Episode 29 Cowboy Trap

Cowboy builders know no limits,

and they could be operating in a town near you.

All these bad things were happening.

We'd had some rainstorms,

then all the water started coming in through the new extension,

through the ceiling.

I'm about to raise the roof

on one of the worst building disasters I've ever seen.

I'm having to live with all this,

which I thought was going to be a dream property.

It's turned out to be a complete nightmare.

Me and my team are here to right the wrongs

those bad builders leave behind.

Turn around and look at your roof.

It's perfect!

Stick with me and I'll pass on all my hints and tips

to help prevent you from falling into the Cowboy Trap.

On today's Cowboy Trap,

we'll discover why it's so important to hire the right builder

and how you should never let them get too comfortable

inside your property.

He was cosy and warm through the winter.

He'd run me a £600 gas and electric bill up.

We'll discover how the builder charmed the neighbours,

but left the homeowner out in the cold.

He told lots of people he'd have me in by Christmas Eve,

and he was just showing off there.

The new extension ran massively over budget,

but when it was finished, there was a nasty surprise.

The roof leaked, and the builder had broken all the rules.

The builder on this particular job may end up in court.

We're travelling to Derby to meet retired beautician June Soresby.

Two years ago, June and husband Gilbert bought this modern bungalow.

They decided it would be the perfect home for them

when Gilbert retired from his job as an engineer with Rolls-Royce.

There was a courtyard garden and space for the pedigree cats

they had spent years breeding and showing.

It's a lovely area.

It's quite an upmarket area round here, lovely and quiet.

June and Gilbert hired an architect

to draw up plans to extend the property.

There would be a new sun room and much larger kitchen

and a posh porch on the front.

The rest of the bungalow would be given a complete facelift,

with two new bathrooms, central heating,

rewiring and lighting outside in the garden.

The builder would start work while they lived in another property.

They'd gone up to the roof spars, where you'd call the steels,

they'd done all the shell, the brickwork,

and dug out the floor.

They hadn't put concrete down,

no windows, no electrics or anything like that.

After laying the foundations, bricks and steelwork,

June's builder made a surprising announcement.

He'd decided to leave the job.

The first builders were a disappointment,

so I thought, "Well, I don't know what we're going to do."

I said to my husband, "We are in a mess. What are we going to do?

"We've got to get this sorted."

The half-built extension still needed a roof,

windows, doors and floors.

The rest of the bungalow was still to be refurbished.

Then June remembered a builder they had hired to do some work at a previous property.

The second builder come along and I told him all the story,

and he come and had a look.

And I'd got to know this second builder.

I knew him five or six years ago,

because he came and put a log cabin up in my garden.

June knew the builder's work from years back.

But there's a big difference between building a log cabin

and laying patio slabs to building an extension on a bungalow.

I told him my budget. He didn't say how much it would be.

He agreed it would be finished by end of October, early November.

Desperate to get the half-built extension finished

and confident the builder could complete the job by Christmas,

June made a common mistake - she told him her budget.

Take my tip, never tell your builder what your budget is.

Always ask three builders to come

and give you their detailed quotes for the work.

By comparing the quotes side by side,

you'll be able to see the rate for each separate part of the job.

This will allow you to decide what your budget should be.

The builder started work in August.

My husband used to visit every day to see what the progress was,

and he even helped him.

I used to pull his leg and say,

"I hope you're not charging me for my husband being your labourer."

Well, my husband was a very clever, intelligent man.

He could see that the budget was going out the roof.

It was going over the top.

This is what he says - "Look, we've got to keep this budget down."

That's why he came along, to give him help, to push the job on.

June and Gilbert were beginning to worry

the build was going too slowly.

Things went on, and then it was towards the middle of October.

My husband suffered from a very rare blood condition. He took poorly.

He become very ill, where he got this...

He shouldn't have been really helping here,

where there was plaster and dust and that.

He had a very bad asthma attack.

He was taken into hospital,

and he was so poorly that he ended in intensive care in a coma

for quite some time.

With the build in trouble and Gilbert in hospital,

June had to be strong for both of them.

