Bodge,bodge, bodge!! Why do they do it?

[Squidgems]

Gap behind kitchen wall tiles large enough to put tip of finger in.

Grouting floor tiles after putting plinth heater in.

Cutting shorter plinths lengths first then having to put a join in longest plinth length.

Knowing that laminate flooring to be laid in lounge and hallway but doing them separately so now need a threshold strip. Also angling flooring to go next to the architrave instead of under it.

Why oh why did they do these things? And then worst of all make you feel that you are being petty for noticing these things and bringing it to their attention.

What things have workmen done in your house that they thought was acceptable but clearly wasn't?

And I forgot to add that chucking out instructions for thermostatic shower, gas hob, chimney hood (and possibly the ones for the electric oven too) apparently is okay as well in the builder's book of stupid things to do. But I'm even stupider for not ensuring they gave them to me before they got rid of the rubbish. 😔

I grew up with a dad who took his time and did everything perfectly. Hence I really notice these poorly executed details and HATE having tradesmen in. But with a husband who's about as handy as a wet dishcloth, not only do we have to pay people, but it all falls to me to liaise with them. You want to be nice to them, make them cups of tea and have them enjoy working with you but then it makes it harder to grumble about things they've done that you don't like - I find it extremely stressful.
Do others just live with their tradesmen's errors and misjudgements or do you insist they're put right?

Nobody will care about your home as much as you do :-(

Keep trying new workmen and asking people for recommendations until you find one with standards. And then use the people they recommend. And make clear everything that you can think of that should be bleeding obvious up front.

Of course the good people tend to be booked up way in advance.

I had an incredibly meticulous builder and it was the reason I chose him.

He also sub contracted a very tidy plasterer who genuinely did not look like he had been plastering at the end of the day and an electrician who swept up any bits of wire he dropped down to the floor etc because the builder wouldn't work with anyone who messed up his work space.

He also put rubbish into the skip in a very organised manner, utilising every bit of space.

It just shows a lack of experience and common sense when someone throws out instruction booklets or doesn't plan ahead with things like long runs of plinth etc.

It would worry me greatly if they were in my house.

I've used A LOT of tradesmen. Most have been OK... I have finally found a company of which all are meticulous almost like I am. Keep searching, they are out there!

I keep trying different people and the current guys have some good points. Thy have done the smoothest plastering of all plastering I've ever had done. But, and there's always a but, they didn't lift the sockets but just plastered around them. They are laying laminate and the skirting is off as it is being replaced but they won't cut the architrave to slide the laminate under it, even though I have asked about it. The response is we've been doing this for years and know what we are doing. I'm tired of asking why they are doing this or why aren't they doing that! I know that tradesmen hate customers looking over their shoulders querying everything and I've heard it makes them want to rush to finish jobs to get away from certain customers.

Yes NotCitrus, if I ever have any more work done (which just the thought of it makes me feel ill) I will make sure I discuss EVERYTHING to be done and get it written down how I want it done (within reason of course).

We got a high powered new oven that required a very particular cable to handle the power. So we got an electrician in. And what did he do? He just attached a normal cable which we could have done ourselves! Oven conked out as soon as we turned it on! Luckily it didn't break but we had to get the electrician back in to put things right. He had not even looked at the manual! Grrr

We're just doing all the work ourselves. Too much evidence of previous bodge makes us highly skeptical of all tradesmen especially as many of them don't seem to get the difference between a 21st c new build and an old Victorian terrace. I'm sure some do but they are few and far between. Feel your pain though OP.

You are so fortunate ISaySteadyOn in having the ability and confidence to do the work yourself. In my next life (if there is one) I hope I can be a good DIYer or ensure I get together with someone who is!

Heh, I say we. I mean DH mostly. I help by occupying small DC as that works better with my dyspraxia. I am learning small bits though.

