He could’ve claimed the floor was wet or there were trip hazards whether true or not.
Even if the floors had been wet, his own insurance should cover it. That's the point of checking that traders having their own insurance.
That’s not necessarily true @Fire. As a private property owner you have a legal duty of care to provide a safe working environment and even if insured (PLI is not mandatory) his insurers can counter-claim against yours or if you do not have such cover, you personally. I’m not saying that Ffoxglove is liable or was negligent, I have no idea, but even if a potential claim is totally spurious and is thrown out, it is very stressful and potentially expensive having to counter it. There are a lot of ambulance chasers out there and that’s why I was saying it’s lucky he hasn’t made a claim.
Obviously employing someone that has PLI gives you peace of mind if a contractor damages your property or person, but doesn’t absolve you of your own legal responsibilities or the potential for vexatious claims.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
All I know @Nollie is that our insurance would t cover us for the damage because it was a contractor who did it. I know there were no hazards around to my knowledge.
To reply to others regarding his reputation, he came recommended from several of our neighbours. He’s quite old so maybe something has changed or he’s not feeling great and it’s affected his work.
He basically came back into the house when I wasn’t expecting him on Friday and did more painting. When I texted to say I wasn’t happy about not being told he was coming he said that we weren’t getting along and should call it a day.
I’ve asked him for money for the fix in the wall but we’ll see if I get a reply. It cost £124 for the builder’s time and materials.
So sorry it's been so awful an experience for you. It could happen to any of us...
I have had the experience in my house, many times, that I have a full briefing - in person and in writing for a building job with the owner/ manager / senior bloke. However the person that does the actual work is not them. Much of the detail is not passed on and the conscientiousness isn't there on the job. Short of sitting down for the whole day with various workmen, next to them, while they work, how can you be sure they understand the jobs and will do them? I've had 100 year old window frames smashed by glaziers in a hurry. I've had 100 year old oak floor boards cracked by trainee youths who were chatting away and not paying attention - just ripping nails out and bending boards. Fencers pulled all wiring off the wall in replacing a fence and damaged pipework wrecking next door's hedges.
A new kitchen was put in terribly - everything wrong, all the units in the wrong place. To take it all out and replace would take another day or more - which I was not going to pay for. The guys didn't read the brief or the designs properly. I literally should have sat on the stairs supervised the job!
With small outfits, you try to negotiate and say they have to finish the job properly. They say - we are due on another job, the job is done and shrug. Short of taking them to the small claims court it's hard to know sometimes how to push and demand they come back. They just stop returning calls.
@Fire thanks for your message, it’s so disheartening isn’t it? I appreciate the sentiment though because I feel like a fool, like I should have known better and checked more things.
it’s just hard - we can’t always be there to supervise and careless contractors do these things. A pane on our brand new bifolds was also smashed … nobody owned up so we had to pay as couldn’t prove who it was.
This is the first major work on a house I’ve done, on our first home, and it’s been an eye opener.
The few people who’ve been good I’m going to hold onto!
If this guy doesn’t pay I’ve no recourse really. I can tell others in the neighbourhood about his standard of work etc but that’s it.
When we had our bathroom done a couple of years ago we used a local builder - the husband of a friend. He had built an extension for our next door neighbour as well as a 2-storey extension to his own house. We thought he was good. Well, he was very very slow, took 2 breaks a day when he popped home and employed other people to do the plasterboarding, which we had to pay for. I had ordered some beautiful Italian tiles, some plain ones, but with a slight variation in the patterning, and some with a pattern that had to be placed the right way up. I marked the top edge of all of those. The ones with the slight variation weren't properly randomised so we have one or two places where there are two or three identical tiles next to each other. Where he had to cut the patterned ones he abandoned the idea of their having a top so there are wonky patterns down one side, the bit you look at when in the bath. He didn't measure the height of the shower either, before placing the pipes for it. Consequently it was too low, so he had to fashion some kind of dogleg to make the shower itself higher, which spoils the look of what was a quite expensive shower unit. The bathroom looks good overall but these badly placed tiles, and the weird looking shower irritate me every day and because he is the husband of a friend I can say nothing.
I'm really hesitating getting more house works done - though I have a long list of pressing house jobs to do. I would want now to check every stage and micro manage every process. I've just had too many highly recommended but entirely rubbish builders, glaziers, painters etc. I would be much more bolshy. I would ensure they had their own full insurance and if, say, they move counter tops, ensure they will pay if they crack them. Though I have don't know how to force someone to pay if they say no or disappear, short of court.
The replacement kitchen was just such a mess - and an expensive mess. A vertical learning curve.
I’m really sorry you’ve had such a bad experience Ffoxglove and I didn’t mean to imply at all that you were at fault. Insurance will do their worst to get out of paying anything even if you are fully covered. I have a design and construction project management background but still tear my hair out with builders. I’ve lost count of the amount of times work is not done in the contractually specified manner or to standard and had to fight to get them to redo it.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Thanks for your messages all, it’s made me feel better. I’ll update the thread if there’s another update worth having. I’ll just wait and see for now if he does the right thing! 🙏
We had a kitchen fitted about 10 years ago. It was obviously too complex for the chap who fitted it. Numerous mistakes made. I grimace every time I look at it.
Well he’s refusing to pay on the grounds that the repairs cost too much and we should have done it cheaper! Apparently the builder has taken the piss out of us - the irony!
We have had another decorator over as we just don’t have the time at the moment and hopefully ge can get the job done well 🤞
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To reply to others regarding his reputation, he came recommended from several of our neighbours. He’s quite old so maybe something has changed or he’s not feeling great and it’s affected his work.
😞
thanks for your message, it’s so disheartening isn’t it? I appreciate the sentiment though because I feel like a fool, like I should have known better and checked more things.
it’s just hard - we can’t always be there to supervise and careless contractors do these things. A pane on our brand new bifolds was also smashed … nobody owned up so we had to pay as couldn’t prove who it was.
The bathroom looks good overall but these badly placed tiles, and the weird looking shower irritate me every day and because he is the husband of a friend I can say nothing.