Idiot builders

[paulrbarnard]

My daughter asked me to tile her kitchen for her birthday. Arrived this morning to do the job and noticed the wall was damp. Tapped the wall with my finger and it sank right in. Turns out the last time their kitchen was done the builder dot and dabbed standard plasterboard on to a known damp wall.

I’m just going to patch the hole and bang the tiles on. I’ve run a scraper over the rest and it is solid enough to last a couple of years. It’s going to have to all come off and done properly at a later date.
Why of why do builders do half assed jobs like this. The difference in cost to treat the wall would have been fairly inconsequential compared to the entire project cost when the kitchen was done.

 

[Adam W.]

That's quality!

 

[Bingy man]

My daughter asked me to tile her kitchen for her birthday. Arrived this morning to do the job and noticed the wall was damp. Tapped the wall with my finger and it sank right in. Turns out the last time their kitchen was done the builder dot and dabbed standard plasterboard on to a known damp wall.
View attachment 171384

I’m just going to patch the hole and bang the tiles on. I’ve run a scraper over the rest and it is solid enough to last a couple of years. It’s going to have to all come off and done properly at a later date.
Why of why do builders do half assed jobs like this. The difference in cost to treat the wall would have been fairly inconsequential compared to the entire project cost when the kitchen was done.

What the eye doesn’t see , the customer doesn’t have to address , just another dishonest tradesman who just wants to get job done and get paid .

 

[Spectric]

Why of why do builders do half assed jobs like this.

Because half don't give a shieetee, many are clueless with as many just delivering a looks good but don't look to close job with an absolute minority who actually want to make a customer happy. It all comes down to a conversation, be totally open and honest with a customer explaining the job and giving them options so that they know what they are paying for, do not just price jobs to get them and then cut corners to make it pay.

 

[Inspector]

Won't patching it now and dealing with it in a few years turn it into a bigger mouldy toxic mess? Aren't you are by tiling over it becoming a silly person builder too?

Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^ she's probably selling the house.

 

[paulrbarnard]

^^^ she's probably selling the house.

That is a possibility. They had the kitchen installed along with damp proofing () and replastering when they bought the house about four years ago. They just had a baby so are considering extending up in to the roof or moving. The house is in a fantastic location for them, easy walk to work, shops and schools so they love it. If they decide to move then the patch is all that’s going to get done so yes I will be perpetuating the bad builder situation @Inspector but if they decide to extend I’ll redo the entire kitchen.

 

[Ozi]

Looks like he might be related to a builder I once used, but in a family with no marriages for several generations that would be hard to prove.

 

[Inspector]

Looks like he might be related to a builder I once used, but in a family with no marriages for several generations that would be hard to prove.

DNA.

Pete

 

[Ozi]

Does Nothing Accurate.... I think you have it Sir.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I watched a youtube video a couple of months ago by 'proper DIY' where he did a real world comparison between mixed concrete and postcrete for erecting fence post. spoiler alert, the concrete was the clear winner, not a real shocker to me, but looking through the comments there was an overwhelming amount from proffessional landscape gardeners and the general consensus was doing the job with concrete meant they would have to leave the concrete to set and come back the following week to put in the panels, so do it with postcrete, done in a morning, customer happy because they think the job is done, off to the next job. none of them were interested in doing the best job. I have to say, if I was the customer, and I were given all the info, including how much more I'd end up paying (and the extra time taken) if the slower, better mix was used, I may well choose cheaper and quicker, but most werent told they were getting cheap and cheerful fences. the problem I keep on finding is the 'proffessional' attitude is at every stage to choose 'quick' over 'good' which just leads to a compound error

 

[MikeJhn]

@paulrbarnard Before you tile the wall, find out why its damp, usually gutters or down pipes, bathroom above leaking, and for information there is no such thing as rising damp, capillary action can allow damp to rise by one or two bricks if no DPC is installed, but if the damp is as high as the photo in post one, its another reason.

Just looked back at the photo in post one, could be driving rain wind assisted through an ineffective joint between the window and wall, and a bridge through the cavity if there is one, or solid wall, recent UPVC window installation not correctly fixed, plenty of reasons, far too easy to blame rising damp and then shrug your shoulders and move on.

