Episode 12 Cowboy Trap


Episode 12

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We're travelling all over the UK

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to meet the homeowners forced to live with the grim consequences

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of employing a cowboy builder.

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It was so distressing and so upsetting

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to have lost all that money on a building job that was never going to be right.

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Whether shoddy workmanship or downright lies,

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cowboy builders are unscrupulous villains

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who not only destroy dreams, they wreck lives, too.

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No external doors, so it was very cold when he put them on the wrong way round and they didn't shut.

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-He's a builder?!

-He put them on backwards!

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We've rounded up the good guys to help turn these helpless homeowners

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into merry mortgagees.

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Everything here looks as it should look in a finished job.

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-It's nice to see there's a good end to this story.

-Yeah. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

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It's thought cowboy builders cost Britons over £700 million each year.

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So if you think you know how to spot one, think again.

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Make no mistake, the next 45 minutes could help keep you

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out of the cowboy trap.

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'On today's Cowboy Trap, a phoney builder whose so-called kitchen extension

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'left a young family living in chaos.'

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I was a little surprised he was fitting the cabinets and the sink without putting the roof on.

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'And three years after we rescued them,

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'we catch up with some cowboy builder victims in Devon

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'to see how they're doing now.'

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-Your house looks fantastic.

-We feel indebted to the good guys.

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I know how bad it looked before they started.

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Our first Cowboy Trap saga revolves around a home in picturesque Barrow upon Soar in the Midlands.

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The village is famous for its fossils

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and a scientifically important find in 1851,

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when a prehistoric plesiosaur was excavated from a lime pit here.

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The specimen, known locally as "The Barrow Kipper",

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is now on display at a museum in Leicester.

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Plesiosaurs, of course, were giant sea reptiles

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that lived at the same time as dinosaurs.

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I live for the day when the scourge of the cowboy builder

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is consigned to history books and museums, too!

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But right now, we're on the trail of a present-day reptile

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who's very much alive but whose work was a dead duck.

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His victims live in this four-bed semi.

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It's home to 47-year-old Natalie Mackenzie

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and her four children, George, Cora, Louis and Ruby.

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Oh, and we mustn't forget the real bosses round here, Jifar and Sinbad.

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Five years ago, Natalie's marriage broke down

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and she was forced to move out of the family home.

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At the time, she was devastated.

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When the relationship came to an end,

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I was in quite a scary place.

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I hadn't been independent in any way.

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I'd been at home with a young family

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and it was a little like jumping off a cliff.

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These were tough times for Natalie.

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As well as coping with the heartbreak of divorce,

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she found herself facing life on her own with four children under 12 to support.

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Her husband had always been the breadwinner,

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so now, in addition to finding a new home,

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she had to find work, too.

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Natalie's always had a passion for cooking,

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so she got a part-time job in a local cafe.

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When it came to finding a new home,

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she wanted somewhere nearby

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to minimise disruption for her children.

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So she was delighted when a small but pretty 18th-century semi

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came on the market, just 50 yards from her old home.

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The house was perfect, bar one thing.

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The previous owner was elderly and hadn't touched it for years,

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so there was an enormous amount of work to be done.

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But Natalie went into it with her eyes open

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and what she could see was the potential of the place.

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It needed complete renovation, it needed gutting, rewiring, replastering.

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It had been covered up, and things were hidden,

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but it had great potential.

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Natalie moved in, intending to live in just a few of the rooms

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while she refurbished the others as quickly as her small budget would allow.

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They made do like this for a couple of years, but there was one thing there was no getting away from.

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The busy mum with a passion for cooking and a family to feed

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desperately needed a proper kitchen.

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Natalie decided the answer was to build an extension to make space for a kitchen diner.

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A friend recommended an architect, and she had him draw up plans.

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Natalie applied to extend her mortgage and got a green light.

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Now all she needed was a builder.

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And her architect said he knew just the man.

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He said that it was well within his capabilities.

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He could do a really good job. And he seemed very honest.

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You might think the thumbs up from an architect

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means you're on to a safe bet.

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But you'd be wrong. And we see it time and time again on Cowboy Trap.

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This sort of thing is no more reliable than a word of mouth recommendation

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to be taken with a hefty pinch of salt.

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Natalie's builder quoted £8,000 for the extension

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and a further £2,000 for the new kitchen and drainage,

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coming to a grand total of £10,000.

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He wanted a hefty down-payment in cash

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which Natalie duly handed over.

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The builder promised the job would be completed in six weeks and work commenced.

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But his idea of a working day was a bit - how can I put it? - unconventional.

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He never came before ten o'clock.

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And he always left around half past one or two o'clock.

