Please tell me your mid-renovation nightmares

[emanonsah]

We are having a hell of a time and I don't get much sleep at the moment! Please tell me your renovation or building nightmares and how they worked out in the end, I need to be reminded there will be an end to this hell!!!

Final days of kitchen extension rebuild and refit. The last element was a granite worktop from Wickes. I'd paid £240 for an 'expert' to visit and template it. Delivery day arrived and... it didn't fit.

It wasn't even close. The aperture for the sink was THREE INCHES off centre.

Four weeks of them claiming it was somehow my fault (wtf), without running water in the kitchen, I pointed my solicitor at their group CEO, and it got replaced. And It's lovely.

Not sure I could cope with the stress again though. 😱

We are in between builders having sacked the first lot for being so unreliable. The stress of it was awful.

Have had no kitchen for 9 weeks. Praying new builders can get cracking soon!

We got a few walls plastered this week so some progress has been made but I have slept 4 hours a night for the last three nights and I know I am not functioning properly due to stress and lack of sleep
I am so scared of our builder not coming back. He has started a job and has promised to come back and do things to ours but other contractors coming in and criticising stuff he or his contractors have done has got his back up and I'm scared he'll leave us in the lurch. Several jobs need him and I can't afford to get in a new builder that will want to redo things 'in his own way'.
I feel completely beholden to this one.
We have so little money left and so many jobs still to do. Not one single room is habitable.
Kitchen bejng delivered Monday. I went
Flat pack to keep prices down. I'll be building units next week!

Supposed to be doing a loft conversion. Spent a fortune on architects and all that, then the builders came along, took an 8 grand stage payment for materials then fucked off. 18 months later after threatening legal action they are now paying me back at a pittance a month. And we have no loft conversion. We're not going to bother now.

So sorry @emanonsah I know exactly how you feel, we don't sleep very well any more, I just lie in bed thinking about it.
We do have another builder now so we have an end in sight but it is bits and bobs around their other jobs, so no idea how long we will be like this. Plus we are paying twice! It has ruined us financially. Plus the old builder lives round the corner so I see him many times a week which is very stressful.
On the plus side we are finally having the bifolds fitted this morning! So after 7 months of a hole in the side of our house, we will be water tight.

I am not sure about your reactions but here is my story.

we did a massive renovation, kitchen extension, double back addition, attic, windows, new plumbing, wiring.., basically everything except the basement. Just bordering london prime.
it ended up costing almost 1 million and 18 months. 300k over estimated and 9months delayed.
the only advice I have is just Don’t go into expensive and not necessary works as we did. This has totally broken me, not financially but mentally, to the point that I am taking antidepressants.
I now have a so called high end house that I hate. Its expensive looking but too big and uncomfortable to live in.

the contractor has highly recommended and very experienced. In reality was a shark with 40 years experience on taking advantage of naive people with money like us. I dream with going back in time and just don’t do it. This was our home that just needed cosmetic work and a new kitchen, and I got carried away by what others do in the posh neighbourhood and fancy architects suggestions.
if I could convince any of you not to do this type of work I will consider it a small victory over the sector of architects/surveyors/contractors… it’s not with your time and money

You are right not to go ahead, consider the money spent as a stop loss. Save a lot of time and stress. Telling you by experience

I haven’t been able to sleep for the last year. No house in the world is worth the stress that renovations creates.

Not exactly a nightmare but we also got caught in lockdown. We were renovating old house an hour away before selling and had bought a listed property which needed chimney and thatch doing within 18 months with an 18 month wait on thatchers which we were on. Old house needed to be sold within 3 years to reclaim the stamp duty, not allowed down there in lockdown.

Re the chimney 8 months to get approval as council was not operating well and told incorrect information 3 times. Then they required specialist plaster and bricks and both places were shut for lockdown then delays when reopened. Very nervous the thatch would leak. Very concerned would lose stamp duty and not meet 3 year deadline but having to pay for 2 homes and not being able to work on one. But it all worked out in the end, chimney got done and then thatch after the 18 months but it held up and house sold quickly and thankfully we had put artificial grass in which normally would not go near but very small garden and so glad we did as it was months before we could go there. Housing market actually boomed after which was great as house was a difficult to sell one but sold within a couple of months. So all worked out in the end.

