Complaint About Poor Building Work: A Case Study

We are having problems with our loft company. Halfway through they are saying they cannot guarantee loft height as stipulated in the designs which Were provided by there architect. We have roof height of 2.4 but they saying after conversion we will get 1.9 which is very low. The structural designs they did were all wrong. We have asked for our money back as they cannot deliver what they promised

Could you please tell me where I can find confirmation of your advice 'When employing the services of a specialist loft conversion company – or any other building tradesperson - they should make the building regulations application for you.'I'm in a situation where I asked my builder if Building Control approval was needed for a project and he said no.Half way through I found out he is wrong, but he says it was my responsibility to apply so he wants me to pay for work that contravenes regulations.

A joiner installed sash and case windows in my house 16 months ago after 1 week prices of wood started falling off after about 1 year different joiners were working at my house and have pointed out the windows have been made the wrong way and installed poorly not only that when he installed the windows he didn’t support the roof it fell down and he replaced this with a shed roof that has now started to rot, he said after care wasn’t his problems I have had a quote of £5000 to replace these windows who can I contact to take legal action to get money back from the joiner

I purchased a new home back in 2004. Our garden is on a lower level and we have a patio the length of the house. I guess the garden is 1.5 meters lower than the patio and it's seperated by decorative wooden poles. Unfornuately these wooden poles are starting to rot away and giving cause for concern. I paid £330k for this house and do not want to go through excessive costs to fix this problem. I believe it was cost cutting from the home builders and i have been told this should have been a a stone retaining wall. I have contacted the home builder who do not want to know. I have contacted the NHBC who do not want to know (the 10 year guarantee has passed) and i have contacted the local council who say it's not their issue. Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions and what avenue i should take. As i mentioned wood rots over time and i should not have to face this situation. i appreciate any constructive feedback Regards

I had my loft converted a year ago into a deluxe storage space which is basically a loft that’s been boarded and plastered and has proper lights. I did lots of checks on the company and I couldn’t find a bad thing said about them. However since they did my loft (which they told me I didn’t need building regulations as I wasn’t making it habitable with a fixed staircase) I’ve found that theyhaven’t braced the new floor correctly so it is no good for any kind of storage. I’ve contacted trading standards and they didn’t seem to care - they said due to lack of funds and they’ve not committed a criminal offence they don’t deal with things like this anymore. Not sure how making someone’s house unsafe isn’t a criminal offence. I sent the company letters which trading standards adviced me to do. The company has been out 4 times to see me since - but still haven’t given me a plan of action I’ve asked for building control to be involved as I no longer trust them however they keep pushing me from one member of staff to the other. I’ve already paid for a structural engineers report and I thought I could get building control out myself to take a look - I’m worried they’re going to put a black marker against my house ? Or something. I also wasn’t sure if I would or could get into trouble by not having planning permission? But I just took the companies word for it which yes in hindsight i now know I shouldn’t have but it’s a little to late. We can’t afford to have it re done! We’re right in the middle of a complete home renovation and have no spare money - we’ve lost money having to delay trades men as we can’t go any further until this is resolved!

Is there any help for large amount spent on new roof put on in 2014 done badly and then another flat roof. Possibly owner in prison and bankrupt but not sure.roofer himself isn't.

I will need to take off the new roof done in 2014 to replace it die to bad workmanship. Possibly the owner of the building company is bankrupt and in prison I am not sure. His employee that did another job under his name as well as the roof still is working. I paid by credit. Is there any help for the money back. I had just come out of hospital when the work was done so they really took advantage

I had a new patio laid last July but the grouting is crumbling and breaking up. My builder keep saying he will do the repairs, but every time he says he will come back he either blames the weather or says he hasn't forgotten us and he will be back but so far hasn't.

Twelve months ago I paid a roofer to repair the dormer roof on the back of my house. He gave me a written 10 guarantee.Water has seeped through to the ceiling of my bedroom from the repair.He was most reluctant to come to do any repairs but did arrive and did what he called a temporary job and would return the following day to do a permanent job, has not returned and I do not know where to turn for help. He has told me lies.I cannot have the damage to the bedroom ceiling repaireduntil the repair is completed.At my wits end.