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So he was never available to speak to.

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It was quite difficult to communicate with him

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because he worked quite a short day and I was working.

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A three-and-a-half-hour day?!

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That's not short, it's miniscule!

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The builder put it down to problems at home.

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Hmm. I've heard that one before.

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He always had a major trauma with one of his stepchildren

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or something was always going wrong,

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why he couldn't be here, or why he had to leave early

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or why he was on his own.

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I began to suspect things weren't quite as he said.

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Take my advice.

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The builder may have been poor at time-keeping,

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but he was great at asking for cash.

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Soon another £3,000 had changed hands for supplies and works.

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Talking of which, Natalie was worried about the order in which works were being carried out.

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We didn't have a roof on the utility room.

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He explained to me that the roof and the doors were to be put on later.

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He was doing the internal wall for the loo

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and the tiling and the sink and fitting some of the cabinets.

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I was a little surprised he was fitting the cabinets and the sink without putting the roof on!

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Not kidding!

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Without the roof on, there was no protection for the fittings or the electrics underneath.

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Madness!

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And there was another worry.

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As the build progressed, it became apparent that the builder wasn't following the architect's designs.

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He didn't put in the window that was supposed to be on the drawings.

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He had a reason. Everything had a reason why he couldn't do that.

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Oh, the drawings were a bit wrong, or he couldn't do that because of this.

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I did get a bit concerned at that stage that he wasn't doing exactly what had been requested.

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Things came to a head in November,

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a full five months after this so-called six week job got underway,

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when the cowboy had a row with the building control inspector.

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Shortly afterwards, he simply vanished.

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Natalie could forget about the family Christmas she'd planned with a turkey cooked in her new kitchen.

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Because despite call after call,

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this so-called tradesman never got back to her.

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Natalie's dreams were in tatters.

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She can't believe the shocking state her home's been left in.

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The roof leaks in five places.

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The bathroom window doesn't exist.

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The doors don't close.

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The bubble wrap is unattractive, which is stuffed between the door and the feature wall

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which was supposed to be a feature with a lovely old granite wall,

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but it's just been left.

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And that's not all.

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The plasterwork is pathetic,

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the tiling terrible

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and the rendering risible.

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Not surprisingly, Natalie is devastated.

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She doesn't know where she'd be without her kids to take her mind off it.

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They have tried to jolly me along and cheer me up

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when it's got to me, and got me down,

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and the rain's coming through the roof.

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They have made an effort to make me feel better about the whole thing.

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You know, bricks and mortar might sound a bit humdrum,

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but they're the foundations of many a dream come true.

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That's why it's so upsetting when you see those dreams

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dashed by these rank amateurs and charlatans.

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And one thing these charlatans are good at is covering their tracks.

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It's often the case on Cowboy Trap that on the surface,

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things don't look too bad.

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But on closer inspection... Oh, dear!

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That's why we asked independent building surveyor Paul Brown

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to inspect the work at the Mackenzies'.

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He's been through it with a fine-tooth comb

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and he's about to fill me in on what he found.

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First item on the agenda, the architrave on the extension's internal door.

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And Paul doesn't mince his words.

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It's terrible, and it shows that the person who did this

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didn't have the requisite trade skills to be doing what they're attempting to do.

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And it's a very amateurish attempt

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that most people would do better. It's quite poor.

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A DIY-er would be gutted if they'd done this.

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I can't tell what's filler and what's glue.

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It's a mess, isn't it?

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It doesn't line up. There are steps. It shows no finesse, no quality.

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And below what is the reasonable expectation

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of almost anybody who is purchasing, and that's the key thing here.

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They've paid for building work to be carried out.

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You expect it at a reasonable standard. And this just isn't that, is it?

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And things aren't getting any better at ground level.

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That skirting isn't sitting in the right place

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and there are joints that aren't joined at all.

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What a mess!

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And when you look up, things...don't look up.

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This damp, this is something to do with the flat roof, is it?

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This is all to do with the roof

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and this is the real major problem that this person has created.

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They've started a job without the technical know-how

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to fit a roof at the correct pitch.

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The pitch of a roof is so key.

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The materials you put on a roof will only work above a certain pitch.

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This was on at about eight degrees.

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That's technically a flat roof, so only certain materials can be used on it.

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Now, there were tiles on this roof.

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At that pitch, those tiles aren't shedding water as they should do.

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Those tiles are made of concrete.

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Not clever on what is practically a flat roof

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because the gradient is so shallow.

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Everywhere you look, there are potential causes of damp issues underneath.

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The roof window they put in shouldn't be at that pitch.