I sat with Gilbert ten, twelve hours at the new hospital in Derby,

worried out... You know, wondering, thinking, it was such a big shock -

unexpected, a 58-year-old man, you lose them,

and you don't think you're going to lose them that quick.

Then, one Saturday morning in November last year,

June got the phone call she was dreading.

My mobile rung. It was his special nurse,

and she says, "June, you'll have to come quick,

"cos I don't think Gilbert's going to last much longer.

"He's had a turn for the worse." You know?

I got this taxi, and the taxi firm were so good to me.

I was pounding the room till they arrived,

and I don't know how he got me to the hospital in six minutes.

It was like he was flying through the air. But he was a good guy.

He was so kind to me.

And I run as fast as I could into the intensive care, but he'd gone.

It was too late. So you can imagine, I was in a terrible, terrible state.

And I couldn't pull myself together, you know? Just couldn't.

Nothing can prepare you for the loss of a loved partner.

June was distraught and suddenly felt very alone.

But the bungalow still had to be finished.

I told this builder about it over the weekend, and he says,

"Don't worry, you carry on and arrange all Gilbert's funeral.

"We'll look after you."

June hoped she would be able to move into her bungalow at Christmas,

but the work wasn't finished, and she went to live in an apartment.

The builder had made himself nice, warm and cosy in the bungalow,

and it looked as though he'd be staying inside all winter long.

He was cosy and warm through the winter.

He'd run me a £600 gas and electric bill up.

I'd never lived in this place myself, but he was using my gas and electric.

I know he's got to use it for power tools and things like that,

and you don't mind him mashing a cup of tea, but that was never stopping.

And I'd had a big new fridge-freezer delivered,

and he'd unpacked that and used it and made a right mess of that.

He was cutting up food on me granite worktops,

he was going shopping in my time to buy his cigars,

and they'd go home quite early in the afternoon,

as the neighbours told me, you know, sometimes they weren't around.

No, cos they're probably in here, keeping cosy, doing nothing.

The builder was nice and comfy on the job,

but June was desperate to move in herself.

I said, "Well, I can't hold out much longer.

"You've got to get this finished, or I'll be homeless."

He took advantage. He used to say, "I'm bringing you an invoice.

"I want some money, I want some payment."

And I'd say, "Well, I'll go and arrange for a cheque for you,

"but we've got to meet,

"because if you give me another invoice like this,

"I won't be able to pay it.

"Because you're going over the top, I don't know what I'm paying for."

June says her budget was £65,000, but by April,

she had invoices totalling £100,000 for the extension

and the brand-new bathrooms and kitchen.

On the Whitsun, I came round to see 'em. The place were filthy.

The doors were a bit damaged here, there and everywhere.

And I wasn't happy at quite a lot of the things,

cos I could see it wasn't good.

And I says to him, "I'm not really happy about this.

"The place is a mess, and you've marked all me kitchen."

And there were more nasty surprises in store.

I found out all these bad things were happening.

We'd had some rainstorms,

and then all the water started coming in through the new extension,

through the ceiling and the lights.

They were all bad work,

and he wouldn't give me an electric certificate,

a gas certificate, because he said I hadn't paid him.

There isn't one room where you can't find something wrong with.

It's like plumbing, electrics, gas, windows, drains.

The drains was a major problem,

because I had raw sewage coming up through my en-suite.

June's build had come to a very bad end.

But when the builder left, even more problems came to light.

After the builder walked away, he left June with a big bill.

But even worse, she discovered he'd broken loads of building regulations.

Coming up, an independent chartered surveyor

gives the work done on June's roof a big thumbs down.

There's at least half an inch, an inch of water up there

due to the way the roof has been constructed.

We're in Derby with June Soresby.

Her dream of creating the perfect retirement bungalow went badly wrong

when she hired the wrong builder for the job.

With bills totalling £100,000,

June's new extension has a roof which leaks like a sieve,

bad drains, dangerous electrics, no certification for the gas boiler

and a long list of problems throughout the property.

What's happening here, when it pours in rain...

