Sometimes Nightmares are exactly what I needed

[ToughButterCup]

.... to jolt me into reality. Now, I'm glad the wall blew down. Here's why.

 

In case you missed it, here's the backstory.

 

And the analysis of why it happened.

 

But the Loss Adjuster didn't agree (despite being a very nice man)

 

And you might know we parted company amicably enough with our builder.

 

My remaining 8 fingers have been sizzling over the last few days. I worked right over the weekend and looked at what I saw. Hard.

Little worrying hints about this that and the other, not quite obviously wrong with the build, but probably wrong with the build.

 

• Why was most of the rebar still neatly in its place in the stillage?
• Is that wall 'out' by more than a country mile?
• Why is there quite so much shuttering?
• Why am I noticing and mending quite so many saw cuts in the blocks (they should be perfect)?
• Why did the pattern of the blocks change mid-course? (Exactly the same error-smell  you get when checking a bit of JavaScript or CSS)
• Peering down corners showed a worrying absence of rebar
• Why could I see all the way to the bottom of an empty column (no concrete in it yet)  of blocks in some corners, but not  others?

 

A little bell rang in my mind. What would I have done had I had been similarly worried at work? Ask for a properly constituted Professional Review, that's what.

Taking courage in both hands, I rang the Durisol rep, and he came out straight away. The message was not good, not good at all. So bad in fact that I had to struggle to hold back tears. Tears of rage and disappointment. Real, cold rage.

 

So I did what I always do when that happens, did something approaching hard work, and in doing so got really sweaty. Then talked it through.

The catalogue of errors are not for telling here. I'll do a full blog about that. Long and the short of it is......

We're taking the house down. I kid you not. Block by block, course by course.

 

We've taken a good 6 feet of it down today, more to come down on Friday. The build restarts on Monday, and ought to be finished Thursday of next week.

 

Know what? I am soooooooo  relieved. There were several patches of good work, but lots of bad workmanship. Just bloody laziness and lack of care. Enough to make one suspect that much of it needs ripping out and doing again. And that feels strangely 'dirty', sort of disgusting, revolting even. 

A careful still and video evidence trail has been created with official written assessments of the work done to date to follow. New blocks ordered and on their way up here.  

 

If we had concreted on time, we would never have seen the errors, never seen the cockups, never seen the stuff-it-I-couldn't-careless about building to a line or a plumb line.

 

The blown over wall did us a favour. We would have first realised something was wrong when the cracks started in the corners...... You know the kind of thing. And then where would we have been, bills paid and settling in to a few sunsets on the terrace? Thank God it blew over.

 

So, a quiet pint is in order.  Debbie, if you are reading this, we're off down the Patten Arms.

Ian

[AliMcLeod]

Wow, just wow. Any recourse against the (now sacked) builder?

 

And congratulations on the positive outlook. Not sure i'd manage to stay so calm.

[Triassic]

That's annoying! There is no excus for poor workmanship.

 

I was going to say, maybe the UK needs minimum qualifications to call yourself a builder, but that would be a waste of time. My last builder had a civil engineering degree and was a Master Builder, he was still crap at the job and went bust.

[Gone West]

13 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

The blown over wall did us a favour.

It certainly did. Well done for stripping it all back and starting again. You would have been worrying about it if you hadn't. It's a stressful time but when you're past this stage it'll be lost in all the other things you'll be doing.

[PeterW]

Big decision to take it down and start again but I applaud you for it. 

 

There are always niggles  that start you looking for the bigger problems - sometimes it doesn't help to look too hard but in this case it sounds like you've done the right thing. 

 

I take it that me and @Construction Channel aren't putting the roof on for the first weekend in September .......?? 

[ToughButterCup]

At this rate @PeterW and Boy Wonder, you just might. 

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, AliMcLeod said:

[...]  Not sure i'd manage to stay so calm.

 

I'm not fully calm yet. I had a tearful wobble (out of site), and as soon as that happens, I start to remember all the really truly dreadful things I have seen and experienced (worst Warren Point, Rotten Row - for those who are old enough to remember) and think of our lovely little grandson who has at less than 11 weeks had two lots of heart surgery and will have the next good few years in and out of Max Fax surgery.

 

So many people would give their eye teeth to have the problems we do.  I'm fuming, quietly.

 

Oh, forgot.... Recourse to the builder? We haven't paid his latest invoice yet. And I have Debbie to thank for that. Bless her.

Ian

[Jeremy Harris]

I'm really sorry to here this, but together with the story that's been slowly revealing itself over the past couple of weeks about the builder, I can't say that I'm surprised.  Quite how builders like this stay in business I don't know.

 

Out of interest, has the building inspector seen any of the wall structure yet?  If it has been inspected, and these defects weren't picked up, then that would add to my growing concern that our system of ensuring that construction projects are built in compliance with the regulations (in this case primarily Part A) is seriously broken.

 

If you want a hand, I could spare a week to help out, even if it's just moral support.

[Declan52]

Fair play to you for having the guts to say enough is enough and start again. 

Tell the builder to take you to court if he wants paid. List the work you are going to have to do to get back to where you originally where and say you owe me £xxx. 

 

[Stones]

@recoveringacademic   Sorry to hear its come to this Ian, but for long term peace of mind, it certainly sounds like it is the best thing to do. You are where you are, and if the steep and unfortunate learning curve you and Debbie have endured means you have a better house at the end, fate has indeed done you a favour.