@Evangelinemore that sounds enormous, we have done a similar large scale- no attic work but did relay drains that meant we moved out for 4 months and moved 4 times in that period. Most belongings are in storeage since April and not had a proper kitchen since June. Been going on a year and about 3 months left now. I know what you mean about the impact being so much. Hopefully next year will be easier. Everyone else who is not sleeping too I understand and am the same. My mantra is I am never doing this again. But there was no other way of getting what we wanted so maybe one year of this is worth it? Not completely sure at the moment but I think housing is the hardest thing to get right nowadays

we did move out for one year to a very nice apartment locally, not big for a family of five with Three teenagers but very comfortable (and expensive since we are next to Chelsea). And oh good, I miss it!
we have been the last 9 months back in the house while builders still here. And since I have learn a lot how they function. Living on a building site it’s knackering; they argued a lot among them, loud polish rap, endless smoke pauses… and everything in the house almost finished but nothing completed.

if I google maps my address I see an image during the construction period with a very dirty site, scaffolding full of rubbish and the guys having a smoke pause outside. That picture is very significant of how this project has gone.

I have a big part of responsibility of the mees we are in. Since we signed the architect I saw many signs this was going to go wrong and I chose to ignore them, I should have been more inquisitive, but I was so exited about it that I didn’t think rationally. Many friends and neighbours gave me some good advice that I didn’t listen to. And instead I listened to the contractor because he must know better right? After all he has done some local celebrities houses, right? He only saw opportunities for a bigger profit, convinced me that I need/wanted more things than the original scope of work, cctv, tech Lightning system, music system, ten different apps to control the house, and I am a person that disliked technology. I bought it all!!

not everyone has a bad experience and that makes me fell more inadequate. I am just trying to put it behind and move on. As for the house, it’s just not me. We are going to sell it, take a loss and move on.

You still sound traumatised @Evangelinemore and understandably so. The good news re selling is that your contractor does know what sells in your local area. Some people love all that tech stuff and will pay considerably more for it.

It just wasn’t for you. Sounds like you’re doing the right thing in selling the house you don’t love. I’m guessing your next house will be in perfect condition!

@Evangelinemore please don't feel inadequate, I completely understand and was lucky as my partner is a project manager who could control things in a way I couldn't and I am still completely sick of it. He sees trades trying to walk you into things that aren't in your interests coming, although we have only really had one of those. It should not be necessary to have that awareness and its unfair. I agree lots of trades have an issue with taking women seriously although some of the younger people at ours, including our main builder are thankfully not like that. Lots of unfinished jobs here too and annoying mess. You sound like you have been through a lot. It's difficult because the risk of developing property going wrong is barely ever recognised and lots of people want the end result/ would like to do it and so you don't feel you can complain. I hate the process and living with it and bar the usual unexpected elements of jobs/ financial pressure/ lack of privacy and constant people around/ things getting broken and a few delays nothing has really gone wrong here. So in that context you are completely entitled to be over it and unhappy

I've posted about my situation on the Reno Support 2023 thread, but, briefly, I started the process in the summer of 2022. I'm renovating what was my mother's property and was due to move in around May / June of this year.

The good news is that I'm not living there. The bad news is that my builders (highly recommended and with stellar reviews) turned out to be sharks who took my money to pay for materials and then walked off the job last month. Trading Standards are investigating. I still have no windows and doors in the extension and the roof may have to be redone. I'm out of pocket by getting on for £100K, and the stress of that on top of a stalled project has been immense.

I've hired a project manager to try to get things back on track, but I still don't know if I can afford to finish the project without selling my house first. (I had put it on the market when I was given a firm completion in of early July, but the sale fell through.) It now looks like I will have to pay for storage for the kitchen, which was paid for when I was told the completion date, as it could be months before the extension is finished. All I seem to do is pay out more money.

I've considered selling the property as an unfinished project to avoid the stress of this ongoing nightmare, but to do so would compound my losses, so I will finish it if I can. Hopefully I can find another buyer for my current house, although the trade-off is having to pay for a rental until the other property is finished.

To echo @CountryCob , I am never doing this again.