..It pools into the... Like down into the valley where he's put it,

then it puddles, makes a lot of big puddles,

and then it just comes through this ceiling.

You have to have buckets along here.

And then it escapes through the light switch after.

I'd come back to check the place,

and I could see I'd got a mess here and I'd got a problem.

This is supposed to be the family bathroom,

but I've never been able to use it.

It goes in and out, and that's...

It should clip to.

Well, that's the gap through there.

You can't close them properly.

When you do, all the water gushes through.

So I can't use this shower at all.

I thought I was going to have this gorgeous Victorian toilet

and be able to use it.

It leaks from the cistern up there.

If you look up there, there's a great, gaping hole there.

He's put a black pipe on down there.

Now, I'm only a woman,

but I know that this should have been sawn off and gone further back.

He's just stuck it on any old how.

As I said, a lovely bathroom, and I can't use it,

because of the bad workmanship.

That's all got to be corrected with a plumber and a fitter,

whoever can put this right. I hope they can.

Outside, the shoddy workmanship continues.

There's even the risk June could get an electric shock

from the exposed wiring for her garden lights.

None of the cables are buried properly,

and that's an ordinary domestic inside cable

attached to an armoured cable.

And the box is all exposed and water can go into it, and that's bad.

I didn't even know.

The electrician, he was supposed to be registered,

and then I found out he wasn't.

He said he'd got, you know, somebody to look over it.

Well, you don't do that, you have a proper electrical firm, don't you?

And the time that guy spent here, God knows what he was doing.

But this I was hoping to have as a little memorial garden

with my husband's name on there in memory of him, but that won't happen.

All these things along the edge, they're hanging off.

A big, strong wind that comes, a real gale,

they're all going to be off within no time.

And underneath, he's put the tiles. They're all damaged and broke.

There's rubble under them,

and the windows are holded up with little big stones

that you'd put in your cement mixer to clean it out.

And all builder's rubble holding them up there

and tiles that he's broken off just shoved in-between,

hoping - cos I wouldn't go up there and see it, you see?

The way he's done the valley, which falls wrong,

that's what's causing it to leak into the garden room.

I've been told this is bad, but that end's even worse.

The roof is the most important part of any building,

because if rainwater penetrates inside the property,

it causes serious damage.

When it rains, cos that's not put on properly,

it's like Swallow Falls just coming down the walls both sides.

Here, all these are off.

There's no mastic in any of the windows whatsoever,

back and front, and it's the same with the porch.

It's such a shoddy job for what sort of money I've been paying the guy.

The builder hasn't finished the outside

to any standard you could call competent.

He just left it like that, so everything from the kitchen -

it's the same with the utility -

it just goes all over, all the water goes on the wall - you can see -

and down and all over everywhere.

Or I'm washing anything,

like your vegetables, it just comes down.

Thanks to the bodging builder,

this is what happens every time June uses her kitchen sink.

Poor June.

June found life very hard without her husband,

and to make matters worse,

her builder turned her dream home into a disaster.

It's time for me to meet her and find out where it all went wrong.

-Hello there. Are you June?

-Hello. Yes, I am.

I'm Clive from Cowboy Trap.

You've had cowboy builders. Do you mind showing me the damage?

Yes, there's plenty of it.

Come on, let's have a look.

There are lots of problems with June's new extension,

and the local building inspector won't issue a completion certificate

until all the faults are rectified.

I wonder what we can do to help June put this bad build behind her.

-You have no certificate for the electrical work.

-No guarantee.

No guarantee that the gas work that's been undertaken

-was done by a professional, problems with the roof...

-A leaking roof.

And of course, at the moment, the job isn't signed off by the council.

Now, in the short space of time that we're here,

what can we do for you

that will put a little bit of a smile on your face?

-I want a dry roof. I really want to know that it's watertight.

-OK.

There's such a lot to be put right - windows, doors, whatever -

but as long as it's watertight...

Charge me, then, with the job of sorting that roof out, OK?

We'll do that for you. We'll get that sorted.

We'll get the right guys in to do the job.

You've been through more stress than I could even ever imagine.

Yes, it's like being in a horror film, to be quite honest.

