I feel your pain and you are not alone, albeit yours is an extreme case. We were left with a crap subfloor in our (cripplingly expensive) kitchen extension. I won’t bore u as I posted about it before. The only real solution is to rip it out and redo - however due to underfloor heating and a kitchen being installed this isn’t immediately feasible and without an admission that thingsarent right (settlement my arse) we aren’t in a hurry to address things, even cosmetically, we can’t afford to! my friend and neighbour is 3 yrs down the line following building work and only just finishing (small Victorian semi!) due to a whole litany of bad practice-builders (with every credential going inc loads of recommendation) went awol, Plumber’s work led to condemned boiler., all new bathrooms had to be ripped out the list goes on. another friend is paying 15k to have roof work redone after a bodge job from her builder who got off at court due to a technicality. theres no answer other than confronting them, escalating cases to legal eagles, and naming and shaming those who rip u off and take no responsibility for bad practice or even sometimes genuine errors. once u get your house back you’ll soon get inspired and want to finish it off nicely (and quickly)! Have u lined up someone to redo works?

The problem with builders that cost from plans these days is that they tend to provide you a quote with a single figure or maybe a maximum of half a dozen. What is more they tend not to provide any detail on their quotes and you can end up with the almost inevitable situation that they will tell you that such and such was not allowed for. On this basis a very detailed specification is a must and ideally you should ask that each line item be costed. Realistically this is probably not going to happen, however you have a detailed specification with all materials identified and listed that is tied to their tender response price which can then be used as an addendum to your contract. In this case there can be no dispute as to the works required and the materials specified. Going without a detailed specification will allow builders to provide cheaper materials or omit items altogether and this will lead to a dispute and horrendous headaches for you at a later stage. On this basis my advice is ALWAYS produce a detailed specification with ALL materials clearly identified. It is well worth the time, even if you do it yourself, and the expense if you use a professional surveyor or architect or project manager.

Hello There are a couple of things to consider here : 1. The defects liability period on your project . This exists even if you carry out the works under a JCT Minor Works contract and the period last between 6 to 12 months after the project has been completed ( practically completed ). The builder will periodically come back or at the end of the period to rectify latent defects . These may be cracks in walls, doors jamming , issues with the plumbing that were not apparent at the time of completion. 2. The builder may or may not give an additional guarantee for the works but if he does it should be fully outlined in writing and can range from 12 month onwards. If he is offering this it is best to clarify if its underwritten by an insurance policy or its just his word. As contractors do sometimes go out of business . 3. Warrantees and guarantees on components of the design and their anticipated life expectancy . These can range from warrantees from installers or suppliers passed onto the client on, but not limited to : a. Bi-folding doors or sliding glass windows or roof lights b. Kitchen installations c. Boiler and plumbing installations and heating installations d. Electrical installations e. Flooring systems - natural or other wise f. Roofing installations e.g single ply membrane systems can come with unto 18 year warrantees h. White goods i Sanitary ware J. Waterproofing or Tanking systems for basements k.Others The issue to be considered is that not all products on the market are warranteed and the ones that are are likely to be slightly more expensive. One way to approach this is to: 1. State or ask about the life expectancy you require for certain elements of the project as part of your tender ( Note : That the life expectancy of a good quality product is usually 2 to 3 time the warrantee period given.) 2. State or ask about the sensible warrantee periods for the products, systems or elements of a building required. One can speak to ones designer and or architects about this and they can build this into the requirements of the pricing or tender documents quite simply Defining these aspects of a project at the outset or during the design phase can be viewed as a benchmarking of the quality you require of the finished product , which will also be a factor of your budget. It is quite important not to assume that all taps for example: are made to the same standard and have the same warrantees and or life expectancy. If left to your contractor, without some form of specification , it is more than likely that the elements being installed will be driven purely by price and not by quality or life expectancy. It is therefor important to understand once you have spent a considerable amount on a project what ones annual budget would be for maintaining it. As the monies that are saved on the build will often be spent on maintaining and reparing the project over the years. This is more prominent where properties are rented out or let and the durability issues are more prevalent.

hi Kat by the time you waiting for a planning and finalised drawings and you saying you sent your documents for planning its a right time to get estimate by the planning drawings till they turn up with a tender spec. if you have clear idea about what would you like to have maybe its better to skip the tender spec and make your own decisions as a guide for a builder to price. compare to a size of your project you can assume flexibility from a builder for certain changes during a time of a built. if you have existing bathrooms for example which were stay as its is with no layout changes (studwall movements) its a right time to start to rip them off and start to 1st fix them up also as you would have underfloor heating (not to sure if its piped system) builder can start to expose floors and insulate them through and make all pipework/electrics ready for a next phase which would be your loft and extension. if you issued your planning and you have structure engineer drawings on place too its a time think ahead if you need any party wall agreement on place you would need to start to work on it as it can slow the process of a build (or just propose it for your neighbours involced). other things as like find out main water pressure and main water upgrade is a right way too to start with as with that amount of upgrades old pipework might don't have enough pressure so good to submit applications for water authorities as nowadays it can takes up to 8-10 weeks too to have a main connection to be done.