Joining in with the moan - turns out our builder has been building our extension marginally too big, which in theory means we're breaching planning permission. It's only around 10cm out, so not sure if we should just assume it's ok or ask him to redo!

Good news - found instructions (except for shower ones) in oven. Also had laminate floor and skirting fitted today.

Not so good is that they did this 😲.

Blimey - I could do a bodge job like that - you pay to get people who can do it properly, don't you? on your behalf!

My h¸eart races at the thaught of calling a pro for exactly this reason. Costs a fortune and I, the total newbie, can do a better job most of the time. Even paying for higher quote does not get me a nice job. Now I learn and do it myself when ever I can.

That's it you expect so much then end up feeling disappointed. This is also mixed up with guilt because the two guys have arrived dead on time each day and have worked solidly each day on the bathroom, kitchen and lounge. The bathroom is lovely, and stand back and the lounge, kitchen and hallway floor are too. But then I look at a lot of little things and I feel upset.

The devil is in the detail.

That would drive me mad, thats a really poor finish. However, the work involved in moving the socket up the wall so that the skirting board does not have to be cut is quite involved even though it looks like a small job - electrician / plasterer etc, and then fitting the flooring underneath the door frame would mean that they'd have to cut a piece of the door frame off and then put it back on afterwards and try to minimise the visibility of the join (unless they were taking off the whole door frame etc). What did the quote include? Did they say for instance that your plug sockets were too low (we had exactly the same issue and as soon as the builder walked in he said "all your sockets will need to be raised" and quoted accordingly).

I agree that you need to be (a) clear with what you want and that you'll pay for the work involved in getting the finish you want and (b) keep looking for brilliant tradespeople - they are out there!

I think it's fair to say you aren't being too fussy. That's poor!

Not so good is that they did this

Fuuuurck!

They 100% shouldn't have just bodged it. Should have come to you, noted the problem and said what the options were 1) bodge it or 2) do it properly at [x] expense and time. They you could have made an informed decision.

Like "hey, your sockets are too low for the skirting board". Here are the options 1) cut skirting board 2) get electrician to move socket, will need a bit of touch up plastering, will probably cost [x] and delay our work by [x] but we could come back [date]. Can get electrician round if you like?

Don't think they woudl have needed to have take chunk of the door frame off - could have done some careful (but time consuming so extra £) fitting of the finishing strips.

I think I would live with the plug socket but have them re-do a better fit of the finishing stips around the door.

Grr - gardens very similar. Next Door got someone in to cut back the shrubs and huge climbing rose pulling down the fence between our gardens (their fence). He's butchered everything - "shaping" my lovely pittosporum has resulted in it being cut flat along the top right into my garden, and square down their sides. The shrubs in the hedge with overgrown rose through them needed pruning properly and the rose needed cutting back, but all he's done is roughly square them off. The neighbours are lovely but don't know much better - he's left them a short haystack that will be a massive haystack in June. That's tomorrow out hedge sorting then.

laminate fitting at doorways: see 25secs in on this video, and 3'30"

I am not fond of woodwork, but I have a multicutter. Places like Aldi and Argos have a budget version at around £30

I fear your fitter is not even DIYer.

the older way, with a handsaw

As Pigletjohn has pointed out above, there's a video on YouTube for just about everything these days

Just read the comments below to see where the diyer making the video went wrong, watch a couple more so you understand things and get on with it yourself

In the last couple of weeks we have plastered, wired, painted, plumbed and decorated our way through 2 rooms and are just fitting a new bathroom at the moment, hopefully this will be finished by the weekend so I can get the carpet laid and then on to the guest room the week after

That leaves one week till Christmas to finish sorting the heating most of which has been done in each room as we go along and will just need joining along the hallway

If no one else will do it to your standards then learn and get on with it if you can, most stuff isn't difficult once you understand things

One of the things I will definitely be teaching both of my girls is how to do a lot of diy jobs themselves so they have the confidence to give things a go as and when they leave home