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It should have a minimum pitch of 15 degrees for all the flashing to work

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so none of the waterproofing, including the lead flashings,

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tiles, the roof window, again, are going to achieve what they should do, which is keep water out.

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'Right. Into the utility room.

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'Perhaps things are better in there.

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'Well, what do you think?'

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That looks abysmal.

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Those tiles, it's...

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They're going to be ruining that work surface as well.

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But they look like they've been thrown on!

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Very, very poor workmanship in terms of the way the tiles sit relative to one another.

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They should be neat. They should have even joints which are grouted in.

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It should look pristine. It's virtually new.

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And the other problem we have

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is we have electrical items which are relatively close to the sink.

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Most builders will employ a competent electrician to do their work.

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Electricians don't do this sort of thing.

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This is alarming. Why have we got electrical items next to a sink?

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Did that mean the builder didn't employ somebody who was competent? It's a safety issue.

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'Plugs close to the sink?

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'As my favourite James Bond, Sean Connery, would say,

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'"That's shocking!"

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'And the electrics aren't just at risk from tap water.

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'Rainwater's bound to get in under the bottom sill of those external doors.

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'And they're single rather than double glazed.

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'That contravenes building regs as well as being draughty.'

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This looks like a sinking ship!

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Yes. It will just allow possibly even vermin and insects,

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everything that comes around that door, ants, that sort of thing,

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but most important probably water.

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And that, in the long term, will cause the bottom of the door to decay.

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It'll probably affect the adhesion on the tiles around the door.

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It's going to fail and start to look shabby very quickly

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which you can see in the photo.

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'And the builder didn't put a damp proof course in.

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'Natalie's going to need flippers and a snorkel at this rate!

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'It's as clear as day.

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'Bodge, bodge, bodge.

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'And the garden path was supposed to be done, but the builder never got round to finishing it.

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'Tripping hazards with kids around? Not good.

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'Well, it's make your mind up time for Paul.'

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Someone has left a lady bringing up four children on her own in this house, in this state.

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But in your professional opinion,

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what would you give this builder out of ten?

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I could only suggest that this is a one.

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He arrived and the fact he was present for part of this work,

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I'll give him one for that.

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But other than that, the work itself, appalling.

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It breaches every standard virtually going. So nothing beyond that.

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The message to him is, "Give up your day job."

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I think this isn't his day job. He should go back to what he was doing before.

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'Hmm. I wonder what that was!

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'Herding cattle in a Stetson and stirrups, perchance?

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'Because there can be little doubt this guy's a cowboy.

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'Check out the evidence.

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'A wonky architrave, shambolic skirting,

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'pitiful plastering, terrible tiling

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'and poorly placed plugs.

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'And let's not forget those dreadful doors,

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'the risible rendering, the precarious path

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'and that rubbish roof!'

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'Having this guy in charge of a build is like having Count Dracula in charge of a blood bank.

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'Bad news.'

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In short, we're talking a building horror story

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with only one chance of a happy ending.

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Time to bring in our good guys.

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And here's our head good guy honcho, the exotically named Konrad Skubala.

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If anyone can sort all this out, Konrad can.

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So much needs doing, Natalie is chipping in.

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No hanging about. The Skubala squad swings into action.

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They terminate the old tiles,

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and do away with the dodgy window.

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Then they cut the timber frames...

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..and place the new plywood in position.

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It's a great start. But can Konrad get Natalie's dreams back on track?

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Only time will tell.

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I'm in the Midlands, in the pretty village of Barrow upon Soar,

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where busy mum Natalie Mackenzie

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hoped that by building an extension,

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she'd finally get the kitchen diner her family badly needed.

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But her dreams turned to dust

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when she hired a builder who didn't know what he was doing

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and who, eventually, just vanished.

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Now, instead of a disappearing trick,

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with a bit of luck, our good guys have worked a different kind of magic.

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Let's see how she's getting on.

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-Hi, Natalie.

-Yes, that's right.

-I'm Jonnie.

-Hello, Jonnie.

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-You're smiling!

-Yes, I am!

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-Good news, good times?

-Yes, very good.

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-Can we have a look?

-Come on in.

-Hello, cat!

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'It's "Hello, cat", but is it "Goodbye flawed extension?"

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'As soon as I cross the threshold, I can't resist a quick peek.

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'Remember, before, the interior was a cornucopia of catastrophe.

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'Check it out now!

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'And our good guys were faced with a woeful exterior

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'and rank awful roof.

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'Now, it's a whole new ball game.

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'Before I take a closer look at the good guys' efforts,

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'I want to ask Natalie how she got caught in the cowboy trap in the first place.'

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When did you realise things were going wrong?

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The first issues, I think, would have been in the utility area.

