So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Yes, but they're Hungarian

In message , R D S writes
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Bit of a contradiction the-)

Builders will always try to circumvent building control requirements. I
think it relates to BC minimum standards cater for *worst case*
situations. Generally ground is not wet clay with visible tree roots!

Paying your architect to supervise the job stops most of this.


--
Tim Lamb

On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Yes. But the builder is my cousin. The plumber, on the other hand...

On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Had a plasterer who was really good: knew how to use email, job started
and finished on schedule, had a work plan from day one, cleaned up at
the end of every day. Will have him back to do more jobs.

The local roofer is pretty good.

All that in contrast to the joiner who was slow in every sense of the
word. Job due to start Spring 2018, finished a year later, as a joiner
€”cutting and fitting bits of wood€” he was painfully perfectionist, in
every other aspect, design, planning, installation, I wish I had done it
mysel.



--
djc

(–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿)
No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree.

On 14 Sep 2020 at 17:25:13 BST, "R D S" wrote:

So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Had a local builder in, the boss was about my age I think, did the roof
repairs, redesign (limited) and slates. 5 windows, sundry replacement oak
lintels and a small extension for a wet room. kept to budget except for
extras which were reasonable and my fault. Unfortunately the architect had us
contracting the electrics and plumbing ourselves and the plumber refused to
talk, let alone come and work, after the first fix. So I had to do it.
Despite this the work was done promptly and well and to budget. All the
staff good natured and helpful. A relatively restful experience, except for
doing the tiling.
--
Roger Hayter

In article , R D S writes
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Very happy with the builder when we had our extension done. Stuck to
quote. Never asked for extra. The other trades not so, plumber,
electrician, window fitters not so good.

--
bert

On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at
the estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Yes, had a bungalow more or less completely gutted, and extended.

On time, (well probably an extra month added on to the quoted seven
month time scale, because Covid hit five months in, but that's force
majeure etc)

All extra costs/work was flagged up in advance, and choices always
presented.

Final invoice was done in MS Word ! I tried to import into Excel to
check it, gave up, and used paper and a calculator. All was spot on.

On 14/09/2020 20:28, DJC wrote:
Had a plasterer who was really good: knew how to use email, job started
and finished on schedule, had a work plan from day one, cleaned up at
the end of every day. Will have him back to do more jobs.

We know a really good plasterer but he hates plastering!
Probably because he feels compelled to do a good job so agonises over
getting it spot on.
He often abandons plastering for other work and you can only get him to
do a job under duress.

On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

I have dealt with thousands of builders and I was always amazed and
impressed when I met a good one......

On 16/09/2020 11:42, R D S wrote:
On 14/09/2020 20:28, DJC wrote:
Had a plasterer who was really good: knew how to use email, job
started and finished on schedule, had a work plan from day one,
cleaned up at the end of every day. Will have him back to do more jobs.

We know a really good plasterer but he hates plastering!
Probably because he feels compelled to do a good job so agonises over
getting it spot on.
He often abandons plastering for other work and you can only get him to
do a job under duress.


This one wanted to be an electrician, but all the courses were full so
he did plumbing instead, then took up plastering and tiling because it
speeded up bathroom fitting not waiting for another trade. (And he hate
dust!)


--
djc

(–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿)
No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree.

On 16/09/2020 11:42, R D S wrote:
We know a really good plasterer but he hates plastering!

So do we, mid forties and dying of emphysema

On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:
So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other way and
ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done promptly, at the
estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Yes Yes and Yes. Plus I'd never used them before.

Mike

On 17 Sep 2020, Muddymike wrote
On 14/09/2020 17:25, R D S wrote:

So occasionally you get the builders in....

As post why I despair with builders I thought i'd go the other
way and ask, has anyone ever had builders in, had the job done
promptly, at the estimated cost and been entirely happy with it?

Yes Yes and Yes. Plus I'd never used them before.

Same here, but I did choose a builder who had been recommended to me,
rather than the firm with the lowest quote. My guy wasn't the highest,
but was probably 10% higher than the lowest.

(And yes, I know that's no guarantee -- but I've been around tendering
and commissioning for small projects for 40+ years, and clichéd though
it may be, "low quotes" usual means "high extras".)

Cheers,
Harvey