Just had a falling out with my builder

[Itsgettingbetter]

Having our bathroom done. Admittedly I'm not paying for all of it myself - I'm a housing co-operative tenant, so the organisation pays for basics but I've gone for extras so it looks contemporary and am paying for these myself.

The ceiling is uneven and the labourer and his boss are suggesting filling a significant gap with plaster. I'm going for a high standard finish but they're suggesting it's the best they can do. I had firm words with the labourer this morning about the importance of finish (for example they've installed a crappy looking dimmer switch). Maybe I'm paranoid but I imagine they look at me, single mum, social housing tenant and are not trying their best.

The boss called to discuss something minor then bought up the talk I'd had with the labourer about the tiles. I said 'that would look crap.' He maintained, 'there's no other option' then contradicted himself saying 'we want you to be happy and we'll let you know what the options are.' Communication has been poor and the job is in it's fourth week. In the end we ended up squabbling, with him complaining that the job has been for too long (due to the inefficiency of his labourer).

I feel vulnerable as I live alone with my son. The 'boss' pops around while I'm out and don't want them disrespecting my home while I'm out. Plus the labourer is holding a set of my keys while on the job and I'm worried about security...

I'm struggling to sympathise as I walk past my avocado green bathroom suite. I'd give anything for a new bathroom, let alone one completed to a high end finish.

Having lived in plenty of forces accommodation, and suffered whilst those houses where being repaired, I feel for you.

Tender goes out, company picked, crap work done, or that’s how it seems to be.

Yanbu to expect the work being done to be of a good standard.

I think as another pp pointed out, it's not "your" builder and that seems to be the problem.
He will have been contracted to do the basic level of work by the Housing Co op I'd expect.

They will be paying the lowest rate possible for a passable job. He might also be on a tight time schedule, hence the complaints that this job is taking too long? Has he even declared that he's doing extras at your house to the HA he's working for? Is he showing you receipts for the extra materials he's supplying? I'd hate for him to rip you off.

I'm sorry you're not happy with what they're doing. Of course you're entitled to expect the quality finish you've agreed. You're paying for it! The fact you're a tenant is bloody irrelevant.

All I can advise is to not pay anything upfront as that will give you a bargaining tool in negotiations. And stick to your guns!
If you feel intimidated and unable to argue with the builder can you enlist a friend or family member to be present when you next speak to him?

Some crappy comments on here.You deserve a nice place to live. i wonder do you have anyone male who can help back you up? Sometimes builders can be crap with women.

YANBU. You're paying for something that ultimately the housing co-op will benefit from. I don't think it's unreasonable to not want a wonky ceiling.

Any good builders worth their salt will do the best they can manage on whatever the budget may be. So it may not all be chrome and modern, but the mastic (dunno) and attempt at a finish should be to a good standard with what they're given. I.e. You can't polish a turd but you can use your skills to attempt to make it better.
Difficult to know without seeing yours OP but it's definitely a thing that SOME put in less effort for renters compared to a home owners. I have different shades of white tiles, some with cracks on and my landlord went ape when he saw the crap job -notthatitwasreplaced-

Some of you are literally hovering for a good opportunity to leap on a story you can twist.
The woman wants a builder to do his best whatever her financial situation is.

Show is the picture of the ceiling and we can give you our opinions if they are taking advantage. Is that them saying the ceiling is done?

Again, I'm confused about the light switch, you say that they installed a crappy cheap looking one, but you also say you paid for a nice one? Or am I reading that wrong? Obviously if you paid for something that they haven't installed you have rights and it's theft.

FFS some really catty comments on here. For a lot of people in this day and age getting onto the property ladder is beyond their means. The deposit you'd need in some areas just isn't attainable for ordinary people. So fuck off with the 'save for your own house' comments.

I don't think the op wanting the work finished to a decent standard makes her ridiculous.

My 90 grandmother got a grant from the council to have her bathroom redone so she could bathe etc independently. She paid extra to upgrade a lot of things. She's very house proud and was particular about the finish, but hey I suppose she should have just thought herself lucky that she has a roof over her head, and not been upset when initially the work was shoddy.