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They were problems which seemed to escalate.

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And he had a reason or an excuse every time

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and I started to get a bit niggly.

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He didn't put any roof on, nothing was waterproofed,

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nothing was covered.

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-What time of year was this?

-It was getting into autumn and it was getting late.

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It was getting wet. I had exposed electrics. I was concerned about that.

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He assured me that wasn't a problem.

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But I was concerned and the time schedule was lapsing and lapsing and lapsing.

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You've got winter fast approaching. This is a concern.

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Yes. And no external doors.

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So it was very cold. He told me that they would be fitted

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and unfortunately he put them on the wrong way round

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-and they didn't shut.

-He put them...

-Yeah.

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-He's a builder!

-I know. He put them on backwards.

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'He put the doors on backwards?!

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'Door-fitting clearly wasn't part of his builder's skill set.

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'Maybe he should have opted for a career in escapology instead!'

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In early December, he told me he'd got a much bigger job on

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and he was travelling to this job and it was a huge deal for him.

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I accepted that and said, "As and when you can, please come back

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"and give me half a day or a day to do the final bits and pieces."

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He absolutely assured me that that would be the case. He would do that.

0:19:020:19:06

And he never did.

0:19:060:19:08

You've been very understanding here. Do you think you were a bit soft with him?

0:19:080:19:12

Yeah, I think I was very soft with him.

0:19:120:19:14

I think that was probably a big, big mistake.

0:19:140:19:18

'And an expensive mistake it was, too.

0:19:180:19:22

'By this point, the cowboy builder had taken Natalie for £10,000.'

0:19:220:19:27

He'd had the money. I couldn't afford then, on the loan I'd taken out,

0:19:270:19:30

to get anybody else in.

0:19:300:19:32

-Did you try and get him back?

-Yeah, I did.

0:19:320:19:34

Even though I was uncomfortable with that,

0:19:340:19:37

-I didn't think he was coming back.

-It's a rock and a hard place.

0:19:370:19:40

-You want him back, but you're uncomfortable.

-I knew he wasn't coming back. In my heart, I knew.

0:19:400:19:44

He had no intentions. You could see that.

0:19:440:19:47

-So he spent all your money.

-Uh-huh.

0:19:470:19:49

Left you with a...

0:19:490:19:51

Well, we can't call it an unfinished job. A botched job that hasn't been finished.

0:19:510:19:57

It's almost a blessing he didn't finish the job because there'd be more botching done!

0:19:570:20:01

But you must have... You'd been through a divorce, yourself,

0:20:010:20:04

-raising four children on your own.

-Mm-hmm.

0:20:040:20:07

You must have been at the end of your tether!

0:20:070:20:09

It was so distressing and so upsetting

0:20:090:20:11

to have lost all that money on a building job that was never going to be right.

0:20:110:20:15

I was never going to be able to afford to repair it.

0:20:150:20:18

It leaked everywhere, the plaster was falling off, it was a disaster zone.

0:20:180:20:22

'Disaster Zone with a capital D and a capital Z, too.

0:20:230:20:27

Looking better now, though,

0:20:270:20:29

and the other good news is that despite the trauma of her encounter with a cowboy builder,

0:20:290:20:34

Natalie is wiser for the experience.

0:20:340:20:37

I should have done more research.

0:20:370:20:39

I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have accepted these excuses,

0:20:390:20:42

I shouldn't have believed the stories.

0:20:420:20:44

I should have stopped him earlier.

0:20:440:20:46

I shouldn't have let him continue.

0:20:460:20:49

When the warning bells were ringing, I should have done something sooner, basically.

0:20:490:20:53

Yep, listen to those warning bells, my friends,

0:20:540:20:57

they could save you lots of money.

0:20:570:20:59

Right. Time for me to take a closer look at the good guys' handiwork.

0:21:000:21:04

Well, the door's not sticking, which it must have done before.

0:21:070:21:11

The architraving, it looks perfect.

0:21:140:21:17

Not a word I've used before.

0:21:170:21:20

Everything here looks as it should look

0:21:200:21:24

in a finished job.

0:21:240:21:26

This gap is uniform all the way down the reveals of this door.

0:21:260:21:30

It looks fantastic.

0:21:300:21:32

And the whole place feels good.

0:21:320:21:34

Let's think about the problems that were here before.

0:21:340:21:37

Remember the skirting board? It was a joke, as much as anything else.

0:21:370:21:41

I can't see a join, which is how it should be.

0:21:410:21:45

This skirting board here looks absolutely fantastic.

0:21:450:21:47

The walls. It's been plastered, finished. Look at the coats here.

0:21:470:21:51

People are using this

0:21:510:21:53

as part of their home.

