly done, adjust accordingly. For the record we're not saying we should not pay for any labour where things have gone wrong, but on the basis it needs to be re-done, we think there should be a reduction in the labour costs, given we now have to pay someone else to fix it.

We have suggested that to the owner but he hasn't replied yet. If you've managed to get this far (thank you), but what do you think about this invoice. We know we have to pay something more just can't believe it would be the entire last amount. Considering all of the above.

OP posts:
TeamRick · 23/10/2017 19:12

No advice I'm afraid but now 6 months into a 12 week extension so a helpful bump! I feel your pain!

Extensionmire · 24/10/2017 09:05

TeamRick Noooo! Thanks for the support, but I seriously cannot be living like this for another three months - I'm hosting Christmas this allegedly.

OP posts:
whiskyowl · 24/10/2017 09:11

First of all, the snagging issues you are listing are not "aesthetics". They are a matter of basic competence.

I don't have much in the way of specific advice, other than to get this straightened out BEFORE you proceed. You need to get an understanding about how much you owe the old company, and how much you'll pay the new. Christmas is relatively unimportant compared to this - the extension is for the rest of your time in the house. I think you need to see invoices for the materials you're going to accept and I think it's reasonable to expect a discount on the price of bad labour.

Extensionmire · 24/10/2017 12:59

He hasn't come back in response to my email.

But we've got the the new guys started already. They were already there for the kitchen installation. He has accepted in writing that the workmanship was not up to scratch and that he's happy for them to continue, so it's ironing out the money. Although my husband just told me about the electric circuit thingy has the labels wrong. So the washing machine is run by the label saying cooker as an example. Not an issue that can't be fixed easily enough, but shouldn't have to be fixed.

I view a discount on bad labour as to be the least it could do for us. But a response right now, would do for me.

OP posts:
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