As they were intending to break through into the main house and put the stairs in on Friday we decided to go away for the weekend.

1) the dust should have settled and
2) if the work overran, it wouldn't be a problem.

Work had been done on cutting the stairs, but the stairs were not up nor was the loft hatch broken through. 

Oh and I was particularly not happy with the fact we had no banisters and no lights. All of a sudden going to the bathroom in the middle the night has become a major hazard!

It is regrettable that we must write to you explaining our dissatisfaction with how our loft extension is progressing at this moment in time and how it is becoming unnecessarily painful.

There are a number of concerns and we do not feel that Frank is addressing these adequately. In fact we have lost confidence in Frank and whilst acknowledging he is new to the role, don't feel he has adequate training or experience to project manage this, hence my mail to you now.

Currently our issues are as follows:

Staircase
There has been confusion from the start over the stairs that we want. At each stage we have been reassured that your firm do understand, yet evidence suggests this is not the case and on numerous times we have sought to clarify. The stairs have now been made and are ready, although we have no amended plan (as requested repeatedly) to confirm that we are going to get the stairs as per our original & contractual requirements.

We have been advised that the new stairs would be installed on Friday. They were not. We were then advised they would be installed on Saturday, they were not. We have had no progress updates, as I keep taping off the rooms to protect from the dust that dropping the ceiling will bring. We hope that they will be installed on Monday however we note that we have no windows or any form of security yet in the loft area, being told they will arrive at the end of next week. The single lining of felt that is currently used to shield the loft from the elements (noting snow is forecast next week) and to secure (noting we live in a high crime area) will not suffice and will not be accepted as a temporary fixture.

Security
Your builders have the keys to our home and as such we have placed great trust in your organisation. On Saturday I asked a neighbour to check status. He discovered that the front door was locked on the yale only. On the landing the ladder was propped up through the open loft hatch, allowing free access in and out of the loft (not to mention a cold wind blowing through the house). Considering the ease of which someone is able to scale the scaffolding, this is a shocking breach of trust and one that makes me absolutely furious.

Safety
Your builders have removed the upper staircase railing and the landing lights and left site. A fall off the landing would surely cause significant injury. The lack of lighting increases the risk of this happening considerably. We're working round this by sleeping in another room nearer the bathroom to reduce the need for us to go near this hazardous area. We do think that some temporary barrier and lighting should have been installed.

Plans / design / confirmation
From the start we were told we would be provided with detailed plans. Some plans were drawn-up but we immediately pointed out that they were inaccurate and contrary to our contractual agreement (I actually suspect that these are blueprint plans used for all you customers). In response to this we were told amended plans would be provided - specifically we were told the architect would be back on Friday 9th March, then Monday 10th March, then that measurements were taken and the amended plans would be posted. This answer finally morphed (on Wednesday 14th) to "we'll go and measure" once it had been made. This has caused us particular problems with the bathroom. The original estimated measurements we were given by the builders (due to the lack of measured plans) turned out to be inaccurate which we found out after purchasing the bathroom. We have since had to amend the order, narrowly missing a £300 restocking charge.

Furthermore having now measured the remaining elements of the extension, I note that it's impossible for the bathroom door to open if there is a bed in the room. A problem that can be resolved but which should not be a surprise at this stage.

I was told on Friday morning (directly by the builders) that there was a radiator in the way at the bottom of the stairs and that it was being removed. I contacted Frank to ask why it was in the way and by how much. He replied telling me that it needed moving by a metre. This is most concerning as there is only 1.2m on that part of the landing. I asked why the radiator needed moving; by how much; and where the base of the stairs are supposed to start from (by email) and I am still awaiting a response. This situation would not have occurred if we had detailed plans as requested.

Frank then went on to explain that he actually didn't have a plumber to move the radiator. I referred a plumber to Frank (as requested) and have since learnt that Frank was unable to describe the basic details of the job to enable the plumber to provide a quote. He then advised the plumber to get the plans from me however as we do not have any detailed plans the plumber was unable to use the current version as they are not representative of the project. The plumber spoke to Frank again who told him that he would call him back with more details but he has as of yet failed to do so. We have since removed the radiator without any further support from Frank.

Electrics
There are wires hanging down from various points in the house. My expectation is for some effort to be made to coil these up out of the way.

Wooden shavings
I currently have wooden shavings in my hall way, my stairs, my landing and some in the bedroom. It is clear that someone has been cutting wood inside the house and has made no effort to either reduce the mess or clear up after themselves.

Equipment storage
I understand the need to store expensive equipment within the house rather than in the loft void where it could be stolen, but storing dirty equipment on a new, cream carpet is an action that can only annoy the home owner.

Crockery
I am happy for the builders to help themselves to cups of tea, but I have now asked 3 times that they at least return the mugs but my requests have been repeatedly ignored. It's rather frustrating to be unable to make a drink in the morning as all the cups have gone.

Storage
I have already given up my front driveway, access to the back garden, my bedroom and my landing to dust, dirt and shavings and I do not want further mess in my house. Storing the veluxes and stairs in my lounge / dining room just feels like the entire house has been taken over. I was assured by the salesman that most of the work would take place via the scaffolding and they would only break through in the final week once all has been done. This is not the case and I feel that more of the house has been disrupted than is necessary.

Overall we are of the opinion that no respect at all is being paid to our property. This is being treated as your building site with little acknowledgement that this is our home.

