In builder hell - is it usually like this?

[AhBiscuits]

I'm currently having an extension built. Fucking hell it is taking a long time. Already way past the estimated completion and I can't cope with the mess and chaos.

This is what happens every day

Arrive at 10
Give me an impressive sounding run down of what they plan to achieve.
Go for a shit
Stand around scratching their balls and pondering the job ahead.
Move some materials around.
11:30-1 lunch.
Actually do a bit of work
3pm declare they won't get everything finished but will come back first thing.

Repeat.

I cannot take this anymore, I regret starting the bloody thing.

How long past the estimated completion date? Do you have a contract?

Ours arrived at 7.30 and started work.
15 minute tea break at 10.00m
30 minute lunch break at 1pm
Left the site at 4pm.
Their last job every single day was to sweep the footpath and road outside the house.
They were brilliant.

It's a small job, single storey rear extension, just adding a few meters to the lounge. They said 6 weeks. It's been 9. We do have a contract. It's not surprising they are behind as some days they don't turn up and when they do they only do half a day.

Is there an architect supervising the project?

You need to put your foot down with them big time they are taking the piss. What have you paid so far ? Can you threaten to find someone else

Sounds like the ones my neighbour has at the moment, but you missed out talking on their phone in the van for 30 minutes when they arrive.

Sounds just like our builders when we had our extension done ! They spent most time in the back of their van, then fucking off early to the pub!!

Okay so they’re doing another project in parallel. Sometimes this is fair enough - many do in the final half when there is some slack waiting for specific tradesmen - but sometimes it is because the other client is more “noisy”.
Please tell me they’ve got a Portaloo?!
There’s little to be done except be more noisy and insist on some firm dates. It might also be worth having a fictional holiday after which access is not possible.
But frankly they own all the cards.

In my experience, builders start early, before 8am, so they can leave by 4pm. They can disappear to the Jolly Baker for an hour or so but yours sounds pretty useless. Pin them down to a schedule. Good luck.

Argh that woud drive me bonkers op!
I haven't experienced this, but do have tradies and builders in the family and I'm sure they'd never behave like this.
Are you on reasonably friendly terms still? Can you ask about some specific timescales and maybe start saying that you really x done by y because z, or even the whole project if it's shooting distance, then press them on whether that will happen? Basically, involve yourself in it more so they don't feel like they can drag it out and give you the run around so easily.
Good luck, it will be worth it in the end....

I totally sympathise OP, ours were just like this - on Fridays they would leave at 1 🫠 We were almost held hostage as when we’d point out, ‘oh you said have x finished today’ the boss would get funny and we’d ‘pay’ for it with other things seemingly going wrong all of a sudden. Ultimately we chose the wrong guys but had to stick it out until completion, they did a great job it just took 3 months longer than expected…

Staged payments and we've paid the vast majority now. Just the final sign off payment to go. There isn't loads left to do but they are really taking their time.

we've had experience of 2 recent building projects. Both using various contractors. Pretty much all of them turned up as early as they could - 7/7.30ish and worked solidly, unless there was a need to go and grab materials. Plus time to pop out for a cooked breakfast on Fridays. Usually they would head off around 2-3ish but this worked quite well with kids coming back from school. Some trades worked later till 7/8pm.

I think that you had the same builders as us @Stripeyanddotty, that was exactly their schedule. When we decided to use them we had to wait for ten months because they were so booked up but the started and finished the work exactly on the timescale they said so it was worth the wait. Five weeks for a single story kitchen extension and downstairs shower room.

One of my neighbours is getting an extension built, somewhat bigger than yours. It began before Covid and isn't finished yet...

I have never had a good experience with builders. You have to chase and chase to get anything done, nothing is ever done to time, and they’re always doing another project at the same time.
did they provide a project plan at the beginning? Can you say you need a project review meeting and go through every bit of the project and ask when that will be done? You need to get more sharp elbowed about holding them to time

Start writing everything down when you speak to them in front of them so they can see you are taking notes of the conversations about when are done. You might even repeat it back whilst you are writing it down. Have a list of questions ready to go.