It's crucial June has a watertight roof on her new extension.

The council won't sign off the build until the roof is stripped

and rebuilt to meet the building regulations.

We've got a big job on our hands.

June has had so many difficulties,

but it's important she feels safe under her own roof,

and I know just the men that can make that happen.

It's time to bring on the good guys and put things right.

Before the good guys get stuck in,

I want independent chartered surveyor David Hollingsworth

to give his verdict on the standard of the builders' work.

-Hey, David. How are you? Busy there with your notes.

-Yes.

I would imagine there's a fair few notes you've made on this particular property.

There's a number of issues with this property.

Now, from our point of view, your info,

being our independent chartered surveyor,

is crucial to the whole thing.

So, what have you seen that's not to your liking?

Well, Clive, to me, the problems lie mostly with the roof installation.

At first glance, it looks reasonable,

but as you look closer at the detailing,

there's every possibility of water ingress

due to the way the roof has been constructed.

Just explain a little more how that roof has been constructed.

The roof has two pitches to it

with a central section at the bottom of the two pitches called a valley.

-Yeah.

-The valley is lined with a GRP plastic liner,

which transports the water from the roof pitches

into the rainwater system.

The problem that I found, Clive, with the GRP valley

is it's not allowing the water to run into the rainwater down pipe.

As you can see, today, Clive, it's a sunny day,

it's not rained for at least 24 hours.

There's at least half an inch, an inch of water up there,

and that, to me, indicates that in a heavy rainstorm,

that will only exasperate the problem,

the water levels will rise and find its way into the building

through under the tiles themselves.

Anything else that's jumped out at you that you don't like?

Just details on the roof again.

There are very slimly cut tiles around the roof-light areas,

which is another potential area for water to ingress the building.

The windows haven't been sealed elsewhere.

There's also some drainage problems, as well.

In general, it's just poor, to say the least.

June has spent in excess of £100,000.

In terms of value for money, what do you think?

It seems like a lot for what is a fairly small, standard single-storey extension, to me, Clive.

OK, we're coming to the critical bit now,

and that's marks out of ten for the work that you've seen,

what would you give this particular builder?

The work that I've seen, I'll give him four out of ten.

A poor four out of ten.

This builder should hang his head in shame.

Coming up, Gilbert's workmate Terry, who stepped in to help,

says he's glad things are finally looking up for June.

Getting this problem resolved

would probably be the most...

The best thing that would happen to June

since her husband died last November.

We're in Derby, helping recently widowed June Soresby.

She and husband Gilbert planned to refurbish and extend a bungalow

ready for their retirement.

But when Gilbert died unexpectedly,

June was left trying to manage the building project on her own.

She fell into the Cowboy Trap

when she hired a builder who got too comfy on the job

and the budget ran out of control.

When June finally did manage to move in, she found a long list of faults.

Now the council won't sign off the work.

One of the main problems is the roof over the new extension,

which is what we're helping put right.

Our team today is led by Simon Knight.

So, what's the plan of action?

Hey, Simon. Sorry to interrupt you.

I realise the first job is getting that scaffolding up.

Lots of problems for June on this property.

Just explain to us what you're going to do

and how you're going to go about it. What's the plan?

We've got to strip all the roof off there

-and see what's underneath it to start with.

-OK. Big job.

-Yes.

There's no building control been passed on the roof itself,

so we need to see what's underneath and take it from there.

-Around the skylights as well.

-Yep. They've got to be coming off.

How long will it take you?

Hopefully, two weeks, weather permitting.

OK. Weather permitting.

We are in the United Kingdom, and it is summer!

But it'd be great peace of mind for June. Great to have you on board.

While the good guys get to work replacing the defective roof,

I want to track back with June

and find out how her building dreams have ended so sadly.

Did you tell him how much money you'd got available?

Yes, I said, "65,000 is my budget to finish inside and refitting."

Don't tell anyone how much you've got available.

It's almost like telling a pickpocket

what you've got in your pockets.

Don't give them the heads up about what sort of fund is available.

Now, just let's think about the fact

that we never got a contract from our first builder.