 

[eribaMotters]

Look on the bright side of it not being more extensive. The final job of our builder on the bungalow we have subsequently sold was to insulate and render the outside. He used the wrong insulation, wrong render and wrong application procedure over the 110m2. It cost me nearly £12K to get it ripped off and done correctly.
He supposedly went bankrupt but is still trading. Do NOT use:-
John Fitz, Fitz Quality Builds, Fitz Builds, working around Formby and the surrounding area of Formby, Merseyside.

Colin

 

[Ozi]

I watched a youtube video a couple of months ago by 'proper DIY' where he did a real world comparison between mixed concrete and postcrete for erecting fence post. spoiler alert, the concrete was the clear winner, not a real shocker to me, but looking through the comments there was an overwhelming amount from proffessional landscape gardeners and the general consensus was doing the job with concrete meant they would have to leave the concrete to set and come back the following week to put in the panels, so do it with postcrete, done in a morning, customer happy because they think the job is done, off to the next job. none of them were interested in doing the best job. I have to say, if I was the customer, and I were given all the info, including how much more I'd end up paying (and the extra time taken) if the slower, better mix was used, I may well choose cheaper and quicker, but most werent told they were getting cheap and cheerful fences. the problem I keep on finding is the 'proffessional' attitude is at every stage to choose 'quick' over 'good' which just leads to a compound error

In de-fence of postcrete

It's great for holding posts upright while building small barns etc. that have enough structure to be secure once complete, not bad for fixing bracers on shock fencing... absolute rubbish for panel fencing around gardens. Like many good products it can be abused.

 

[paulrbarnard]

I watched a youtube video a couple of months ago by 'proper DIY' where he did a real world comparison between mixed concrete and postcrete for erecting fence post. spoiler alert, the concrete was the clear winner, not a real shocker to me, but looking through the comments there was an overwhelming amount from proffessional landscape gardeners and the general consensus was doing the job with concrete meant they would have to leave the concrete to set and come back the following week to put in the panels, so do it with postcrete, done in a morning, customer happy because they think the job is done, off to the next job. none of them were interested in doing the best job. I have to say, if I was the customer, and I were given all the info, including how much more I'd end up paying (and the extra time taken) if the slower, better mix was used, I may well choose cheaper and quicker, but most werent told they were getting cheap and cheerful fences. the problem I keep on finding is the 'proffessional' attitude is at every stage to choose 'quick' over 'good' which just leads to a compound error

I think the majority of people always chose cheap over quality. It has taken years of living with my wife to get her to understand that buying quality is usually cheaper in the long run. The one that actually converted her was wellington boots. She went through three pairs of cheap uncomfortable boots while my much ridiculed expensive pair were still going strong, and in fact still are.

For something like this kitchen I would gladly have given my daughter the extra to get the job done right if I had known it was going to be a bodge. All the kitchen rebuild work was managed by the kitchen company. The damp course injection was done as part of the purchase. I don’t know if the boarding was done by the kitchen company or the damp proofing company. As is safest with a daughter starting out on her own life I let them go their own way. Advice is only offered if asked for.

 

[MikeJhn]

I could never understand why Postcrete is so expensive when they leave out most of the important (cheapest) item i.e "Cement" if you must use it due to time constraints of not buying in bulk, buy a bag of cement as well and put a trowel full into the mix.

 

[Spectric]

That stuff also makes people fit post with to little concrete around the post.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Not particularly in defence of Postcrete, but the fence usually rots long before the uprights fall over (in my experience)

 

[TheUnicorn]

That stuff also makes people fit post with to little concrete around the post.

doesnt help that the bags seem to getting smaller

 

[TheUnicorn]

Not particularly in defence of Postcrete, but the fence usually rots long before the uprights fall over (in my experience)

very true, it was more an example of the attitude than the virtues or otherwise of postcrete, I do think bringing the concrete up a touch higher, and smoothing a sloped finish to the concrete so it doesn't sit any wetter than it needs to helps a lot