0:21:530:21:55

It feels warmer. It feels like a space you'd want to use.

0:21:550:21:57

Now, here we go.

0:21:570:21:59

Here, if you remember,

0:22:010:22:03

there was - I don't think "dodgy tiling" does that awful job justice.

0:22:030:22:07

Here, you've got something that marries up with the worktop.

0:22:070:22:11

They've done very well. It's not botched. It looks like a finished product.

0:22:110:22:14

But all this was in danger of being flooded out if the roof collapsed

0:22:140:22:20

which, in time, it probably would have done.

0:22:200:22:22

But look what we've got here.

0:22:220:22:24

'A water-tight roof at last.

0:22:240:22:26

'The wet stuff is no longer penetrating.

0:22:260:22:29

'The evidence is clear to see.'

0:22:290:22:31

Consider what was here before.

0:22:320:22:34

There was damp all the way across the corners of the ceiling.

0:22:340:22:37

Now, the walls are dry, it's finished.

0:22:370:22:40

It's a top job.

0:22:420:22:43

'Top job inside. Right, onto the exterior.

0:22:430:22:47

'Remember the back-to-front single-glazed external doors the cowboy left behind?

0:22:480:22:52

'The good guys' doors are spot on.'

0:22:520:22:55

Well, they feel solid, they look solid.

0:22:580:23:01

And most importantly...

0:23:010:23:03

..they're double-glazed and comply with building regulations,

0:23:040:23:07

which, let's face it, is to look after the people who have the projects done.

0:23:070:23:12

This, not only does it look solid,

0:23:120:23:15

it's going to save heating bills in future.

0:23:150:23:17

And they've got draught excluders here. It looks the part.

0:23:170:23:22

And the smart fascia and new gutters the good guys installed are perfect.

0:23:230:23:27

'Let's get a better view of the roof.'

0:23:270:23:30

Funny, isn't it? Beforehand, there were concrete tiles on that roof.

0:23:320:23:36

But the concrete tiles were ones you'd put on a pitched roof.

0:23:360:23:40

But it's almost a flat-roof gradient on there.

0:23:400:23:43

Now, the builders we've had in, the good guys,

0:23:430:23:47

they've seen what needs to be done.

0:23:470:23:49

The slope of the roof is basically a flat roof,

0:23:490:23:52

so they've put a flat roof covering on it. Makes perfect sense.

0:23:520:23:55

Looks like they've also done something clever with the skylight.

0:23:550:23:58

I'm chuffed to bits. It looks great, doesn't it?

0:23:580:24:00

'And the man responsible has popped back to give me the inside track

0:24:000:24:04

'on the challenges he faced.'

0:24:040:24:06

Straightaway, you've made a decision that an experienced builder makes.

0:24:060:24:10

I can see a stack of concrete tiles over there.

0:24:100:24:13

And you thought, "We've essentially got a flat roof. Let's put a flat roof covering on it."

0:24:130:24:18

Exactly. When we'd stripped it off and got to where the water had collected on the felt,

0:24:180:24:22

there was a sink's worth of water we had to take out.

0:24:220:24:25

The felt is semi-permeable,

0:24:250:24:28

so it will leak if water's sitting on it. It's not designed for water to sit.

0:24:280:24:31

Hence the reason we had all the damp issues inside.

0:24:310:24:35

-That was a bigger problem waiting to happen.

-Exactly. Massive.

0:24:350:24:38

'Inside, Konrad and his team had a lot of making good to do.

0:24:380:24:42

'And what a great job they did.'

0:24:420:24:45

There were a lot of damp issues on each part of the ceiling.

0:24:450:24:48

We had to dig all that out and then replace and put back.

0:24:480:24:51

Re-done this door. Re-hung it.

0:24:510:24:54

It wasn't a working door. It had a big hole in the bottom

0:24:540:24:57

where they just cut a hole to let the cats in and out!

0:24:570:25:00

-What?!

-Exactly.

0:25:000:25:02

I shouldn't laugh, sorry. But what?!

0:25:020:25:04

Some strange ideas from people. Obviously all the woodwork, redecorated everywhere.

0:25:040:25:09

You've got almost a farmhouse feel.

0:25:090:25:11

-This suits what she's trying to replicate throughout the kitchen.

-Exactly.

0:25:110:25:15

'Yes, very tasteful.

0:25:150:25:18

'Before Natalie reveals what she thinks to her new utility room,

0:25:180:25:22

'there's a sensitive issue to discuss.

0:25:220:25:24

'Her cowboy builder's version of events.

0:25:240:25:26

'Or, to be more precise, his lawyer's.