Did we get a detailed contract from the second guy?

We thought we could trust him,

cos we'd dealt with him previous five years.

Mm. On a smaller job.

Yes. Yes, smaller job. He said his diary were full, but I knew.

I said to my husband I was lucky he could come.

He started immediately, in the next week.

That's always something to worry about.

If a builder can start immediately, worry.

-Cos good builders are usually tied up.

-I realise that now.

June and her husband were anxious to get the half-built extension finished, but take my tip.

However desperate you are

to get your building project started or finished,

take time to choose the right builder for the job.

Good builders get booked up weeks or months ahead.

June hired the builder,

because he had built a log cabin and laid a patio for them,

but June's husband soon began to have doubts

he was the right man for the job.

So he was saying to me, "I didn't want to upset you,

"but this builder isn't all he's supposed to be.

"We'll get him to finish the inside and we've got to get rid of him."

Well, him and Gilbert was arguing cos by this time he'd gone over budget

and it was coming up to well over 70,000.

When was the day when you said, enough is enough?

It was over the floor in the bedroom, he wasn't going to put this thing right in the bedroom.

-Yeah. Cos there was a crack between the old building and...

-You couldn't lay the carpet.

The place was still in a mess. Dirty, untidy, a bomb site.

Looking like this... I said, "I'm not refusing to pay you,

"but that invoice you brought me round,

"I've had advice from a lawyer

"and I've talked to my financial adviser

"and it's a lot of money to just give you straightaway like that."

I said, "Before... I'm not refusing to pay you

"and I'm not sacking you or anything.

"I want this done ASAP and I'm also going to have an independent report done on your work and the costing."

He went back flabbergasted cos I'd had a right showdown with him.

He brought me to tears. I was shaking.

I was really crying and he knew he'd done this to me

knowing I was still in grief.

He took his tools and took some stuff and gone. He'd walked off the job.

He wasn't going to come back and do another thing there

until I'd paid this invoice.

Fortunately, June found a good Samaritan

in one of her husband's former workmates at Rolls-Royce.

Terry offered to come and have a look

at all the problems she was having.

When I first met her in March or April,

the job didn't seem to have come any further than it was

when she told me what it was like in January.

In about a month since I first saw the bungalow,

I couldn't see any progress and yet there were still workmen on site,

she said, all that time.

Don't know what they were doing.

I couldn't see any progress being carried out.

Terry could see there were problems with the quality of the work

and he took lots of photographs for June as evidence.

The problem with the roof didn't highlight itself

until we had a really bad rainstorm in...

I think it was in June some time.

She rang me up and said there was water coming through her ceiling in the conservatory.

So I came round and I could see the water coming through

so I went up on the roof

and that's when I could see all the problems on the roof.

I didn't know what the problem was,

but I knew that the problem was up in the valley somewhere.

Terry was absolutely right and when the building inspector came in,

he said the roof didn't meet the building regulations.

Let's see what the problem was.

Simon, there was loads of problems on that roof with the valley

and I know you've done a mock-up for us to demonstrate why it was so bad.

-Just talk us through it.

-It was pooling.

When that pooling was heavy, it came straight through into the house itself.

If I just demonstrate how this would run,

or how it would pool. Look at that.

Water is definitely coming over the edge there.

-Therefore, that's going to go straight in through the roof void and cause the damage.

-Yes.

What we need now is a mock-up of the job that you've done.

-The quality. Shall we take a look at that?

-Yep. No problem.

Brilliant. Just talk us through this one.

We've put deeper sides in it to allow for the float to go through.

We've also formed a step, which is crucial for the lead we've used,

so it allows it to move and expand and contract naturally.

and then the water just disperses normally.

I'm going to to put that to the test. I am your rain man.

Here we go.

Look at that!

Now that is just how it should be.

-Beautiful.

-I tell you what, that, sir, perfect.

-Nice job.

-Thank you.

Coming up - the building inspector warns the builder on this job,

he could be in serious trouble for breaking all the rules.

The builder on this particular job may end up in court.

We're in Derby helping June Soresby put her building blues behind her.

