Why don’t builders start and finish a job?

[Malteser71]

Genuine question. Is there a perfectly good explanation?

We had a patio laid last spring. They said it would take about seven days, it took them five weeks, they started well but seemed to start other jobs, then didn’t come here some days.

It was particularly annoying because this was during the good weather of the first lockdown, so the garden was basically out of use for five weeks to my ‘locked up’ children. They also presented us with a bill based on a daily rate (including days they hadn’t turned up), which of course we disputed and didn’t pay in full. They agreed it was their mistake snd all ended amicably.

I’m having another patio laid at the moment, I’ve chosen a different builder who has done work for us before and who is charging a rate for the job, not per day.

He said it would take two days (it’s not very big) and asked (last Thursday) if he could come last weekend to do it, much earlier than we expected, he had a cancellation. We hadn’t bought the flags at that point, and we were clear that the job would have to be finished over the weekend (for various reasons) and that we would go out and get everything required.

Having worked really hard all day on Saturday, he didn’t turn up on Sunday. On Monday he arrived and moved his cement mixer and cutting machine without telling us he was here. The new patio is half finished.

I know he’s going to finish it, but it’s due to rain after today. Why don’t they just finish a job? Has any else had this experience?

What is he actually trying to say?

Omg I thought it was just me. If I did my job as incompetently as 99% of the tradesmen I’ve hired I’d be fired really fucking quickly. There seems to be an accepted base level of incompetence. The only job I’ve ever had done on time with good communication and to a high standard was done by a woman.

Sorry @Veuvestar that made me laugh. If he’s working outside but still worried about covid why did he accept the job???

I’ve had five dates since a week yesterday where my scaffolder and roofer are starting work on a job due to last 4/5 days.

Still haven’t turned up and I’m fast losing my patience. I’m a customer, treat me with the decency of letting me know that you aren’t going to turn up!

And the roofer hasn’t answered my two voicemails....

No idea!
He started off ok and he was painting as the roofers were doing the roof and was really chatty.
I have an idea that the job is a bit too much for him.

I’ll never understand it. My husband is in the trade, own business and works alone. He never ever leaves a job unfinished. His calendar is choc full but all worked out so he and his customer know what’s happening. Delivery of materials is always on a Friday so he’s never waiting for anything to start and he just cracks on until it’s done and moves onto the next. If a new/potential customer can’t wait he just tells them he can’t fit them in, he wouldn’t leave one half way through to start another incase he lost that job.

My DH is a builder and he would never do this at someone’s home (when on site they work a bit differently)

He just did a patio for someone, and told them it would be finished in 10 days. It was actually 8.

He had already factored in how long it would take to wait for digger/skip to arrive etc. That is just how he works, and probably why he is always booked up so far in advance.

I have though, before I met DH, experienced builders who disappeared off every five minutes, sometimes for days at a time. Did not tidy up properly after themselves. Worst of all, didn’t come BACK to finish the little bits that really needed finishing to make it look nice.

Maybe ask for references in future if you are bringing someone in to do a biggish job?

I fortunately know a builder. Last time we had major work done we arranged for it to be done when we were on holiday. He also fed the cat for two weeks, but he is a friend so I was happy about this.

DH and DS built a patio in the garden early last summer it took three weeks because they had never done it before. We do small jobs ourselves, I think that a lot of builders don’t like small jobs, seems harder to get them.

Out of interest, the materials for our patio cost about £400, it’s about 12x8 ft. What sort of prices are you paying for your patios?

I think my painter has been, put the ladder against the front of the house and then disappeared again!

This isn’t funny, the ladder is right outside my front door and he’s been gone for at least 2 hours now

Did he turn up @Veuvestar or had he seen 2 sparrows chirping at each other and got scared again

I was out this morning so not sure what time he turned up, but was gone when I got back at 11.45.
Then he worked from about 2 and was gone by 3.45.
I’ve got so many issues with the work he’s done and he said yesterday that he would be finished on Saturday. I don’t think so!!

I’m currently going through this. So frustrating. Begged for the job (refurbishing a room) last November, swore blind it would definitely be finished by Christmas. Went on and on about how he liked to provide a professional service and how valued his customers were.
Well, six months later, guess what. I know there’s been a lockdown so he couldn’t come those weeks, but outside of that.z
Every week he swears “100%” he’ll be there at 9 on the dot the following Thursday. So far the excuses each week (always late on a wed after I’ve contacted him to re-confirm) have included:
Waiting for a Covid result
Forgot he was on holiday this week
Just forgot “but this is so unlike me, it’s not how I work normally”
Waiting for another Covid result
Forgot he was on another holiday
I have all the texts!! It’s like a joke. I’ve been so polite up till this week but this Thursday (after I sat in and waited for him all morning) I sent him an annoyed text saying that other tradesmen are waiting to access the room and I keep having to put them off (true).
He apologised profusely - “this is not how he works normally” - his carpenter would finish the work and would contact me ASAP. He’d do anything to make it up to me, I’d hear from him by 5pm with a date etc.
But 24 hrs later and no word from the carpenter and no response to another text from me. Really really pissed off!!!!