I can’t see any difference in the position if you were a home owner. You can expect a decent finish. Some items like light fixtures and taps etc should be specified on the schedule.

Ask for a site meeting with the boss and explain your concerns and write a list of amendments you would like. All jobs have ‘snagging’ at the end and this is no different. Four weeks is a long time but I assume that’s not full time?

We live in our own home and the bathroom suite has been in 29yrs. It's avocado green. Because mum was struggling to raise us and buy a house she couldn't afford a new suite. Now she's retired and will probably never be able to afford it. Count your blessings.

What on earth is wrong with the OP paying extra for a nicer finish and expecting a decent result? The difference between basic bathroom fitting and nice ones is tens of pounds not thousands. The bathroom will benefit any future tenant too.

I'd love a dimmer switch in a bathroom, it would be so much more relaxing. Again it costs tens of pounds not hundreds or thousands. I'd go without meat for a couple of weeks to pay for it if I needed to - no harm done and lasts much longer than a chicken dinner!! (Even a MN chicken)

It sounds like this has been arranged and managed by numpties - its not hard to tell the OP what tiles they planned to use and let her choose an upgrade and pay this difference, same with the light switch.

I agree that a lot of builders do try to pull a fast one when dealing with HAs and get away with the minimum. That is taking the piss out of the tax payer.

Count your blessings because some people have green bathrooms.

I've seen it all now 🙄🙄😂

Insomnibrat the fact your mum can't afford a bathroom suite is sad but completely irrelevant. It doesn't mean other people can't have nice bathrooms.

Some people have green bathrooms yeah stop complaining, at least it's not Avacado!

I fitted a 2nd hand kitchen myself (no prior DIY experience). A few months later my ex gf had a new kitchen put in by the housing association.

I managed to do a far, far better job than they did. They weren't kitchen fitters or builders, they were just cheap handymen doing the work.

Ergo, YABU to expect a high standard of finish from them. If you want a proper job doing, you'll have to pay proper job rates.

This is really hard to judge.

Firstly four weeks is excessive so I am going to guess this isn’t the first disagreement?
Secondly, when you paid for the dimmer switch did you specify what kind? They may have quoted for thr basic one.
The ceiling repair , what have they been paid to do.

It’s not about finish solely, it’s about what they have been paid to do. You cannot ask for more than you or the co op have paid for. Well you can but you’d be unreasonable to complain if they said no.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA
Just be thankful you aren't this lady op,

Link is an avacado bathroom sketch.

It's also important to ensure it's clear to everyone (builder and handyman)what you are paying for and what the H-Co are subsidising.

The parts you aren't paying for will be done to a satisfactory/ livable standard. If you don't think that is the case then complain to your landlord about that area of work.

It would be clearer all round if you supplied and paid for the materials (tiles, fittings) that you are paying extra to be fitted. Or at least specify which are to be bought and request a receipt for those.

Bloody ridiculous to say 'you're a tenant so you have to put up with any old shit from builders'. Which is basically what's been said. OP I would speak to your housing people tomorrow and say you're not happy and want whoever booked this firm to have a word, because as it stands you're not happy to pay your share.

I don't think that's what's being said butterymuffin. But they'll be on a budget. OP is a tenant and is dependent upon the HA to do right by her and others in her block. It's not really within her power to ensure excellent work. She should assume her HA can assure her this. That's a whole other thread though.

It's an issue to raise with the HA because the builders are not really OP's builders. She didn't hire them. She's not paying their wages. She's paying for extras but the quality of the works is only as good as the HA is willing to invest in. Hopefully this means good work which ensures comfort and safety for tenants.

Love the Avacado bathroom sketch! OP's quiet though.. maybe it is avacado and she can live with that.

I'm struggling to sympathise as I walk past my avocado green bathroom suite

Been there. Avocado corner bath and a carpet so piss sodden that we had to replace the floorboards underneath (why we bought that house remains a mystery).