We continue to struggle to get accurate information from Frank and due to lack of plans we still are unsure of what the finished result will be. We don't know when the scaffolding will come down, when the skip will go or even when the loft is likely to be secured. We can't get a date of when the plumber will come in, when he will leave or even if he can run the (correct) 22mm pipe for the shower unit. There was some rubbish in the loft void which the salesman said was not a problem however the builders will not to put it in the skip, having separated it from their rubbish. The outside tap has had rubbish thrown on it, breaking it. The fence has had rubbish thrown on it, breaking it. We have not been able to watch television for 5 days since the Sky feed has somehow been disrupted, not only affecting our immediate viewing, but also the recording schedule of certain series. The building inspector instructed photographs to be taken of amendments he demanded. Frank told me the builders had a digital camera to do this, however when I checked they told me they did not and I had to loan them a camera.

In a nutshell, we are very unhappy customers. I have taken tomorrow off work to try and get a handle of what's going on, with a view to trying to arrange working from home for the rest of the week. Security is of the utmost concern and I have little trust or confidence in a successful delivery of the project.

I await your comments,

Regards

An interesting thing happened this morning... I was told that some worker in my house had an argument with a neighbour after parking across the neighbour's drive.

Apparently the argument became so heated it included the line "I've got a shooter in my car and I'm gonna shoot you"????? But this was later followed and ended by "actually because you're an old man I won't shoot you. But if you're young I would".

Sounds a bit bonkers to me....

The builders turned up and I told them this little story. They were as shocked as I was to read it.

The only person they think it could be was one of the roofers, but they were still astounded.

As for the unsecured house on Friday evening, that would have been the electrician. And the mess on the landing, the roofers. Oh, and as they don't drink tea, that'd be the roofers with the raid of all my mugs!

The builders ask me if I know more about the rad being moved, as they hadn't got an answer from Frank. When I said it had, they could then re-plan around that. Today they're supposed to be putting in the plasterboard and breaking through, also securing the loft area. Tomorrow putting the stairs and windows in.

In the meantime, as the bathroom has had the wall's plasterboard and main steel in position, I measured it myself and found the distance was less than they had told me last week (and hence I ordered a shower unit).

BIG PROBLEM : it won't fit.

I called the company, who called the supplier and cancelled the order coming to them. Had they not done this, it'd be a £300 restocking charge.

Grr..  those plans! We should have some bloody plans!

Pete, a local builder I've used before, pops in. . Frank has called Pete to ask him to quote on putting the radiators in and doing the plumbing. It seems that the loft company's plumber man is not likely to materialise.

Pete asked Frank where the bits are going, but the answer was "refer to the plans" and then..."ask the customer". Right.

Anyway, whilst a bit of banter was going on we discover an 'interesting' thought. The intended plumber may not be available because the company may not have paid his last invoice, of £8,000. I have nothing to say this is correct, but it would explain why the plumber's suddenly such a problem.

With this in mind, Pete is still happy to do the job, but he'll tell me and them his price and will add a condition that I pay him direct and simply take the amount off what I am due to give the company. Fine by me.

The man from the council comes round to do another stage of building inspection. Having a chat with him it seems that he's satisfied all his original points have been corrected and he's happy that it's been put in correctly so far. However he was expecting the stairs in today (you 'n me both!) so will have to come back for that.

Still no reply from John, the MD, to my mail.

I spoke to Frank. He'd been given my emailed letter to sort out.

He wasn't happy with what I had written and disagreed with most of the points. I suggested the best way to do this was to talk about each of the points. We both had a copy in front of us and did this... to which he agreed each point was valid. 

I asked if he had got Pete's quote for the plumbing work. He had, but had rejected it as too expensive.

He then asked for the next stage's payment, the 'roofed in' payment of £7,000. As this would take us up to 94% of the total invoice value and we felt we weren't roofed in and insufficient work had been done to justify this we advised we weren't happy to pay at this stage. He suggested I call the MD

Immediately after I called John to discuss.

He sounded genuinely concerned about my letter and how it had gone with Frank in sorting it out. He came across (again) as very professional and advised Frank was new in the job and he would deal with that role from here on.

I told him of my feelings towards the next payment (Stage 5 of 7 stages, but I hadn't noticed that the last 2 stages only represented 6% of the invoice). I said it was called 'roofed in', but the roof was certainly not finished, the area was not secured (no doors or windows), they hadn't broken through, the stairs weren't in - certainly not 90-odd percent of the bill.

He was surprised the stairs weren't in and told me he would make some phone calls and call me back in the morning.

Before he went I asked him about the plumber situation as I was willing to put some more money in it to perhaps meet halfway. He said it was a no-go as their plumber was getting £750 and Pete had quoted £3,500.

I got home and, after assurances that it would be all okay from here on regarding security... I had another access hole cut into the loft, but this time couldn't even block it!

So about my complaint that there was only felt and a screwed in hatch between me and a burglar...

The building inspector viewed the pictures taken earlier and was happy.

Under the floors he asked for more than they were expecting, of chicken wire holding up fireproof insulation. The builders weren't happy with this and he called to check the legal validity of it, confirming that yes, it was necessary.

This is a view looking back

.. and out of the door.

Having a chat with the builders it seems they've got it in the neck for my letter (they were shown a copy) even though only a small section was to do with them.

Still seems that the big disconnect is between the customer, Project Manager and the builders where the Project Manger's been trying to keep everyone happy.

Seeing it go in, the builders show me precisely where the stairs will be going... and it's not where I was expecting where I asked for. However, it's 'almost' right and as they'll be up in an hour, I'll bide my time.

The guys are due back tomorrow to finish off the landing and the remaining steps.

After that, plasterers, electrician and plumber. Oh and windows / doors. And skirting boards, etc..

Nearly there. About another week they say, well I didn't ever think it was going to be finished in week 3 of "3 to 4 weeks", so we're pretty much on track!

Much happier now :)