The work is 3/4 finished by the way and now has ground to a dead halt. Weasel!

Jesus, these stories are horrendous. No wonder the good builders are so busy

I've used a builder on several occasions who is v. honest about this - he mainly does 'big jobs" eg house extensions, and then fits "smaller jobs" such as laying a patio, or re-pointing a house, in between those, to make the best use of his team. I'm always a smaller job and it means a lot of chasing, and a degree of flexibility about when they're going to start BUT the quality of the work is high, and he does at least communicate once he's actually committed to a date. He's highly in demand, and I've just been told that the earliest date he's got available is October!

They are so frustrating. I think they accept the job, do a bit of the work just to commit you to them, then they feel they have your job in the bag, you are trapped and they can pick the job up whenever they feel like it.

In my experience Eastern European tradesmen are much more professional and hard working. They come when they say they will, do the job to a high standard and there's no messing about. There's probably a cultural thing in the UK where apprentices learn all these bad behaviours while serving their time so it continues to the next generations of tradesmen.

I suffer so much anxiety with this kind of thing I let my husband deal with it all. Ive only got work done when absolutely necessary. Thankfully, our biggest jobs have been done but still waiting on fiddly bits getting done. Like the other poster, my anxiety is terrible with stuff like this. Don't get me wrong, I understand there are delays with weather and equipment. I try to make allowances but know some people who have had some difficulty with jobs.

Plasterer due to do one or two days work, starting today. Been booked for months. Needs to be done before 17th May, when the decorating starts. Also been booked for months.

Text late last night, just not going to be able to make it because of issue with his current job. Next availability is late June.

I'm totally fed up with the likes of him. We've just had a major garden renovation and they've left so much half finished because it took longer than they thought it would. Where's the professional pride?

Reliable and skilled builders/plumbers/carpenters are like gold dust. We have lived in our house for a very long time and (after some disasters in the past) it's only really this year that we feel we finally have a trusted set of trades and are therefore comfortable to embark on some of the big projects we have wanted to do for a long time.

So far this year we have without any delays completed:
Replaced hot water system
Gutted and remodelled en-suite bathroom
Refloored and decorated master bedroom
Renovated gallery staircase and landing, flooring about to go down over the weekend
Gutted guest suite and replaced kitchen

Next on the list:
Guest suite bathroom (commencing next week)
Guest suite flooring booked in for 3 weeks time
Decorating hall, stairs & landing booked for July
Flooring dining room and sitting booked for July
Full kitchen & scullery gutting and remodelling - in planning stages

Learning from past mistakes, we agree the price up front for each job in total for the finished work. In a few cases I have provided a deposit to cover the costs of expensive materials e.g glass panels for staircase and for bathrooms & kitchen I have paid for the units/fittings directly, using the trade discounts of the plumber/kitchen fitter. But there is always a significant balance including all the labour that is only paid on full completion of all works. I always pay on the day work is completed, this seems to be much appreciated and means they are keen to work for us again.

Greed

Projects rarely go to plan but in order to secure business they will quote too favourably on both time and price. It is generally difficult to get customers to pay more, so when the overrun becomes apparent they will take shortcuts to get out at the scheduled time, moving on to the next job.

Let's say there are five theoretical projects and each is quoted for five days at £100. The tail end of each project generally spins the project out so they are in danger of not starting the next one and that has a knock on effect.

So the answer is to get to 90% completion and take £90 and get out every Friday. At the end of five weeks that's £450. The alternative of taking that extra time means that only four jobs would have been started and completed by the end of the fifth week. That's only £400.

It may be a bit simplistic, but with the smaller jobbing builders there is nobody to hold them to account. Of course, if they stuck their mobile phones away so they were not looking at Betfair 365 or Adultsex.com with coffee break every 60 minutes while on customer time they may achieve so much more.

It's just awful, shoddy, crap workmanship and lack of professionalism.
Why do they do it? Because they can.
I've learned you need to be a ballbreaker because otherwise things don't get done.
E.g., tell him he gets his arse around in the next 2 hours otherwise he will not be getting paid. Obviously flower it up a bit but speak the language of money. It is what talks, ultimately.

I have a builder neighbour who explained this. He called it 'opening up a job.' He said once he had opened up a job, it was his. No other builder could take it on. He works with his son and then run between 12 and 20 jobs at a time. They have absolutely no intention of finishing them off one by one, they keep a running schedule of opened jobs. They all always weeks and often months behind. When I asked if people got angry he just laughed and said, 'We don't take notice of that. What are they going to do when we've opened up the job?'

That's the thing, though. It only persists because people put up with it.

I wonder how your neighbour would react if the clients just said "you've started but I want the job finished in x days, otherwise you're not getting any payment from me and I'll leave your tools on the pavement for collection". They probably wouldn't care as they have 19 other jobs on! But, I bet if everyone did this it would quickly weed out the shit ones.