The WORST Builder I have even had the misfortune to meet

Just recently I met the worst builder EVER - no OK not  ever - he is not a match for those ones you hear about on TV who take the money and leave half a building unfinished.

I needed a lot of work done to renovate a flat which is let out. The flat had been occupied for 7 years by a lovely single lady who had moved away.  It was the ideal time to have the flat updated.  There were walls which needed re-plastering, ceilings which needed plastering to cover the artex on them. It needed a new kitchen and bathroom.

I had five different builders round who all quoted anything from £5k to £15k - the only problem was all the quotes were not for like for like. Some could do plastering but not bathroom fitting, some did bathrooms not plastering, some thought only bits needed doing others thought other bits needed doing.  It all became a bit much trying to coordinate the electrician to disconnect, then the builder, then the plasterer, then the electrician back. at some point also the plumber, gas engineer and everything else.

Builder no 5 came and sounded as if he knew his stuff. He spoke about new regulations and came up with some ideas for the flat. He said he could do a lot of it himself and otherwise had contractors he could use.

'What I like about this job,' he said 'is that as it's an empty flat, I can work in the evenings and on weekends so we can get it done.  I need the money as I'm going through a divorce and it's crippling me.

It sounded fair.  He then said 'Whichever builder you chose make sure you get the quote in writing and a schedule of works.'

Right!

I decided I had procrastinated enough and chose no.5.

He turned up on the following Monday with a team of four and pulled out the kitchen right down to brick.  I insisted we keep the kitchen units as they were still perfectly usable. He sneered at me for being tight. I put the units in the front room anyway.
He turned up on the Tuesday and further progress was made. Day three saw the plaster put on the wall.
Day four he never turned up nor did he appear on day 5.  However he did call to say he had been called out on an emergency but he would be back Monday.

I let him have a spare key as my week off work was over.

On the Monday he turned up at 2pm and did a bit more plastering. He then didn't turn up until Thursday. That weekend he was away and the next visit was the following Wednesday. While he was there he did good work but he was rarely there. on 36 occasions he did not turn up when promised. The schedule of works never materialised although I asked MANY times.

I paid by instalments.  He re-plastered the bedroom ceiling as it has artex on and a small hole. A day or so later it rained and a damp patch appeared on the ceiling EXACTLY where the hole had previously been. It was directly underneath the roof so it was clear to me that there was a leak in the roof.  I pointed it out to him and said did he know a roofer. He said 'Ah that's just condensation!' I thought that was a cop out and said so as it was in the same place the other ceiling had had a hole so clearly the roof had been leaking unnoticed for a while.

Two weeks later after far more rain it became wet again. I said it was clear it wasn't condensation as it only happened after heavy rain. I mentioned getting a roofer before it caused damage. He laughed at me and said it would be a 'piece of piss' to fix and to leave it to him.  I pointed out I had some new tiles form a garage we had recently had installed in my house. I collected the two new slate tiles and took them over and thanked him.

Three weeks later it rained again and the roof leaked again.  I asked if he had fitted the tiles.  He laughed and said no he'd fix it soon and funnily enough he had used the tiles on another job he was working on that week. Again I asked was he sure he could do it as if not I would source a roofer before it wrecked the new plaster.  He reassured me he could do it.

All through the job he had been talking about the new flooring LVT flooring which looks like laminate but apparently lasts much longer and is very hard working and looks fantastic.  As the floor in the flat was genuine 1930's woodblock I said I didn't want this ruined as once polished it looks stunning. I said I would think about it but the rest of the flat was more important.

He then didn't turn up for a week. I texted him - he was on holiday. He'd be there first thing Monday. He turned up Thursday and stayed an hour.  During the time he wasn't there I painted the flat myself. I put the curtains back up, I did what I could.  There were a few things I said I would get an electrician to do - like changing the light fittings and sockets as with the new plaster they looked tatty. He told me not to bother - it's only take minutes, those jobs were (his favourite expression 'a piece of piss'. Days turned into weeks which turned into months. The roof was still leaking.

On a few occasions I became so frustrated with the lack of action and him never turning up that I actually chased him by phone and text to ask when he was going to finish the rest of the jobs.

