Concerns about a builder / building work. Feeling helpless!

bbel23

Hello all,

We are having some serious issues with the length of time our building job is taking and we're not sure what to do next.

Our builder started work on our extension at the beginning of June. We're now more than 6 months later and we still don't have a roof on! The guy makes loads of excuses - or just doesn't turn up at all. On average he’s had his team here 1 day a week since August. Some weeks we don’t see them at all. 

He originally said that all of the work would be completed by Christmas (although unfortunately we didn’t get a date put into the contract). 

He's been useless in terms of organising the build. I had to organise the building inspector, scaffolding and we've ended up sorting out the supplies because he wasn't turning up because of issues like not being able to find bricks - strange because I found them at the building site 10 minutes from our house!

Tree stumps which we paid to have removed in June are still on our front drive and they are also leaving the site in a disgusting state - I've removed food and drink packaging half buried in wet cement from my front garden. They've also been pouring the left over mortar - sometimes entire wheelbarrows full - all over the front garden and have damaged the brand new fence in the process.

I've tried repeatedly to sort it out. I've sent him emails - which he won't reply to in writing. He says all the right stuff on the phone and then doesn't turn up again. He sent an email on the 3/10 saying that the walls would be finished in 3 days - the work took another 6 weeks after that email. We’ve had 2 ‘meetings’ where we have explained our concerns. In the last of these (on the 21st of November) we agreed a plan to get the upstairs rooms completed by the 18th of December. We’ve seen him once since that date and obviously the work will not be done by that time. He has signed a piece of paper to say that it would be done by then. 

We agreed to pay him in instalments - he had the first two of those in full (the deposit of 8800 and the first payment of 8150) but then said he was unable to pay for materials. We discussed the issue with him and have subsequently paid for the majority of the blocks, joists, the scaffolding and the roof (even though we shouldn't have done - an additional £7000) just to try and keep the job moving. We have now paid him up till the roof plate. 

We have since found out that he hasn't paid the guy he has working on our site and hasn't done so for months!

Getting increasing concerned at his non-communication, I contacted the company that he said that he ordered the roof from. They’ve never heard of him or his company. I have no idea how he has spent our money.

 

I feel responsible for not putting a completion date into the contract. The whole situation is making me and my family miserable. We don't know what to do. I want to find someone else to complete the work because I don't trust him anymore. He's not engaging with me in any way and seems to be suggesting that this is our fault - that our expectations for the speed of the work are too high. I've been assured (by 7 other building companies) that they're not and the walls should have taken a month at most (it's been nearly 5 months).

 

He has not been onsite now for 2 weeks and is ignoring our messages and calls. He messaged once on Wednesday to say that he had a ‘family emergency’ and would come and have a meeting with us last Thursday. He didn’t show up - or message to explain his non-attendance. 

 

In the meantime while we’re waiting for him to turn up we’ve got scaffolding up around our house - which is in the contract for him to pay for - costing £100 per week. It’s been up 14 weeks now and I’m really worried that I’m going to end up paying for that as well. 

 

The stress of the work not being completed is causing me huge issues at home. It’s essentially caused my partner to become depressed. The worries about money and what he’s going to do next are making me feel sick. It’s causing so many problems for us. We need to remortgage the house - but can’t until the work is completed.  Even little things like that are costing us extra money that we don’t have. The extension is largely for my little girl who has spina bifida. She needs the space for her care. One of the reasons we picked this builder is that he seemed to really understand about her condition and what we needed to accommodate it. 

 

Additionally the extra pressures of lockdown and being stuck in the house a lot more have just added to the awfulness of the situation. I can’t even go to my parents for a weekend to get away from it. It’s just there all the time. 

 

What can I do to either get him to finish the work in a timely way or replace him? Can I do either without breaching the contract?

Jeepers_Creepers

Oh dear - this is truly hellish.

Assuming that your account is remotely close to being accurate - and I don't doubt it is - you do have a problem as this guy is clearly without integrity. This is not a 'covid' or 'family' or whatever sort of issue which has caused delays for some folk in this situation (me included), but almost certainly a classic 'cowboy/chancer' builder who is poorly organised - and basically doesn't give a t*** that he is.

I think you are going to need help sorting this, especially as it sounds as tho' you've handed over more of the money than you should have for the stage he's at. 

Do you have Legal Protection on your house insurance? If so, call them up now for advice. If you don't, then you may need to employ an independent 'Project Manager' - architects will often do this sort of stuff, but you'll need to inform them it's to SORT  OUT a problem and not just prevent one from happening in the first place. You need someone with balls, one who will take on the situation, rationalise it and then lay some concrete ground rules for the builder to follow; or else sue his backside if he doesn't.

See what other folk on here have to say. Meanwhile try and outline what you've told us above as succinctly as possible, and in chronological order; all the communications you've had with him, what's been said by both sides, whether you have a record (eg text/email/witnessed) of these, and finally a list of what needs sorting apart from just getting the extension built (eg - concrete and mess in garden, removal of debris, etc)

If you have LP, call them now. 

FreeBear

It sounds very much like it is time to give him the boot and call in another company to finish the job. With a decent team on hand, it doesn't take long to put up an extension (or even a house). Even with the lockdowns and other restrictions, the shell should have been watertight by now.

Has what you have paid out so far a fair price for the work done ?