Hi. I,am just seeking some comments on how long it should take to build a 3m sq dwarf wall porch. I signed up for one to be built on the 20/10/2014 they started the work on the 3/12/14 and it still is not finished after now the 3rd attempt still a few small jobs to be finished still not happy with the finish of the brickwork very dirty and stained now they are asking for the bill to be paid in full this company is a joke! am I right in thinking that a substanial discount for the time that this build has taken and all of the hassle and mess, chaos etc. As I have been told by other builders it should of taken approx 4 weeks this has been 7 months +
DON'T PAY UP! I presume you have been paying some instalments along the way to keep them going? That's fair enough. However, do not pay the final amount until you are 100% happy with the job. Having said that, if the job is 'ok' and you just want to 'punish' them for taking so long, or you want some compensation for the time it's taken, then - no. Unless you have agreed that in advance. Because, frankly, you've allowed them to take this long - a ridiculous amount of time. Why has it taken 7 months? Have they been doing other jobs elsewhere and only turning up now and then? In which case you should have put your foot down at that point. Even tho' the time they've taken is crazy, you seem to have effectively 'accepted' it, so I personally don't consider it fair or reasonable for you to suddenly announce "I'm holding back £x amount 'cos you took so long." But DO hold back monies until the job is finished to your satisfaction. (But bear in mind we only have one side of the story on here...) I guess you can now start to give ultimatums - but they need to be reasonable and given in advance. Eg - 'You have 2 weeks to finish the job and fix all snagging issues or else you are off the job and I'll get someone else to finish it. I will withhold whatever it takes to cover these costs.' But chust make sure you are being 'reasonable' in what you say.
I'm intrigued, can you posts some pics up, sounds like they turned up laid a brick, went home, turned up laid a brick, went home, etc etc. , to be honest even 4 weeks sounds a long time for a porch.
As Phil says...I'm intrigued too! Every job has its snags etc, but for the size of it, a couple of blokes should have that up to roof level easily in a week, including digging the footings. Oh...just remembered you said 'dwarf wall'! Is the rest upvc? Wood? What type of roof - flat/pitched?
Only thing that would take them longer than a week, would be waiting for any concrete to set. They should be ashamed. Keep complaining. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
Thanks for your reply I could go on forever with all of the catastrophies that has gone on with this company but I will post a few pics of the brickwork from the first build as I have got to find more pics on my other camera
Abbey, I really feel for you here as you have obviously been caught up in this for far too long. My advice is based on what I would do if I was in your situation, but please consider it or discard it as you see fit. I see the problem as in two parts, the quality of the finish product that you will see every time you enter your house and the financial loss to date and that required for the remedial work. Looking at the quality of the work first shown in those pics, if it still looks like that (3rd attempt) I would tell them to leave the job as soon as possible as in my opinion they are not competent or capable. I am not a builder but is it 'reasonable' for you to expect that they are able to provide the remedial work to the standard you would 'reasonably' expect. A simple quality check for you (and them) could be a comparison to the existing brickwork below your house render to see what is expected. Personally, I do not think they are competent or capable if this is the 3rd attempt and I would have no confidence that the next stage of the porch construction would be any better. I would also suspect, and sorry to be so brutal, that if a 'proper' builder were to look at this job they would advise pulling the whole lot down and restarting the whole construction as I am sure there will be hidden problems such as how it is tied to the existing wall, damp proofing etc This then leads onto the finance and the difficult part,firstly, you should ask for a full refund as the work is not to a 'reasonably expected' standard. It is clear you have paid some money to them and if you throw them off the job you may think you have lost all that finance and will have to start again. This may not be the case and you need to take some professional advice from a Solicitor or The Citizens Advice Bureau showing them what you have paid, how long the job has taken and the money you have paid over. You might also look at your house insurance to see you have any legal cover for this situation. I feel sure that you would be able to claim against the builders but regrettably, the reality is that they may not have the money to repay you even if you win the case but in my opinion this should not stop you from trying. So for me it would be about cutting my losses now, don't pay any more money to them at all, and start the process of trying to reclaim the money paid out to date, the porch is not going to get any better and you will not be happy with it even if you allow them to finish it. I know that a difficult conversation is needed with the builders but don't forget the support around you, perhaps a family member who is used to dealing with difficult situations or perhaps worthwhile to ask your solicitor to visit and inform the builders on your behalf if you feel unable to do it yourself. Hopefully you are in a position to have somebody else come in to build your porch while you chase the first builders and I am sure that if you ask on here for rec's in your area you will get plenty of reliable people for you to consider. I really hope it works out for you.
I agree. You must get help. You will have a good leg to stand on. That is appalling work. I don't even see a dpc. Unless it's being rendered or dashed, it won't be remedied without starting again. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
The first 3 layers of brick look goodly laid. After that its gone downhill. The last pucture I think shows the bricks abutting a wall? If so they do not narry up in courses. Im not sur whats going on with all those arrow markings. the following brick beds are not level, as a dip can be seen in the course s.
Abbey. What stage is the porch at at the moment? Surely not as shown in these photos? Do these photos show three different views of the current wall or do they show the supposed 'improvement attempts' they've made? Anyways, it's shocking. That is worse than amateur build.
Sorry to be so negative, but after seeing the first attempt they made of the brickwork I can't understand why people would allow them to carry on again with the job, you should have got rid of them straight away.
Here are some more pics to the second attempt after demolition of the first build with another builder but the same window company the front looks like the leaning towers of Pisa I will send some more pics of the final build of the brickwork which has been done by the company owner which still is not good