When her husband died unexpectedly,

she was left to supervise all the work being done

to extend and refurbish their retirement bungalow.

The build ran over by months and the builder's bill ran sky high.

Even worse, the council say the job doesn't meet building regulations

and they won't sign it off.

The builder left when June grew alarmed by his demands for money

and then she received a letter from his lawyer.

The builder, after all the bad work and all the money he'd had,

he was pursuing me, you know, not listening to me,

he was pursuing me for quite a lot more money

and I refused. I wasn't going to give it to him.

I'd have a report and we'd see at the end of the day, do I owe him any money.

But I think he owes me a lot of money.

I need to counter claim on him.

June's legal bill now runs to more than £10,000.

The bills are mounting up everywhere.

A Gas Safe investigation revealed the boiler hasn't been correctly commissioned.

They've instructed the sub-contractor to return

and complete his work.

If he comes and does it, I won't be paying him.

But if he doesn't come and do it then I've got to pay another plumber,

which we've had an estimate for. It's about 1,650.

The electrics haven't been certified either

and June has been told that to get this done will cost another £2,000.

The local authority building control officer Nick Henman

is alarmed by all the problems which have come to light.

You've seen the paperwork that's been issued

with all of the problems on this build,

via your authority, of course. What have you made of it?

We're a bit concerned on this project

that there are a number of problems.

Derby City Council now will look at the possibility of prosecution

against the builder who's contravened these regulations.

Once an extension has been passed by the local authority

that work can be carried out,

they then get within that about five or six visits.

The builder will always say,

"Look, I'll call in the guy from the council when I'm ready"

at each certain stage.

But the homeowner can call in the inspector if they want to.

Most definitely. If at any time the owner is concerned,

they've only got to pick the phone up,

one of our inspectors will be there.

We're not like the old fashioned clerk of works.

-We're not here all the time.

-Yes.

But that doesn't mean to say that we're not there for the owner

and if they wish us to come and have a look at something,

or if they're concerned about anything,

we'll come and have a look.

We're going to put this roof right,

but how do we go about the rest of the problems?

We will work with the owner now.

The contraventions that have been identified are not insurmountable.

Certainly the electrics are going to be difficult,

but we will be working with the owner to try and achieve that.

If it means that some work's got to be exposed

so we can check and make sure it complies with regulations,

I am sorry, that's got to be done.

The builder on this particular job may end up in court

and I think that's the message. It's easier to ring us.

Bring us in in advance of any problems that he sees.

We'll help him.

We do our utmost every day to stop these contraventions happening.

-Yep.

-The last thing we want to do is drag people into court,

but if people are out there

blatantly trying to contravene regulations,

blatantly trying to not comply with them, we've no alternative.

I think that the fact that you're there on their shoulder

ready to take that action is very important.

Cheers, mate. Thank you, sir.

Our team is busy at work

making sure the roof complies with all the building regulations.

Rain water must drain off the new roof

and not penetrate inside the bungalow.

June couldn't have been expected to know the job had been bodged.

Managing any big build project is a skilled job.

So here's my Clive's five top tips

to help you keep your big build out of trouble.

Decide on a budget and allow for a contingency fund.

Get three fully itemised quotes and compare them side by side.

Don't cut corners. You'll pay dearly in the long run.

Be aware about what the contract does and doesn't include.

If you want top of the range fittings,

like kitchens and bathrooms,

it's usually best to supply them yourself.

Make sure you hire the right people for the job

and check them out thoroughly.

Check your builder's references and trade memberships are genuine.

If you build is very expensive,

consider hiring an experienced project manager.

It may prove a very wise investment.

Avoid adding to or changing the job partway through.

Adding extras or changing your mind can be very costly.

Your builder may have to undo work already done,

or they may take the opportunity

to significantly increase the overall cost.

If you have concerns, however small, talk to your builder right away.

Good builders want happy customers,

so, if you have concerns, sit down and talk to your builder.

Don't wait until things go wrong

and you end up speaking through solicitors.

Coming up - what would June like to say to her builder now?

Why has my ceiling fell in? Why are my windows still not sealed?

Why has the electrics been condemned?