I had a builder in to do a. 3 x 2 1/2 metre porch with a downstairs toilet in. We had a council inspector out as we weren't happy with the building work. Because the building was less than 3 x 3, it didn't need building regulations. We were quoted £9200 for shell with Windows and door and would include toilet and sink. We had paid £2500 deposit and a further £1000for Windows and door and then a further £2000 for the roof. He pulled off site as he was fed up with us finding faults and we are left without Windows, door, toilet and sink and have quotes for about £3000 to put right the work that he hadn't done right. The roof isn't pitched high enough, the pipes to toilet are in a drain that has been capped. There is insufficient leading in roof. The window isn't straight, neither is the lintel which is the wrong type of lintel and sticks out like a sore thumb and there is no insulation under floor so has to be pulled up and re-done. The roof isn't safe and not been fixed up correctly and some of the tiles are cracked. The door is too wide so needs to be filled in half a brick, the wall isn't square and the buildng is not tied in properly and the damp proof is not enough. I have been trying everywhere , including trading standards and consumer rights to try to get a report that states all these faults which the council inspector pointed out, but can't give us a report as not covered by building regulations. We've tried institute of chartered surveyors without luck as well Please could someone point me in the right direction in order to get a report to claim money back for repairs as I don't know who else to go to and need this cwboy builder to pay for his bad work.

I recently had a painter from Dereham JP builders never finished the work. Asked for money up front 280 never returned ran off with my money. I am a old age pensioner and cannot afford this. He will not answer his phone never turned upon time was paid for the painting job which was very poor work then had the extra 280 for bathroom work he never came back . Help

In Feb 2018 I employed a builder to erect an extension and modify a home I had just bought, I did my homework, this guy came recommended by a very good friend.He quoted me 6 to 8 weeks to complete the work, we agreed a price and starting date.Everything appeared to be progressing swimmingly until building control failed to sign off the works as the wrong sized steel had been used to support an opening.From there it went from bad to worse with the builder demanding extra money and messing me around with dates when he would be coming back to finish.He initially tried to blame my architect for not passing on the revised plans then when I told him I gave them to him myself he denied this and is claiming never to have received them. Soon after this my neighbour came to ask when the builder was coming back to finish his side of the wall, when I asked what he meant I was horrified at what I saw so I arranged for Building Control, my architect and another builder to come to advise.They were aghast at the quality of the work, the roof was not constructed properly with no support and new rafters simply screwed to the existing using one brass screw, many were 800mm apart, should have been every 400mm, building control said one snowfall and it would come crashing down.No lead flashings were fitted and the tiles were not tethered correctly.They had tried to secure some tiles using silicone sealant and used plasterboard beneath some of the battens as packers.The wrong insulation was used in some walls, no cavity closers installed, wrong thickness of plasterboard on the walls, very poorly applied plaster, drains falling the wrong way, inspection chambers fitted tilted, internal drains falling the wrong way and connections that should have been solvent welded under ground were bonded with silicone, compression fittings just sitting on top of the pipes under ground.External walls were not insulated in part where the old doorway was bricked up, just single skin brickwork, timber frame and plasterboard, the lintel above my new front door was supported with a piece of the old doorframe, the steelwork was not correctly bolted together nor sitting on pad stones and they had used second hand steel, what should have been a heavy duty support was an old corroded box lintel fitted on its side, therefore providing no structural support at all.There was no DPC to part of the floor, incorrect levels of loft insulation, the old flat roof was left below the new pitched roof complete with tar etc, patio doors and the new front door were fitted incorrectly, the new front door frame has been butchered as they could not get it to shut and the door itself is damaged, one of the new windows has been left damaged when they were throwing rubble out.And on top of all that the building has not been constructed as per plans and I am left with smaller rooms and a very large 'nib' in the wall providing support. I have employed alternative builders to complete the

Hi Last year we had our house extended and the whole house re- rendered with Parex coating. After a few months small pieces of the render are falling out on one part of the new extension. The render company are blaming poor quality building blocks. The block suppliers say it was bad preparation. Who can I go to for independant advice please?

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Many thanks for this good advice, I'm sure it will be helpful to others in the same position.