0:25:260:25:30

'I kid you not.'

0:25:300:25:32

Now, we always give our builders the right to reply.

0:25:320:25:35

Your builder has declined the opportunity to give his side of the story.

0:25:350:25:39

-Right.

-Now, through his solicitor,

0:25:390:25:42

he did say he "didn't intend to waste any more time and effort on this matter."

0:25:420:25:48

-They were his words from his solicitor.

-OK.

0:25:480:25:52

How does that make you feel?

0:25:520:25:53

That's the strangest response.

0:25:530:25:56

"He didn't want..." Could you repeat that?

0:25:560:25:59

He said he "Did not intend to waste any more time and effort on this matter."

0:25:590:26:04

That's unbelievable.

0:26:040:26:06

That's unbelievable!

0:26:060:26:09

-Almost blase, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:26:090:26:10

It is. It's very cold and, um, it's shocking, really.

0:26:100:26:16

-I think. That's quite a shocking thing to say.

-Yeah.

0:26:160:26:20

His solicitor also went on to say

0:26:200:26:22

that you "have clearly given us an inaccurate account

0:26:220:26:27

"of both the money and the work done."

0:26:270:26:29

Well, you've seen the work done

0:26:290:26:31

-and you can judge that for yourselves.

-Yep.

0:26:310:26:34

The money was exactly that.

0:26:340:26:37

-That was the loan.

-Yes.

0:26:370:26:39

-You spent the loan that you got.

-Yes.

0:26:390:26:42

You've been throughout this process pretty understanding.

0:26:420:26:46

You cut this guy some slack.

0:26:460:26:49

He had "trouble at home" apparently.

0:26:490:26:52

You let him come in after half nine and leave after lunch.

0:26:520:26:56

Now, knowing that he's said he doesn't want to spend any more time on this, or effort...

0:26:560:27:01

How does that make you feel about how much slack you cut him?

0:27:030:27:06

It makes me feel a bit foolish, really, to be perfectly honest.

0:27:060:27:09

Because I was very understanding.

0:27:090:27:12

And also very gullible.

0:27:120:27:14

Really, at the end of the day, very gullible.

0:27:140:27:17

But that's when you start taking the blame yourself

0:27:170:27:20

-when it's someone else that's ripped you off.

-Mm.

0:27:200:27:23

I should have seen it coming, I think.

0:27:230:27:25

I should have been more aware.

0:27:250:27:27

'Well, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

0:27:280:27:30

'But whatever the why's and wherefore's,

0:27:300:27:32

'one thing is for sure.

0:27:320:27:34

'The good guys have totally transformed this place.

0:27:340:27:37

'It's time for Natalie to tell me how she feels about her new kitchen extension.'

0:27:380:27:42

-So now we're all finished.

-Yep.

0:27:470:27:49

Look at it. It's...

0:27:490:27:51

-It's good, isn't it?

-Yes, it's all done.

0:27:530:27:55

This is basically your main entrance to the house, in and out, isn't it?

0:27:550:27:58

It is. And the animals, the dog going in and out.

0:27:580:28:00

And the kids coming in from school. Yes, it is.

0:28:000:28:03

So walking through here before,

0:28:030:28:05

you must have been constantly reminded of the disaster.

0:28:050:28:08

Absolutely. There were doors that didn't shut,

0:28:080:28:11

it was just, oh, just a mess, a nightmare.

0:28:110:28:14

-So now we're looking at straight lines.

-Yes.

-There's nothing sticking out.

0:28:140:28:20

Your skirting board was sticking out, your architrave was falling off.

0:28:200:28:25

And an external door that I can shut properly without having to wrench the key

0:28:250:28:29

and support it. It's brilliant. It all works, and it's how it should have been.

0:28:290:28:33

You look relieved and happy at the moment.

0:28:340:28:37

Absolutely. It was a lot of money at the time

0:28:370:28:40

and it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

0:28:400:28:42

I was only ever going to be able to do it once.

0:28:420:28:45

And I was hoping for this!

0:28:450:28:46

'Natalie's hopes have now been realised.

0:28:460:28:50

'Better late than never.

0:28:500:28:52

'What does she think to the exterior?'

0:28:520:28:54

-It looks very different!

-Yes, it does. It does look very different.

0:28:550:28:58

And the skylight is the correct skylight.

0:28:580:29:01

It's the correct roof covering for the fall of the roof.

0:29:010:29:04

The correct skylight and the kind of roof covering.

0:29:040:29:07

It's just what a competent good builder would do, isn't it.

0:29:070:29:11

It's what should have been put in place initially.

0:29:110:29:14

So now it's done.

0:29:140:29:16

-Are you sleeping at night?

