Home extensions 2017- the one where all builders are dickheads.

[monkeyfacegrace]

Link to the old thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/2847599-Home-Extensions-2017-come-along-on-the-journey

As you were ladies.

Ai surging? Meant is surviving

No more tired as hell posting for me

Well done devon!
Hi to everyone else!
Going ok here. Gave notice on our rented flat this week so the clock is definitely ticking. whatashower the tap arrived within 24 hours (gawd bless Amazon prime) and tis a thing of beauty so thanks again! Went fabric shopping today for 3 x sets of curtains (for the rest of the windows I’m ordering rollers/Romans from Blinds2Go) which was exciting. Even though we’re far from finished (even when we move back in there’ll be plenty to do around us) DH and I were talking tonight about how lovely a life without a constant nagging anxiety will be! We spent the first year in our house worrying about plans and finding a builder who could come in on budget, then when we appointed our builder we worried about finding somewhere to live and the logistics of moving, then since April the anxiety had escalated while the build has been underway. Mind you, I’ve been watching some of the Stand up to Cancer stuff on C4 tonight, and by god, it puts it all very much into perspective.
Wow- fabric shopping to cancer- I’ve excelled myself tonight

We’ve actually spent the evening trying to sack twatchops but he’s not having it!

He stood in my extension on Thursday (I was working from home) and told me he had to go because one of his other customers was having a kitchen fitted on Monday!

I said my kitchen was supposed to be fitted at the end of September & waved my arms in the general direction of the new kitchen stacked up around us!
He looked shifty, mumbled something about not having booked the kitchen fitter himself & left!

Arrggghhhhh!

Response! Really...... little confused I’ve had a plasterer/ plasterers there all week. I was on site this morning to change plaster board you said you would be there which may I add was my time. It is not my fault Electrician and yourself had different plans for cables. Your job would have been completed 2 weeks ago had it not been for this.
What is want me to do why it’s being plastered?

Regards
Charlie

Erm, the guttering, the boxing in of the steel, the front window, the stud wall??????

Maybe?

Ahah teamrick so twatchops has a name!! And it is Charlie!!!

Ha Tat yes! I couldn't be bothered to delete it! I did change electrician's. name!

Honestly! He promised me on Tuesday am, 2 plasterers boxing in & stud wall by the end of the week, and here we are again! Sigh!

Why won't he just give up & walk away, it's like some sort of torture!

Beautiful doors believe!

I wish he would find it, he might get some ideas on how a builder should actually run a project! Name! 😬

Hi
Could I join you guys please? I've just read back through all the posts over several cups of tea - wow!! Just wow to what some of you have been through.
Just got to the end of week 9 here of a pretty major remodel and loft conversion. No gable end on the house for about 7 weeks but actually pretty toasty in the 4 rooms we're squirrelled away in.
Hoping to pick the hive mind on loft lighting. As usual dithered for ages and first fix electrics next week. Loft has window at the gable end taking up about half the width and diameters of bedroom are about 8m long by 3.6m wide.
What I would love are ceiling to floor pendants on each side of window (well at corner on each side) which are like xmas baubles hanging down?! Does such a thing exist? No idea about rest of lights - not convinced about LED lights in bedroom. DH against any wall lights!!

Twatchops is sacked hooray! 🎈🍾😀😀

Shall we have a party!!!!!!

May the building gods rain their blessings upon you!

Welcome Peanuts! I’d warn you that although low hanging ceiling lights do exist and are quite fashionable, they are the most annoying things. You will constantly hit them when reaching out to the bedside table causing them to swing madly. They look lovely but are supremely impractical. Plus if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll think they’re a rope to swing from

Welcome peanuts! We had dimmable LED spots in our old loft bedroom, with reading lights built in to the wall near our respective sides of the bed. I think I would have preferred a pendant. This time we’re going for that, with the reading lights.

Well done rick and Cheerio Charlie!! Hope you’re not out of pocket? Have you got someone lined up who could finish things off for you?

About £3K outof pocket I think but a small price to pay to be shot of him!

We will try the small claims court & see how we go!
It’s such a relief!

