Hey Karl!
Thanks for asking - all got sorted in the end.
I had to fire the original company and use some trusted Polish builders I know. They worked really hard to suck the poison out of the build and delvered a really nice finish.
The corners that were cut by the original crew, and the absolute lack of interest in doing a decent job was shocking. I'm a pushy project manager for work, so I hate to think about what they do to other people. I fought with them all the way - but it's different if it's a project above your own head and not one you're running for a company.
Some of the horrors included - steel resting on wood, not padstones, loose roof tiles, shoddy electrics and plumbing, stairs not properly installed, exterior rendering half done, "mistakes" relating to payments etc etc. Sometimes I had to point the faults out several times, have a row, and then finally get it sorted.
I think the problem was that they were all sub-sub-contractors on crappy day rates and didn't give a toss. At one point I had building control on at them and I had to threaten legal action.
I wish I'd just gone with my trusted known builders, but thought I was doing the right thing hiring a specialist. My trusted builders put it all right, unless there were some corners cut that weren't worth the money to fix.
Here are some photos (some of these were still Work in Progress when taken)
Thanks for asking - all got sorted in the end.
I had to fire the original company and use some trusted Polish builders I know. They worked really hard to suck the poison out of the build and delvered a really nice finish.
The corners that were cut by the original crew, and the absolute lack of interest in doing a decent job was shocking. I'm a pushy project manager for work, so I hate to think about what they do to other people. I fought with them all the way - but it's different if it's a project above your own head and not one you're running for a company.
Some of the horrors included - steel resting on wood, not padstones, loose roof tiles, shoddy electrics and plumbing, stairs not properly installed, exterior rendering half done, "mistakes" relating to payments etc etc. Sometimes I had to point the faults out several times, have a row, and then finally get it sorted.
I think the problem was that they were all sub-sub-contractors on crappy day rates and didn't give a toss. At one point I had building control on at them and I had to threaten legal action.
I wish I'd just gone with my trusted known builders, but thought I was doing the right thing hiring a specialist. My trusted builders put it all right, unless there were some corners cut that weren't worth the money to fix.
Here are some photos (some of these were still Work in Progress when taken)