I never had to do this. Like @Stripeyanddotty they turned up before 8, started work at 8, I made them a cup of tea whenever they asked and I told them to ask (I don't work so was at their beck and call) they grafted all morning, had lunch, grafted all afternoon and left around 4.30pm. The builder billed me his day rate x 5 on a Friday afternoon and I paid him directly into his bank account. All materials were ordered by him, passed me the phone and I paid the builder's merchant directly so all materials were owned by me. I paid all the subcontractors directly.

Just before they left each day they tidied up and hoovered. They only run one job at once so they can dedicate their time to it. The whole team were incredible, my plasterer looks like he lies about his job because he turns up pristine, plasters walls and it is as smooth as glass, leaves at the end of the day equally as pristine as when he arrived. It is an incredible thing to watch. And his radio is clean

And before anyone asks, no he isn't building anymore, he has retired.

Our builders were like this too. They had our kitchen extension up in a month. Unlike another builder we hired to convert a small downstairs room into a bathroom- took him 6 weeks!

I had the same builders as PP who came early left same time and had the owner on site for the whole build so the labourers couldn’t take the piss. Doesn’t help you tho. What’s happened is that as your job nears completion and you’re down to final payment they will probably have started their next job and resources will be being deployed there. This is the part where you do need to start making some (Polite, measured) noise about timescales, completion dates and snagging lists. It’s also the worst part as you’re out of enthusiasm and starting to regret the whole thing a bit like transition in labour. It will all be OK but if anything this is really common. I’ve been around trades all my life. Hence why I waited forever for the best ones locally for mine.

Speak to the owner of the company, and maybe there’s someone ‘in the office’ (probs his wife if it’s a guy) you could get on side with a conversation about how stressed you’re feeling at this stage I’m not knowing the revised timescales. They’ve probably got a lot of influence behind the scenes.

The ‘architect supervising the project’ comment made me actual laugh out loud.

This is our norm. Paid the upper end but worth it.

Sounds grim…. BUT maybe look at it this way… at least you have a builder. I have contacted loads and loads to do an extension. Most don’t respond. A few have been round and then ghosted me. 1 quoted a number that was so hilariously highly they clearly didn’t want the job…. So at this stage I would take even the crap builder

We’re at the same point, majority of work done and payments made but, oh my, have they slowed down. There will be no last payment until every item on the snag list is done.

It sounds a lot like our builders. Unfortunately like a PP said trying to actually get a builder to not quote then ghost and do the job was really difficult so in the end we did suck it up.

I think work can take longer than anticipated. We have a tradesman in doing work for us at the moment. He's great, turns up at 7.30am, works solidly and leaves at 3pm which is fine with me as DDs are about to get home from school. He's been here weekends too but even so, what was quoted as a 4 week job is going to have taken 7 weeks.

We're having a bloody awful experience. Used people we'd known for years locally as acquaintances thinking it meant they wouldn't mess us around but boy were we wrong. We're not actually living there at the moment (a long story to do with them) and not close enough to just pop in so rely on them for updates which is like pulling teeth. The last time we asked for an update it hadn't been provided a week later when we turned up to the house and discovered that the already twice delayed completion date was delayed again.

This week we've had "oops we installed a type of light you specifically said you didn't want" more delay if we get it changed. I just want it done and them out of their house which I told them.

We've had lies, security and safety issues on site and still they seemed baffled that we're not happy. Really wish we'd just moved to a bigger house.

Providing regular updates seems beyond them but they're fine with providing regular invoices.

There’s the issue then. IME even the best builders really start to slack off once they’ve had most of the money. They’re starting other jobs, they’ve run out steam a bit on yours, and they know you’ve got no real leverage because you’re desperate for them to finish so will put up with their BS. They’d rather upset you by stringing you along than piss off a new client who’s not paid yet.

I’ve shamelessly employed tears and hand-wringing a few times which will quite often get them moving again, but sadly you’re at their mercy at this point. Unless they’ve been like this throughout, in which case they’re unfortunately not good builders.