Earlier this year I was successful in taking a Farnborough, Hampshire, based builder to Court for substandard workmanship. I received substantial compensation from the Court, a Judge deciding virtually every area of my claim should be upheld. I had been taken in by the Builder's charm, and overlooked that he does not advertise, nor does he belong to any professional Trade Organization. He was popular in my locality and I thought that would suffice. He carried out a home extension for me, and areas of obvious substandard workmanship became apparent. This man blamed everyone else, but himself. I found out from some of his previous customers near me that he has done this before. I employed the services of CiPHE for a professional opinion on his work, but as he would not accept ANY liability, we went to Court. He did not finish the work and had been juggling too many jobs. I needed bailiffs to recover my compensation, he tried it on with them too, no assets etc. but they told me they were used to his sort, and they got me my money. He now has a CCJ. Whilst going to Court is daunting if you do it properly, its easy. Follow strict procedures, give the builder lots of rope to hang himself and the rest is easy, although time consuming. It is well worth it, to wipe the smugness from their face. There is lots of advice out there online. My advice to anyone wanting to employ a builder: Always check with The FMB ? Is builder recognized ? Always check if they advertise on professional builder websites ? Do they belong to any professional trade body, if not, they are completely unaccountable. Always check Companies House ? .. Are their details correct and up to date ? My builders company was dissolved ! Do they show / charge VAT ? Always check Registry Trust, online CCJ register, for a few pounds you can check on their past. They cannot hide this, and it may save you thousands and years of heartache.

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Cases are usually allocated to the small claims track if they're worth £10,000 or less, please see link here , which will tell you all you need to know.

I have done an extension to my home and the builder had committed to completing the work in 8 weeks. 3 months have passed since the completion date confirmed and the all the jobs agreed have still not been completed and those completed are not done professionally. The open to sky velux window handle broken, double door not fitted properly, building not certified still, floor tiles damaged, under floor heating (warmups) not tested, certified and we are going to loose on life time warranty. The builder keeps promising it will be done next week but no. We have given him a final chance-what are our options to go legal and any recommendation?

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Your only option would be to refer the matter to court if you wish to seek reimbursement of any money you paid. You can also report the builder to trading standards, please see link here .

A builder in my home town done my patio, I had blocks from work he tried to bill me and he hired a mini digger only used for 2 days tried to bill me for the week, after his boys laid the patio give me instructions not to walk on patio for 3 days for everything to dry, after couple of day's my steps popped, my wall has got to different bricks, one of my pillars not fixed at the base my patio slabs are coming away he sent 1 boy back to do the repair and he used silicon to sick the bricks and patio slabs back down, after week the patio slabs and the steps popped again. Again he sent 2 boys back after 3months of nagging the boys said they put fresh cement down new patio slabs, and they said they be back following day to clean up but didn't turn up then only 3 days later my steps have gone again my patio slabs have gone its been 4 months now trying to get him back he don't even return the calls no more.

Had a so called business man do a extension on my home still not finished 1 year on south liverpool builders also now trading as mersey build based on menlove avenue Liverpool tom Turpin give this bloke a wide birth he is a pathetic little liar not got the balls to come back

Don’t worry, Mr McMullens details have been passed to the relevant authorities, as well as the threatening messages on here, the site master has been contacted and the ip of said messages will be traced back to their point of origin

Good tradesmen rely on the quality of their work - the work speaks for itself. They get repeat business from previous clients and recommendations by other clients.A bad Internet review will not break their business as they have many happy customers who can vouch for them. Cowboys are a different story.... Existing regulations protect the cowboy builder. When customers who have been ripped off name these cowboy builders, to warn other people, they are taking a risk of possible repercussions and threats as highlighted by the posts from 'a' and Walter. So I very much doubt that posts on here are made up.

a/Walter- I agree, get admin to find out facts to check the posts on here. Wouldn't surprise me if all of the posts are true. Homeowners who have been ripped off by these cowboy builders have very limited options. Sounds like you have been named on here and you are threatening someone?

why are names and details on every post on this site when in your own terms it says no names or company names are to be mentioned by these trolls maybe all the builders should come on and add the names and addressed including telephone numbers of these idiots who either do not want to pay refuse to pay or basically have acted like pratts to get to where they are now..be interested to know what your answers are

never read so much crap..free for all to add comments that are probably all;; untrue, maybe the admin on this site should put more effort in to finding out facts,,to people who have either refused to pay..get there pathetic friends and family to post crap or basically act like a fool and then think they are safe in doing so..people who try to hold to ransom reputation on companies..when a man has nothing to lose that is when you dont sleep at night ....it becomes a health risk for your family

