WEEK 27 - And it drags on ... (Delay = 11 weeks)

We’re back to knocking our heads against the brick wall. Apart from the new ash stairs arriving – destined for the extension – little has happened. Here are some extracts from the email updates provided to our architect over the last couple of days.

Monday: “Spent the entire weekend regrouting gaps in the tiling, removing unwanted silicone and painting the wall outside the en-suite, which has already been painted. Soilstack leaks and shower doesn't work. Briefed [contractor] by text on Saturday and Sunday, but he decided to call off the plumber for today's rip-out of the main bathroom. Not sure why he couldn't have asked the plumber to fix the stuff which was installed by him in the first place... Ceiling in en-suite needs repainted and filled, after the electricians left marks and chips. The light fitting is not flush with ceiling.

“Have read [contractor] the riot act on how they handle finished products. There are marks on the new sanitaryware and the electricians' track-record is poor (fingerprints in every single ceiling and holes in the wrong places)... Not convinced he understands my concerns.

“Can we please restate our/my expectations as to the commitment to achieving crisp and professional finishes, without causing any collateral damage?

“[Contractor] has now decided the new stairs should be varnished before installation. Fine, but we should have been told about this last week. I'll now have to do this work myself.

“No sign of roughcasters. K-rend bags arrived today - they clearly had no intention to start last week. They're apparently returning "this week".

“No sign of glass doors for en-suite. Should have arrived on Friday, with delivery to site scheduled for today. [Contractor] doesn't know what's happened. Didn't chase on Friday...

“One labourer still working on removing paint from gable wall. Two joiners twiddling their thumbs.

“Going nowhere fast... A vicious circle of empty promises and little substance, alleviated by peaks around site meetings - little action in between...”

Wednesday (today): After the shortest site meeting in history – 10 minutes – where the architect had to call off at short notice and the contract manager decided not to turn up, it was hard not to completely lose the plot:

“Meeting with [contractor] was a complete waste of time. No sign of [contracts manager]. No progress on render; still no sign of en-suite doors; nothing being done in the bathroom today.

”They don't appear to have a grip on their own resources let alone any sway with suppliers.

”Coupled with the total lack of initiative and drive to get this finished, it's becoming harder and harder to take them seriously.

“They're just replaying information they've been telling us for weeks. The only difference is the constant slippage, which makes a mockery of the weekly commitments they make at each site meeting. The stuff we're asking them to procure shouldn't be particularly hard to come by, but as I said to [contractor] earlier, it feels as though somebody is having a laugh.

”On the resourcing front, there is one joiner and one labourer on site. I asked [contractor] for another labourer yesterday and they may put an extra person in to strip the bathroom tiles tomorrow. As I reminded [contractor] this morning, they've already lost one day by not doing anything in the bathroom today. So two days into the bathroom refurbish, they're already a day behind.

”Tiring and trying...”