I'm a teacher and booked in a patio to get laid in week #2 of the Easter holidays (week #1 was a new fence, some old dead bushes coming out). He also needed to take out the old patio in a different part of the garden.
He 'started' on the Wednesday. By started, I mean he drew out where it would be, and waited for a digger that never turned up. He then left about midday but never said it was leaving, just disappeared.
Thursday the digger turned up and took out some of the soil out.
Friday he had a labourer with him, taking out the rest and took out some of the little walls around the old patio. It was meant to be finished this day, but obviously lost a day on Wednesday. They left about midday. It doesn't look like there's just one day of work left. Says he'll be back Monday.
I was off work on Monday so stayed in. He hadn't turned up at 10am so messaged him. He said he won't be over that day because he had to take his youngest to A&E, but will definitely be back the next day. Next door but one asked what work I was having done, also a tradesman of some description. He was convinced the kid in A&E was a line because my job had ran over and had another job on the Monday. He said he's done something similar.
Back at work Tuesday - checked my ring camera and nothing, so messaged him. Apparently they were still waiting to get discharged. Might be there later, wasn't.
Wednesday - also nothing. He claims he was waiting for the dolomite to arrive, as it should have on Tuesday (nearly a week after the patio was due to start). I checked my ring throughout the day, and it was dumped on my drive early afternoon and I let him know it arrived.
Thursday - Didn't turn up until the afternoon, apparently had a GP appointment, took out the rest of the stuff out of the ditch. Half my drive is the soil that was taken out of my garden, half my drive is dolomite. Left before 3pm for the school run.
Friday - He dropped the labourer off just before 10am. He was still working when I got home. He'd got all the dolomite in the ditch, knocked down the rest of the walls and took up the old patio tiles. He stayed until nearly 6pm to get it finished and said tiles should go down tomorrow, although I think he forgot it was Friday. Texted patio man to ask when it was getting finished and he replies the next day saying he'll be back Tuesday as he's away in the caravan for the bank holiday weekend.
If, and it's a big if, he actually finishes on Tuesday, it will be 11 days late, which is a lot for an alleged 3 day job. I was hoping to put a path in where the old patio was over the long weekend, but can't do that because there's still a concrete base that I can't get up myself.
He's probably cost himself some work over the did organisation. One of my neighbours wanted a patio and wanted to see how mine went. He also does fences, and my grandma wanted a new fence (on a huge garden) so he's not getting that job either.
I've now had two weekends with a ditch. The dog is really struggling without anywhere to run around properly and she's finding it hard getting in and out of the house without the step. Oh, and they took the back door off my garage (with permission) for the wheelbarrow - fine for 2-3 days while the jobs goes on, but not well over a week.
Any advice on how to deal with it?