Builder not showing up

born_again

 When he arrived he was frantic because his suppliers were pestering him for money and his previous job hadn't paid in full - "I need money from you so I can pay them"

As of this moment, I have no idea where the materials I have spent £2k on are.

Has he even bought any, given you gave him £2K so he could pay for a previous job?

You need to contact him & get him to come & finish off, you can't just get someone else to do the work without giving him chance.

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Alderbank said:

Apologies for any offence. I didn't intend any.

The plan you have now shared which he agreed to is very clear about times and dates and does form part of the T&Cs of the contract. He is in breach so you are within your rights at this point to minimise your losses by getting the defaulted part of the job completed by another contractor and deducting those costs from the agreed total cost. I assume your other contractor's hourly rate is broadly similar?

However a point to bear in mind -
You chose your first contractor because of the standard of his previous work and you have no complaints about the quality of the present contract, just his time and financial management. As you are aware, there is plenty of demand for good contractors and they are booked well in advance. Are you happy that the contractor who is willing to stand by to finish the work at very short notice will do a satisfactory job?

I am yes, he painted the outside of our house a year or two ago and is actually less expensive although I will have to supply him with paint for the undercoat - something that was included in the original cost.

I have to say I was/am flexible with the dates that the original contractor gave.  I was expecting this to overrun, but not to this extent.  If we were at a stage where the ceilings and walls had been painted, or at least had the undercoat, I'd probably be a lot more relaxed.  If my original contractor arrives tomorrow, with paint brush in hand, I'll make him a lovely cup of tea and let him get on with it.

RefluentBeans

Did he do the plastering or someone else?

Unfortunately when there are multiple trades involved in a project one knock on will cause a subsequent knock on. And when that happens, they often find clients to fill in the newly opened slots. Whilst I appreciate this is quite stressful, and not ideal - delays happen all the time in building. The dates may form a guide, but without seeing the actual context of them I don’t think it’s reasonable to not allow the tradesperson to rectify the job. 

A refurb project taking two weeks is about right, but it also shouldn’t be a surprise that sometimes delays occur. Speak to the trader and ask why it’s taking so long, and what can be done to get the project back on track. 

TELLIT01

If I have read the OP correctly the builder actually hasn't turned up for just 2 days.  The most likely explanation is that he had other work to do while the plaster was drying and that other work has taken longer than expected.  That doesn't make it OK that the builder isn't communicating better, but it is in my opinion far too soon to be kicking him out and trying to get somebody else.  All decent tradesmen are in great demand so I would be more concerned about taking on somebody with immediate availability.

prettyandfluffy

He is a sole trader.  When he arrived he was frantic because his suppliers were pestering him for money and his previous job hadn't paid in full - "I need money from you so I can pay them".  Like I said before, he had done work for my parents, I prefer to take people at face value and so I paid him £2k.

I'll get him to get the materials delivered tomorrow and if there's no paint on the walls or ceilings by Tuesday morning (working day 17 of a 10 day project) I think I am within my rights to get this completed off my own back.

Sounds like he has a cash-flow problem.  I would not give him any more money - for anything - until the job is completed to your satisfaction.  For bigger, more costly jobs I might make stage payments but money is the only hold you have over them and the only way of incentivising them to prioritise your job.

Alderbank

prettyandfluffy said:

He is a sole trader.  When he arrived he was frantic because his suppliers were pestering him for money and his previous job hadn't paid in full - "I need money from you so I can pay them".  Like I said before, he had done work for my parents, I prefer to take people at face value and so I paid him £2k.

I'll get him to get the materials delivered tomorrow and if there's no paint on the walls or ceilings by Tuesday morning (working day 17 of a 10 day project) I think I am within my rights to get this completed off my own back.

Sounds like he has a cash-flow problem.  I would not give him any more money - for anything - until the job is completed to your satisfaction.  For bigger, more costly jobs I might make stage payments but money is the only hold you have over them and the only way of incentivising them to prioritise your job.

I agree about cash flow problem and cash being king.

So think it through and be aware of unintended consequences. As with all good craftsmen he has customers lined up. He needs readies. On Tuesday he can either do your job or else he can do the job he had pencilled in who he knows he can push for £200 notes or more on the day.

Which to choose? Not a difficult decision for him.