Did a massage renovation as a single woman. Have a massive hatred for all tradesman now. They are thick, they do not know what they are doing, they will make hundreds of mistakes but you will have to pay for all of their mistakes. Very, very few are knowledgeable/ decent.
lesson no.1 - Try not to need any work done ever again.
lesson no.2 - You will think that a builder knows what to do and how to do something properly, not true. Always be there when they are there. They are never focused on your job, and they know less than what you can read online. They can do the job physically but not mentally.

1-20 are good. 1-5 are ok if you are there and making sure they have actually read the drawings / using the right equipment/ not covering up mistakes etc.

And when tradesmen completely stitch people up, leave them paying thousands more than they should or cause damage and refuse to pay for it we view them as loveable rogues. Did his best ….

No, it’s stealing, their thieves.

@Evangelinemore at least you have a lot of insight and honesty about the situation. There’s a whole industry in making people feel inadequate about their homes. Plus, Polish rap, I know what you mean. Our next door neighbour is a Polish builder. It’s like Eurovision every day in summer.

I really hope you find a buyer soon. Even taking a loss it’s painful but you can at least move on with your live. And our mental health is more important! Leaving with this anxiety for a house is just not worthy!
i realise now the importance of a competent project manager a quant surveyors even if they cost a lot of money, gosh, this industry really needs policing. Our architect was on a 10% comisión +vat of the contract value and he did nothing more that pass on the photos of the project and when things started to go bad he found excuses of his personal live to quite and only work on consultancy terms.
as for the trades, I have come across some very honest ones before for smaller maintenance/repairs jobs before, but that is easy when you just have to manage one thing at the time. the biggest problem is when the project is really big and the contractor brings his own trades, and subcontractors, and subcontractors of subcontractors, and you realise how they work, taking commissions from each other, they trade you (your job) on your own home to the highest bidder and since they have possession of your house they come with necessary extras at much higher price that market value, and that is how you budget goes out of the windows. You see it happening and cannot do much about it. they are deceiving people on daily Basics, is part of their job, I don’t even think they realise of the harm they cause.

and I am never ever doing this again, I rather spend a day swapping car insurance than looking at house items, that is how painful this has been

It’s i easy to get carried away by seeing what others do, and tv property programs. it’s natural to desire something better for you and your family and this industry prey on that. I am not saying everyone is bad but for people like us our home is out castle, and a big project is something we do maybe once in our life, as for them this is their way of leaving. They finishes (or unfinishes) one project and move on to the next, where we see home they see business. And that is natural but very painful when things go wrong

I can’t think of any other professionals getting away with “did his best” as tradesmen do.
I get shivers just to think I still have some things pending with them!
been taken advantage off is a very unpleasant feeling but I am trying to leave it behind for my own sanity.

many thanks to all of you commenting in this tread, it’s very comforting

That sounds like a good approach @Evangelinemore. We haven't had a full on issue but have had to field attempted double billing, attempted use of people we are already paying on site for others work as assistants meaning we would be hundreds of pounds every day. Trying to talk us into stuff we don't need and not finishing what meant to be doing from one particular offender. People not turning up on time or for weeks, not doing things correctly and personal rubbish on site from the builders. Some have been absolutely lovely though. We order and pay for all materials though would never pay in advance. Project management is a daily task though and a lot of work. Today we have had multiple planning conversations including quite a lot of snagging and about 7 hours between us of painting. It's a full on job. Genuinely I choose to paint ourselves to keep control, get done properly and avoid someone else and their unreliable coming in...

And when they cock up they can just wind their company up ( you can’t sue the person only the company) and start another one. Imagine any other professional doing that!

We’re just about to finish a back to brick renovation on a three story four bedroom house. I could have written so many of these posts! I’m surprised to say the final stages are making me much more anxious than the beginning/middle, perhaps because it’s all reaching its conclusion now, whether I like any of it or not, it’s done now.

Thing is it’s extremely difficult to know all this before you start.
How of earth were we to know that it was possible that these trained professionals who do their job everyday don’t know how to do it properly!?
Plumbers, architects etc people who are trained. And they gaslight you when you try to ask questions, so you doubt yourself and think of course, they must know best, how could I possibly know more? They are intimidating.
Then it turns out that you were correct and you were able to know more from some real quick Googling! Then it’s too late and will anybody take any responsibility? No they will not! I’ve paid out so many thousands for mistakes to be corrected because I was scared to argue with these men. The whole thing has absolutely traumatised me.