 

+1 to what Declan says.  If you have legal insurance, may well be worth giving them a ring if you feel you need any advice in respect of the financial side.

 

Are Durisol able to offer you any financial support given the circumstances?

[ToughButterCup]

Thanks @Stones and  @Declan52.

We have the admin side of it  looked after with some care, I think. Durisol are going to write to me itemising the issues, and I have second by second time lapse video and stills ready for examination, and possible publication.

 

It might not get to that. It may, let's hope for the best, and plan carefully for the worst.

Ian

[vivienz]

Holy cow, that's awful. What a test of mental strength for you both, in terms of what did happen and, as you so rightly say, what could have happened.

 

We're some way off from any build yet, applying for PP at the start of September all being well, but my word it turns you into a justifiably suspicious and cynical individual.  I can't think that I'll trust anyone when we eventually get to our build and will be looking at everything with a fine toothed comb and canvassing opinion here before signing off on anything.

 

Chin up, Ian.

[Crofter]

Hat off to you Ian for taking the right decision. I can't imagine how tough that must have been to swallow.

My approach was to do it myself, and then I have nobody else I can blame

[ToughButterCup]

Thanks folks. 

 

I'm just lucky. That's all. Lucky to have found @JSHarris, @Declan52, @Nickfromwales, @Onoff, @Stones, @PeterStarck and his Admin side kick @PeterW and many others .... @TerryE EARLY enough to read what they wrote. And be able to absorb what they wrote over a long enough time to build a slow, almost smouldering confidence.

 

There's not a great lot that can't be sorted if you are prepared to be appropriately open about stuff, and careful to be diplomatic enough when things go pear shaped.

Like when @Nickfromwales delivers yet another one-liner. God his kids must be long-suffering, patient saints.

[craig]

Hope everything goes well, better it happened now than find out further down the line when not a lot can be done about it.

[ToughButterCup]

2 minutes ago, craig said:

Hope everything goes well, better it happened now than find out further down the line when not a lot can be done about it.

 

I rang Jon day today, to delay his visit @craig. He sounds an interesting guy..... Hmmmmm 

Ian

[bassanclan]

Just to reiterate what everyone else has said, basically so sorry that its happened, but thank goodness you found out now.

 

The lesson has to be NOT "I must do everything myself" but "I MUST make sure everything is done how I want" because you will not be able to do everything.

 

Don't be afraid of hovering over, asking questions, checking specs, monitoring every thing that is done how you expect it. etc

 

Good luck moving forward

[Guest Alphonsox]

Very bad news that it got this far - but far, far better that you've caught the problem at this stage rather than discover it further down the line.

At some point you'll look back at this point as a positive in the build - but probably not for a few months

[ToughButterCup]

6 minutes ago, Alphonsox said:

Very bad news that it got this far - but far, far better that you've caught the problem at this stage rather than discover it further down the line.

At some point you'll look back at this point as a positive in the build - but probably not for a few months

@Alphonsox, this is a very positive thing to have happened. I shudder to think of a dotage saddled with  worries about why and how three walls were gradually parting company with their buttress counterparts. Yes it'll be a few grand. It'll get lost in the general melee of finishing off I expect.

[craig]

1 hour ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

I rang Jon day today, to delay his visit @craig. He sounds an interesting guy..... Hmmmmm 

Ian

 

He's a character alright but a great guy, straight talking and no nonsense. Does a great job and knows what he wants to do and achieve and by when.

Edited August 15, 2017 by craig

[Ferdinand]

10 hours ago, recoveringacademic said:

@Alphonsox, this is a very positive thing to have happened. I shudder to think of a dotage saddled with  worries about why and how three walls were gradually parting company with their buttress counterparts. Yes it'll be a few grand. It'll get lost in the general melee of finishing off I expect.

 

That is an excellent point.

 

The one more project stage before fixing an issue costs an order of magnitude more continues all the way through ... even for 10 years after moving in.

 

@recoveringacademic you are doing this the correct way.

 

Ferdinand

 

[ToughButterCup]

Well, that's a good start to the day.... Thanks @Ferdinand. Now, where are the digger keys? Time for a bit of digger therapy.

Ian

[Calvinmiddle]

Ian, sorry to hear this and it must be very frustrating, enraging even to find out you have been paying your hard earned money to someone who hasn't shown the care and attention to detail that you expect.  I have to said that was the hardest bit of our build, the thinking that if I had the right tools I could do a better job than some of the tradesmen do - despite the fact I have no training, other than wanted to do something right.

To echo everyone else, I think you have made the right choice and yes the extra costs will get lost in the larger total.

[Ferdinand]

Just now, recoveringacademic said:

Well, that's a good start to the day.... Thanks @Ferdinand. Now, where are the digger keys? Time for a bit of digger therapy.

Ian

 

I was also thinking that you could play a mental game of offsetting it against the 10k+ you saved on that use of SPONS to catch an overpriced quote.

 

So you may actually be in a better position than you would have been without SPONS and no builder problems.

 

That may or may not help. When I bought the wrong sort of insulation, and then had to buy a new shed to store it in, I felt it helped slightly that it was less than I had saved at Wickes on 3 for 2s etc. So I saved less money but got a free shed :-). 

 

Ferdinand

 

[SteamyTea]

"The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way" Dale Carnigie (writer).