The roof over the new extension on June Soresby's retirement bungalow

failed to pass the building regulations.

The building inspector will be very surprised

when he hears what Simon and his team have found up there.

Simon, you've done a great job on that roof so far.

I know you've still got a little bit to do,

but what problems did you come across trying to sort it out?

When we came across the valleys to take them out,

they'd been preformed in glass fibre.

If you look down here, the joints they used for gluing it together

was a glass-fibre kit out of a car repair kit.

Nothing to do with roofing at all.

-And it's got holes in it!

-Yeah.

I mean, it is pretty awful, isn't it?

-I'm intrigued about the paint roller tray. What's that about?

-A beauty!

Underneath the valley, at one side where he knew it was leaking in,

he put a paint tray to catch the water that was dripping in...

You're having a laugh.

..In the hope that in the winter it would accumulate in there,

and in the summer, evaporate.

-He already knew the water was going to come in?

-Yes.

-He prepared himself.

-He was already doing it.

-Seriously, I'm amazed.

What else did you find?

When he formed the valleys themselves,

he wasn't leading the laths into left and right of the valley.

Consequently he was having to stick tiles together, they didn't fit in.

-He was gluing tiles together?

-Gluing them, yes. That's adhesive.

Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable.

How long do you think you've got left now, in terms of time,

to finish off and I can show June what you've done?

We've probably got about four hours left,

then hopefully that will wrap it all up.

I'm so chuffed we got the good guys in.

-It's goodbye to what is a quite awful job on that roof.

-Yes.

-Well played.

-Thanks.

With the help of the good guys,

I hope June can start to put this bad build behind her.

The problems that June's builder left behind

caused her an enormous amount of worry,

on top of the grief for her late husband.

But she's still prepared to put up a fight and I admire June's strength,

but I'm shocked at the amount of money her builder took from her.

I think it's time we heard what he's got to say for himself.

How long ago was it

when you had your last conversation with your builder?

Erm... The end of May.

And how did that conversation go, can you remember?

Not very well because I told him...

He was asking me for a final... Well, not a final payment,

another big invoice what wasn't the invoice it should have been.

We had issues over this.

It ended in me telling him what I thought about him.

So just remind me, June,

in terms of the length of time the job was supposed to take

and what it actually did take to get to this stage -

how long did he originally quote it would take him to do the work?

12 weeks, but we'd allow for anything.

A little bit here and there, but how long did it take in the end?

It's almost a year with all this...

What did he originally quote? Just remind me.

I told him I couldn't afford more than 65.

So he never quoted you a price?

-Well, he agreed to the 65.

-So 65K.

If you had an opportunity to speak to your builder,

what would you like to say to him?

I'd like to tell him, how could he do this to a woman?

I was very genuine and gave him work through a bad winter.

Why has my ceiling fell in? Why are my windows still not sealed?

Why has the electrics been condemned?

I'm going to give you the opportunity,

you don't have to accept it, the opportunity to call him

or I can do it on your behalf. What would you like to do?

-I don't want to talk to the man.

-OK.

As I said, he's left me in a state knowing I was in grief

and I didn't get a chance to grieve.

I was worried he was going to leave me with a bomb site, which he did.

OK. Look, if you just sit tight and,

as much as you might want to jump in while he's talking, just sit tight.

I'll make the call and we'll see where we go from there.

All right? Let's go.

RINGING TONE

I just want to go through one or two questions with you.

When the builder answers, he says June hasn't been invoiced £100,000

and still owes £23,000.

He says his sub-contractors were responsible for all the work,

which has failed to meet the building regulations.

They'll put right any work which is wrong,

but they've been away from the site because of the dispute on payment.

June now says she's lost confidence in the work

and doesn't want the builder back.

There's no doubt about it,

he sort of tried to pass the buck in terms of the roof.

He got sub-contractors in.

At the end of the day, he is 100% responsible for those sub-contractors.

He should know the quality of their work.

The quality of their work, at best, is poor.

I certainly don't want that electrician back.

He's a young lad and I don't think he's qualified.

You won't have him back.