-Yeah!

0:29:160:29:19

-Yes!

-You're grinning. You're smiling.

0:29:190:29:21

Definitely.

0:29:210:29:22

-It's nice to see that there's a good end to this story.

-Yes. It's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

0:29:220:29:27

'From bad guy building bodge

0:29:290:29:30

'to good guy building brilliance.

0:29:300:29:33

'What a great note to end on!

0:29:330:29:35

'Time to leave Natalie and the children

0:29:360:29:38

'to enjoy their new super-smart, highly-tasteful, damp-free home!'

0:29:380:29:43

Our next Cowboy Trap saga

0:29:460:29:48

revolves around a couple we first met three years ago.

0:29:480:29:51

Like Natalie's, this story features a cowboy builder

0:29:510:29:55

who built an execrable excuse of an extension.

0:29:550:29:58

His unwitting victims, Rachel Ballamy and her husband, Simon,

0:29:590:30:03

live in Newton Abbot in Devon with their boisterous pooches, Alfie and Molly.

0:30:030:30:07

In 2010, the Ballamys moved in to a new house

0:30:080:30:11

and were looking forward to putting their own stamp on it.

0:30:110:30:14

It had a really lovely sized garden. You could see a potential

0:30:150:30:19

in what the garden could look like.

0:30:190:30:21

And then a potential with the house.

0:30:210:30:23

To make it into a lovely home.

0:30:230:30:26

It had stayed in the same family.

0:30:260:30:28

In the same family, I believe, since when it was built.

0:30:280:30:31

Passed through the generations.

0:30:310:30:34

You could feel that.

0:30:340:30:35

Rachel and Simon believed they'd found their ideal home.

0:30:370:30:39

One they knew right away they could transform into the perfect house for them.

0:30:390:30:44

When I say transform, I don't mean a lick of paint here and there.

0:30:440:30:47

The couple had big plans for the place.

0:30:470:30:50

Rachel and Simon wanted to extend the bungalow

0:30:520:30:54

from a two-bedroom to a four-bedroom home

0:30:540:30:57

with two extra bathrooms, a kitchen and a utility room.

0:30:570:31:01

And that's not all. Their plans also included a huge decking area

0:31:010:31:05

across the back of the house.

0:31:050:31:07

This project meant a lot to the couple.

0:31:080:31:09

Rachel wasn't able to have children, following an operation eight years previously.

0:31:090:31:14

She and Simon were hoping to foster instead.

0:31:140:31:17

They thought a large family home and play area

0:31:170:31:20

would help with their application.

0:31:200:31:22

The lady came round and said, "Yes, you're perfect candidates.

0:31:220:31:26

"As soon as you get your house built,

0:31:260:31:28

"the red tape will be done and you can have some foster children."

0:31:280:31:33

Rachel and Simon found a builder

0:31:330:31:35

who said he'd do the job at a discounted price of £50,000.

0:31:350:31:39

They gave him the green light

0:31:390:31:41

but things didn't get off to a good start.

0:31:410:31:44

There was a catch. The builder didn't actually do much building.

0:31:450:31:48

All he seemed to do was demolish.

0:31:480:31:51

Knocking down walls, that's easy.

0:31:510:31:54

They got a jack hammer in, there was dust flying everywhere,

0:31:540:31:57

all the ceilings were coming down.

0:31:570:31:59

Windows were being pushed out.

0:31:590:32:01

That was great. They were having a whale of a time!

0:32:010:32:04

But nothing was being put back in.

0:32:040:32:07

The walls came down, the floors came up

0:32:080:32:10

and the roof came off.

0:32:100:32:12

But after that, there was little sign of progress.

0:32:130:32:16

The build may have been on a go-slow

0:32:160:32:19

but the builder was quick to reassure his worried clients.

0:32:190:32:22

He'd have the conversations and have the chat with us.

0:32:230:32:26

He would make it sound very good. He was very much a charmer, from that point of view.

0:32:260:32:31

And he made it very believable what was going to happen, what is happening.

0:32:310:32:35

And every time we did have a good chat with him,

0:32:350:32:39

things would happen for a week or so.

0:32:390:32:41

All of a sudden, your confidence was back. Things started to happen.

0:32:410:32:45

And then it would just lapse again.

0:32:450:32:47

Even though Rachel and Simon weren't happy with the work,

0:32:480:32:51

they were still handing over money left, right and centre.

0:32:510:32:55

That's because of the terms of the contract they'd agreed with the builder

0:32:560:32:59

at the start of the project.

0:32:590:33:01

Rachel and Simon did at least have a proper contract with their builder.

0:33:030:33:06

But it was absurdly in his favour.

