Unhappy with our tradesman - shoddy workmanship

huskie69

We are currently in the middle of a bathroom renovation. We found our bathroom fitter on MyBuilder. Our bathroom is on the small side at 2.1sqm (2.4m in height)

We made it clear from the start what we wanted and that we were supplying the new suite and majority of the materials (shower tray, waste trap, wall hung WC, basic, all tiles, grout, taps, showever, screen etc). He would be providing timber, plywood (base for floor tiles), tile trim, pipes, and any odds and ends required.

He quoted us 1500 and aprrox 2 weeks work which seemed reasonable and we accepted the offer.

We're now nearing the end of week 3 (he's been working weekends) and his workmanship is appaling. There are large gaps in the groutlines, the depth of the tiles are uneven and different - some as much as 5mm, the trim he's used means we can see the irregularites of his cuts - he reckons it can be solved with grout, but actually looks terrible. He removed the architraving around the door as se said it would look better tiled up right up to the frame - he can't cut a tile for !!!!!! and has broken more than I care to think about.

He turns up between 10am and 11am most days, takes at least an hour lunch break (sometimes two hours) from 12, then leaves about 5 ish.

At each point along the way we've told him what we want and how we want it, and he's completelyt ignored us - be it simple things like the colour of the sealant (oh, and he's proper fudged that too) to things like which way the shower screen should be fitted (he's fitted it incorrectly despite telling me he'd called the manufacturer to confirm which side should face the shower).

By the end of the first week we realised we were going to have problems with him - he admitted to us he was depressed after his wife divorced him and left him with nothing. He's now living with his parents (at 56 years old), is driving a 40 mile commute each way (though I suspect he's sleeping in his van overnight).   I paid to put him in a local hotel for 2 nights, including breakfast so he could get himself together. Not even a thank you

On the second week of work, to get him a bit more motivated, I printed out a nice list of things we wanted and how we wanted it done and he's ignored it.   We have feature tiles in the shower area which we wanted fitting in a grid pattern and he's fitted them "staggered brick" style (not at all what we wanted) despite telling him repeatedly. There are days when no progress seems to have been made at all - and in fact some days where some of the new tiles have been removed.  Yesterday, he fitted a grand total of one floor tile.

It's our only bathroom and toilet (shared between myself, wife and 2 teenage daughters). During the process we've all had to shower at relative's houses, and during the refit, we've made a point of reminding him that the shower takes priority over everything. We were meant to have finally had the shower in a usaeble state last night.  When he was leaving last night we asked him:

 "so, we can finally have a shower tonight?"

 (grinning as we were looking forward to not having to travel 10 miles to shower). His response:

"Oh no, there's a leak somewhere so I've had to turn off the water"

And then he just left...

Today, he can't find the leak and it sounds like he's once again removing tiles. I'm baffled as it sounds like he didn't test the shower after fitting and sealing it all in.

We're absolutely not happy with his workmanship. Trying to explain things to him is like banging your head against a brick wall, he just won't have it and thinks he knows best.

What are our options? We've paid him half the money upfront after he kept reminding me of his bank details (and he has paid for some materials etc). However, once he's "finished" I know we're going to have to pay someone who actually knows what they're doing to rectify his shoddy work.

Where do I stand legally?  We don't have anything in writing.  Am I within my rights to withold payment?

Doozergirl

Why are letting him finish if it's not going to be good enough?  

Legally, no, you can't just allow him to get to the end and withhold payment.  He needs the opportunity to put things right.  

Any point before the end would be a good point to cut your losses and try to amicably agree to call it quits if he is just lacking the basic skills.   He has no money, so he's not going to be paying to rectify it any time soon.  

£1,500 isn't a reasonable price for someone properly skilled to fit a bathroom and tile.  It's really quite low, which I think is where your problem lies in the first place.  

huskie69

Doozergirl said:

Why are letting him finish if it's not going to be good enough?  

Legally, no, you can't just allow him to get to the end and withhold payment.  He needs the opportunity to put things right.  

Any point before the end would be a good point to cut your losses and try to amicably agree to call it quits if he is just lacking the basic skills.   He has no money, so he's not going to be paying to rectify it any time soon.  

£1,500 isn't a reasonable price for someone properly skilled to fit a bathroom and tile.  It's really quite low, which I think is where your problem lies in the first place.  

What option do we have? We'll be left without a functioning toilet and shower if we don't let him finish...

If I give him the opportunity to rectify his mistakes, he'll more than likely need to rip out 90% of the tiles and start again.  So are you suggesting I need to purchase these tiles again (another £700) so he can "have another go"?

The quote was about £200-300 less than five other quotes we had - I live in a deprived area so what you might consider paying for your bathroom/trades people might not neccessarily fit with our own experiences.