Tat we had slready started paying other people to do stuff anyway!

Front window being fitted next week, the plasterer who did the boiler wall said he would help us out with any other odd bits if we were stuck & I got the card of the one who was here yesterday!

Someone coming to quote for guttering next week & DH watching YouTube videos of how to box in a steel! 👍 he was never fitting the kitchen anyway!

I think we’ll be ok

Thank you!! Our builder has just been round and mentioned ?? elephant nose spotlight to compensate for slant in loft roof - off to google now.... Will look at these and then maybe go for a pendant by the gable end window for mood lighting!
Well done Rick! Been reading your posts in horror....maybe you will be in for xmas.
Our builders have been amazing, the main guy was diagnosed with cancer the week before we started. He's had big op and back on site within 3 weeks despite us threatening to chase him away - pretty amazing man and feel lucky to have him. We're kind of just going with the flow because xmas isn't a reality our end.

Just read your full thread in an attempt to make me feel better - we just had the wall down between kitchen & diner in August and waiting for the kitchen to go in. Nightmare with electricians who we're waiting for now to sort out everything - joiner to fit the floor waiting to go as soon as electrician finished, then kitchen can go in. Despite many calls/messages for an update of likely date to come, he contacted the kitchen fitters instead of me to give them an update!

I feel so sick of it all as I've been the one chasing all the work people and have run out of energy for it. I'm most looking forward to the kick board drawers! Also have used the one ring induction hob from ikea for the last few months - its been a life saver.

Is there a better way to get people to do stuff as being nice doesn't seem to be working for me!

Buckeejit I love the sound of kickboard drawer?! Where from??

Wow @TeamRick you got rid of him! Amazing. Here’s to the home straight sometime soon.

@peanuts79, no not heard of those lights but your electrician should be able to help?

We are at the stage now where need to pick lights but getting frustrated as dh hasn’t got time to choose as he is sucked into the mechanics of wood burning stoves. However he won’t let me just pick the lights and doesn’t quite listen when I’m talking lights (in a light shop I might add) so I have to explain it all over again 😕😤

The electrician could be cracking on with light fittings!

I also want to pick the kitchen tiles because that’s not far off now and would like a fully useable kitchen when it goes in. (Builders will then move to the utility room and crack through that quickly as nothing structural changing.

Frustration levels building but the place really is taking shape. However our house is cold so the plaster is taking longer to dry which slows down the painting.

That’s amazing news rick . Hopefully now you’ll finally have the end in sight!

We’re popping to the house later to see how the builders have done! I’m excited but trying not to build up my hopes too much!
I’m hoping for windows and knocked down walls!

He emailed us to say he still expects us to pay the money outstanding on the contract! 😂😂😂

Yeah right! 🤡

God rick he has balls I’ll give him that... I hope you’ve told him where to go and to expect a claim for the incomplete works and £3k he owes you...

rick - you're brilliant! Good bloody riddance to a right Charlie, eh? He really has been crap, I hope you told him he can stick his contractual payments where the sun don't shine!!

I have decided not to get smart heating because I simply cannot understand what it is, what I need, and how it works. It has come to this, ladies, I am now outsmarted by a radiator.

I've started packing up my house today. Just a few bits to begin with. It's starting to sink in what a massive job it's going to be. Also, how much I really need to go through my bloody stuff and use up or get rid of some crap!! I currently own 7 bottles of gin, in various states of consumption. In my defence, everyone buys me gin as a present. I am not sure why, maybe I just look like I need it.

We’ve just ignored it! 😬

So many things in his email I wanted to address but no intention of getting dragged in to a conversation with him! I will ignore ignore ignore!

I wish I had 7 bottles of gin Whisky! Anything alcoholic in this house is lucky to see out the week!

I’ve got my living room back, spending the day tidying & trying to get rid of the dust!

DH is Building a stud wall! 😂

Hi Buck I’m afraid I can’t help you as you can see from my posts I haven’t managed to get my builder to do anything either!

Even a £2k cash payment on top of the quote didn’t motivate him enough to finish it!