HELP! Our builders COAST TO COAST HOMES have ruined our dream beach home. They have refused to give us detailed plans of the bathrooms (ie where the shower, toilet, bath, cabinetry will be) and just set drainage & water pipes into the slab so now we're stuck with it. They shortened our verhandah 2m from the plans (which is facing the beach & the most important aspect of the house) and now that the cement has been poured say it can't be fixed due to support beams etc. The window architraves aren't even on the left & right side (it looks ridiculous!) The bathroom tiles aren't mitred on the corners, so you can see the grey edges in an all white bathroom (they said they could paint that! how horrible & inappropriate in a wet room!) And even though they haven't fixed or changed any of our concerns they are still running 6 MONTHS LATE - we're now approaching 18 MONTHS of building time! We've tried to negotiate to get these things fixed without any luck - can we refuse to pay for things that aren't done correctly? For example, the bathroom tiling, where the tiler hasn't mitre cut the tiles on the corners, so water can get into the back of the tile & we're stuck looking at the ugly grey/brown edge - surely there is nothing to be done but re-do the tiling (which they refuse)

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It depends whether killing or preventing horsetail was part of the quote and guarantee. I'd read the small print of your guarantee and if you feel your builder is at fault you should seek legal advice.

Ask a Tradesman Awaiting moderation DRIVEWAYS QUESTION Tarmac advice please Hello, I started with half tarmac driveway and half flowerbed. I wanted to turn my front garden into a large driveway. Originally I didn't have much money so opted to have hardcore and then gravel. A couple of years later (Aug 2015) I decided that I was now in a position to have tarmac. I removed the gravel I approached a local firm to price it up for me. When he came to price up the horsetail was already coming through the hardcore and was visible, £3250 was the quote. We agreed on £3000. The quote reads: Tarmacadam Driveway Remove tarmacadam from existing driveway. Grade and re-shape existing hardcore and consolidate. Supply and install channel drains as discussed and connect to nerby storm drain. Surface driveway with 50MM thickness of binder course tarmacadam and 25mm thickness of Ulti-Drive surface course tarmacadam. Less than a year later I have horsetail coming through a major part of my drive. I have had the builder back and he is claiming that the issue lies with the hardcore etc and not with the tarmac he did. I don't have much knowledge of tarmac but i'm sure that plants need sunlight and water to grow and its seems clear to me that the drive was not sealed properly. Please advise.

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I have taken out any names of the builders your refer to for legal reasons. I can only suggest you seek legal advice and make sure your builders receive a solicitor's letter and the threat of court if the work is not completed by a specific time. You need to make sure this does not drag on any longer.

Hi I am in a terible predicament and don't know what to do for the best outcome! Last year (2015) we employed a builder (DMC Builders) a local builder who was a friend of a friend. We employed him to undertake a full renovation of a newly aquired house, his quote sounded reasonble and he was friendly etc at the time. We had work done for three months and was paying as installments suggested when work was completed and new materials etc needed the next installment was required and requested and therefore payed. There was a period in April to June where we were clearing up a family issue with probate and asked the work to stop incase funds needed for family issue. This did not become the case and work continued however the rate slowed down considerably and to a point where the builder started coming about one day a week with the team of sons and doing odd jobs. The final payment was requested as building materials such as bay windows etc needed paying so we payed final monies, since then it's been a dire situation he never comes foes us off with excuses and is seen in local area doing other work. When asked several times since Sept he keeps saying it's because others jobs have come up etc, we had a break and such like. He then in Oct said the work would be finished by nov so we moved out of rented accommodation to house on belief it would be done. This was not the cae and we had to move in with no water gas etc. He then said it would be done by Jan and even though some jobs have been done we continue to wait and we have no carpet as can't go down until windows in as 'I will not be responsible for ruining carpet' and not tiler can work as 'I will not be responsible for ruining tiles' so more cost to us if broken etc. Dave the owner/builder whose company it is has full money and responsibilities for the tiler and plasters etc as all payed in agreed initial fee. He is just dragging it on and on and whole doing so my wife and I suffer with a life plan for children this summer just stuck on hold as with our whole life as money will be needed it is thought to just get rid and get a new builder the problem is with it. A cost B once bitten twice shyC builders have all the paperwork etc to the job already such as building planning with council and electric and gas works etc forms.D builders should never be allowed to do this to anyone ever again Thank you for your help if possible any help would be gratefully received as we are at the end of our tether and don't know what to do for the best given our circumstances