Moan-about-the-builders

[pamplem0usse]

We're coming to the end of a 50k renovation project, that we're very lucky to have been able to do.
It's been massively stressful not helped by the fact the builders have clearly been 'on the make'. Attempts have been made to double charge us for work/ charge us for spurious work / charge us for work that hasn't been done / charge us for work that has been done very shoddily. We ended up getting independent advice because some of what has happened has been so awful.
Anyway I go around to the house today and decide that I'll put the shades onto the fittings and put the bulbs in. Oddly some of the shades had been attached, but several were still in boxes. I removed the shades from the boxes to find that they were all damaged (we hadn't been told about this). Clumsy attempts ahve obviously been made to fit them and damaged them in the process. So now we have £250 of damaged lights that the builder/project manager is blatently going to lie about. We've withheld some of the money (5%) due to a variety of ongoing issues with damp etc... but I don't know how far to push the lighting issue. Half of me wants to chase them in to court about these and some of the other horrendous things that have happened, the other half wants to chase them out of the house and as far away as possible :(
Anyone any other builders-from-hell stories???

Oh sounds shit

We've had a builder here for last two weeks. He's been fab. However had another chap start today to do the next stage of new roof etc (barn in garden) and he turned up at 9, left at 3.... Has laid one row of bricks on the piss & made a complete fucking mess.

According to other builder (who works 8-6 daily) if I'm not nice to new builder, he won t come back.

Sodding gits. Take them to the small claims court. Seriously, a friend of mine did this with some shoddy plastering, and he said that he just had to show the judge the photos and the judge practically laughed in the so-called plasterer's face.

Sorry to hear you are having to deal with this. Some builders do need to be kept on a tight reign (it's part of my job) but sometimes even then they will take the piss. Don't pay your final payments until its sorted as that is the only real hold you have over them as a householder. However make sure you are reasonable with your demands or you could find them chasing for payment (I'm not saying you are, it sounds like you are reasonable but I have come across people who withhold payment for very unreasonable reasons )

Thanks all.
We've withheld payment (of £3500) because there is a major damp issue created by the window they put in not fitting properly. There are also £500 of damaged/faulty bathroom accessories and lights. We've paid someone else to resolve a number of the issues (we won't be passing this charge on, we just couldn't be bothered battling) which include holes left in floorboards, hearths concreted with a 5cm 'step' in the middle, skirting not completed, wires pinned to walls in places rather than chased through, things charged for but not supplied, cheaper products supplied but more expensive ones charged for. There is about £1000 of work for which our surveyor considers we've been overcharged for (We won't be making a bit deal of this). £15,000 of work was suggested as necessary but our surveyor basically said was spurious. The bathroom had to be re-tiled in its entirity after it was done so shoddily that a surveyor wrote 4 typed A4 sheets about the quality. It still isn't right, but again, we don't have the energy.
We have every intention of 'paying up' when the windows/lights/bathroom accessories issue is sorted, but the builder is currently holding us to ransom refusing to provide building control certificates for work already completed and paid for. Wonky (if you're still reading!) would be within our rights to tell him that if these aren't supplied we'll arrange an inspection ourselves and knock it off the £3500?

It's difficult to say without knowing full ins and outs, as it could backfire on you. My first suggestion would be to have a quiet word with building control assuming that you have gone with the council rather than a private inspector (that's what most householders do) , if the inspections already been done and paid for they may be able to just provide you with copies of the certificates. However my concern with just getting an inspection done is that with the quality of work so far you could find further things that are not up to scratch and find you wouldn't get sign off anyway.
Is your surveyor not assisting you with these difficulties with the builder. As a professional I would expecting him to provide you with advice and options on how to proceed under your contract. Look very carefully at the wording of your contract with the builders and see what your rights are with regards to redress. What contract are you using?
In someways it's hard to advise as tbh the projects I get involved in I wouldn't let the builder get as far as he seems to with yours without sorting out some of these issues along the way. This is one of the advantages of employing a good architect, we don't just do pretty drawing but we sort out all this crap and save you the hassle of sorting it yourselves, it often saves money in the long run (sorry I digress) Also as householders it's easier for them to pull the wool over your eyes as you don't know the ins and outs of legislation and your rights.
So what I'd advise is to go back and read your contract. Talk to building control (a lot of them are very approachable). Talk to your surveyor and ask his advice.