We've had the electrics tested and June has made arrangements

for the electrical installation to be corrected.

The original gas safe engineer

has since returned to certify the boiler.

Terry, who worked with June's husband,

is relieved her problems are finally coming to an end.

You couldn't ask for a nicer person, an honest person.

You can see the state she's in now,

you can imagine the state she was in in January.

She'd not long lost her husband.

If you could get closure on this for June,

you would add five years on to her life for a start.

Coming up - I can't wait to see June's reaction

when I show her what the good guys have done to make the roof sound.

Turn around and look at your roof.

It's perfect.

Our work is almost finished now in Derby.

June's roof is ready

and I can't wait to show her what a professional job looks like.

Simon and the team have done an amazing job.

I hope June will be pleased,

but before I show her outside, what was it like before we got here?

-June, you've been through a heck of a lot...

-Yes.

But now I want to be able to show you what good guys are capable of,

and hopefully lift a little bit of that pressure

you've been suffering with the build.

But before I show you exactly what we've done,

do you mind first of all telling me what it was like before we arrived?

It didn't look right for a start, it looked messy,

like an amateur didn't know what he was doing.

This is the dispute that my late husband was having with him.

Early days of me taking over with the keys, we had a heavy rainstorm.

It started to come through the ceiling and the light switch,

which was a bit frightening

because I was on my own and I didn't know which way to turn.

I think you're underplaying it there, a bit frightening.

Water and electricity just don't mix.

In other words, it was a complete mess.

-These guys did not know what they were doing.

-They didn't.

What are you hoping for?

What are you hoping to see when we get outside?

A nice shiny roof that's not going to let...

That's not going to let any water through or anything,

that looks decent. And I can be proud of it.

Before finally we go and take a look,

what do you think you've learned

from having a cowboy builder in your property

that you can take to the next time you employee a tradesperson?

I've learnt a lot.

I've learnt that you make a proper contract, a written contract,

and a timescale on it.

And you have to really do your homework on them.

Now, this is the time where my heart starts to fly,

because I can't wait to show you what the good guys are capable of.

-Are you ready to come with me?

-Yes.

-Come on, let's go out.

-OK.

June won't get any more water through the ceiling inside,

because of all the good work we've done outside.

You can now turn around and look at your roof.

Oh, it's very neat.

It looks like a real brand new building.

It's perfect.

-It looks fantastic.

-Proper people who know what they're doing up there.

Look at all this work.

It's fantastic work, isn't it?

The finish is so neat. If you feel strong enough, I can hold your hand,

you can get a bit of a closer look because...

Let me have a look at your view from here.

-Yeah, not brilliant.

-I can see it's looking prettier.

I want to take your hand a minute, I want you to step up the steps.

On to the next one. I've got you. I've got you.

You're my height now, look.

It's really good. I'm really pleased.

There's no messing with the ridging,

where it was all odd and up and down before. Yes, thank you.

Now then, tell me how you're feeling.

A lot better now I know I've got a decent roof.

The roof was a right mess and failed to meet building regulations.

There was no felt, the tiles had been glued together,

the fibreglass valley was bodged with a car repair kit,

and a paint tray was hidden inside to catch the leaks.

Our guys have done a first-rate job

to help June get the roof up to standard.

They completely stripped everything back to expose all the problems,

then they lay felt, re-fixed the tiles

and completely redesigned the valley using high quality lead work

to create a fall line

to carry all the rain water safely away off the roof.

To finish, all the soffits and fascias,

gutters and downpipes have been refixed.

This is exactly the kind of job you can expect

when you call in the professionals.

It's a very big step towards getting June's build fully signed off

by the council's building inspector.

I'm sure it's going to make a big difference.

I feel I can go to bed and not wake up and find

I've got water all over the floor the next morning or buckets there.

At long last, June can finally put this disastrous build behind her.

All building projects are stressful,

but in June's case it clashed with a heartbreaking loss.

But choose your builders wisely.

Just because somebody can lay patio slabs,

it doesn't mean to say they can do your extension.

And don't let them get too comfy.

And that way, you won't go falling into the Cowboy Trap.

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