When he finally turned up he asked me if I was related to his ex wife.  When I asked why, he said because I was nagging him. I felt that was extremely rude. At this point the flat still had no toilet, no kitchen and by now the boiler had seized altogether due to lack of use.

Two weeks in he had told me to buy the oven and hob so he could fit them on the Monday - three months later they were still in the box, their warranty quickly running out.  I was paying by instalments, determined not to pay the final balance until it was finished.  I was very concerned as while the flat was empty I had to pay all utility bills and now six months had passed I was being asked to pay council tax too.  All this with no money coming in.  Most of the jobs left were small jobs but jobs I couldn't do (like fit a door).  Six months in we had hit stalemate - there was a huge list of small jobs which were all, according to him 'a piece pf p155' but which remained undone - a small patch of missing plaster, the roof tiles, the skirting board had gaps and was loose, the bottom of the door was missing, the fire alarms were still in bits in the living room, the cooker hood was not on, the sink not connected nor the washing machine outlet pipe. The worktops not fitted and a horrendous run of copper piping not been boxed in all round the back door.  Bit by bit I sorted out what I could. I painted the pipes and walls, put filler in the gaps and sanded the skirting and painted it.

Six times he promised he would come Monday and it would be finished. Six times he didn't and it wasn't.

Finally I asked when I could get the flat let out as it was now into month seven. He said as soon as I found a tenant he would finish the work but now he was busy on other jobs - despite there still being 14 small jobs remaining including the roof leak.

I tested the shower after he put it in and it was either full on hot or full on cold. There was no warm.  I pointed this out. According to the builder it was my fault and I didn't know how to use it properly. Eventually he had a look at it and HE HAD PLUMBED THE pipes the wrong way round so the hot was feeding the cold and the cold to the hot.

While he was waiting for his apprentice worker to put right the shower plumbing I mentioned I was going to be tiling my own bathroom over the weekend as the family were away and would he be bale to give me a quote just to remove the shower and put it back after I had tiled and remove and put back the toilet. He told me not to do it all myself as I'd be  bound to mess it up - he said he would help me FOR FREE because he had been a total dickhead (no kidding).

He sent his lad round to my house. He took the shower off and left while his lad offered to do the tiling - they said it would be so much quicker and better for him to do the tiling for me and it was a piece of P155 for him and I would make a mess if I didn't know what I was doing.  I had already taken off the old tiles and bought the new ones and the adhesive and grout. The lad did the work and it looked OK - not amazing and I'm confident I could have done it but anyway. Builder came back at lunchtime to put the shower back on - he put it back upside down and said he was going for lunch.  They went for lunch and I noticed the shower was upside down. I told him when he came back. after a lot of swearing and shouting they put my shower back on but did not test it.

I asked if I owed them for the work - he said it was a day's wages - £150 despite leaving at 2pm and despite telling me he would help me for free after being a dickhead.  As the toilet was off I said I would get on with the floor - again he said for me not to do it as I didn't know what I was doing and would only make things worse. He said he would come back and help me the next day when he put the toilet back.  The next day he dropped his lad off - his lad did the floor in about four hours. They put the toilet back and again asked for a days wages.

I put the flat on the market for rent in the hope he would finish it. I told him I had a tenant lined up, he ignored me.  The day before the tenant was supposed to move in I discovered a leak and asked him if he could come and look at it. I got a load of verbal abuse including F's and B's telling me don't Dare to blame him for other people's shoddy work. (I wasn't, I was asking for help). I was shocked and upset by this outburst and decided to get things sorted myself.  I got a roofer to fix the roof.  I got an electrician to check the new lights the builder had installed - he found there had been no earth put in and so it cost £200 to have all the work checked and put right.

I have paid all I owe.  I have asked for the key back TWELVE TIMES but he ignores me.  Now the tenant has moved in I find he has linked the hot water to the cistern on the toilet. I have told him about this three weeks ago - he first said it was impossible as the toilet would not be able to draw enough water through the boiler.  I have no idea what he was trying to prove with that comment as he has clearly fucked up again by plumbing the toilet to the hot rather than the cold water. He said he would 'take a look' the week after - that was last week and he never turned up.

Any suggestions - have it done by a professional and send him the bill?  Straight to Trading Standards?

I have been put off builders for life. :(