0:33:060:33:08

He received £10,000 just to start the job,

0:33:080:33:11

then another £5,000 every two weeks throughout the build

0:33:110:33:15

no matter how much work he'd done.

0:33:150:33:17

Of course, as you've already guessed,

0:33:170:33:19

if this guy had been going any slower, he'd have been going in reverse!

0:33:190:33:23

Do I not like the sound of that contract! Take my advice.

0:33:240:33:27

But only if you're 100% happy with the final product.

0:33:470:33:51

And the Ballamys couldn't see a final product happening any time soon.

0:33:530:33:58

The builder kept sending young, unskilled labourers to do the job.

0:33:580:34:02

Except they clearly couldn't.

0:34:020:34:04

They didn't seem to know what they were doing.

0:34:040:34:07

It was taking three of them to do a single job.

0:34:070:34:09

They also never had any materials.

0:34:090:34:11

It was a case of thinking, "What are they going to do?",

0:34:110:34:15

because there was nothing there for them to use.

0:34:150:34:17

Not surprisingly, the couple decided they needed to take their minds off their flaming building project.

0:34:190:34:26

For three years, Rachel and Simon had been planning a tenth anniversary second honeymoon

0:34:260:34:30

to Florida and Jamaica to renew their wedding vows.

0:34:300:34:33

So now the builder made a promise of his own.

0:34:330:34:36

Whilst they were away for a month,

0:34:360:34:37

he would completely transform the project.

0:34:370:34:40

Of course he would(!)

0:34:400:34:42

Course he wouldn't.

0:34:420:34:44

The Ballamys couldn't believe their eyes when they returned from their hols.

0:34:440:34:48

We walked in. There were still no floors going towards the bathroom.

0:34:500:34:55

Some of the walls had been plastered.

0:34:550:34:57

He'd ripped one floor up that we'd agreed not to. That was to stay as it was.

0:34:570:35:04

The kitchen, I walked straight into the kitchen,

0:35:040:35:07

and I went into a state of almost shock.

0:35:070:35:12

Straightaway I said to Simon, the kitchen won't fit in. The door's in the wrong place.

0:35:120:35:16

By this point, Rachel and Simon had spent £41,000.

0:35:170:35:22

And because of the bungling builder's bodges,

0:35:220:35:25

they had no hot water, no electricity,

0:35:250:35:28

a rubbish roof, a flawed floor,

0:35:280:35:31

a kaput kitchen

0:35:310:35:33

and no outside deck.

0:35:330:35:35

And guess what? No builder, either.

0:35:350:35:38

He'd walked off the job.

0:35:380:35:40

Rachel and Simon's hopes of becoming foster parents had been dashed

0:35:410:35:44

by a builder who promised them a discount extension,

0:35:440:35:47

but delivered them a demolition job.

0:35:470:35:49

Instead of a safe haven for foster children,

0:35:490:35:51

the couple were left with a dangerous building site.

0:35:510:35:55

But the Ballamys weren't going to let their dream be demolished.

0:35:570:36:01

They hired new builders to make the inside of the house safe.

0:36:010:36:04

And our good guys swung into action outside.

0:36:050:36:09

Head honcho Matt Walker and his team

0:36:090:36:12

set about their task with relish.

0:36:120:36:14

It was out with the spades, saws and drills.

0:36:160:36:19

And soon the transformation was complete.

0:36:190:36:23

What was a rubble-strewn danger zone

0:36:230:36:26

became a tranquil oasis of calm.

0:36:260:36:28

The decking was beautifully clad in feather-edged timber

0:36:290:36:32

with handrails and steps to comply with building regulations.

0:36:320:36:35

The change from what the cowboy left behind was striking.

0:36:370:36:40

But with their dream back on track,

0:36:400:36:42

it's now over to them.

0:36:420:36:44

The cowboy's bodge was history.

0:36:440:36:46

But there was still much to do to create their perfect home.

0:36:460:36:49

Would Rachel and Simon finish the job?

0:36:490:36:53

Only time would tell.

0:36:530:36:54

It's been almost three years since we helped get Rachel and Simon's plans back on track.

0:37:000:37:05

When we left them, they were a step closer to achieving their dream of becoming foster parents.

0:37:050:37:10

Let's see how they're getting on.

0:37:100:37:11

Hopefully our good guys spurred them on to even greater things in their home.

0:37:110:37:16

-Hello, Rachel. How are you? Simon?

-How are you.

-Good to see you.

0:37:180:37:21

-You, too.

-New door?

-Yeah, we needed one.

-Yeah? It looks fantastic.

0:37:210:37:27

I guess our fellas revived the Ballamys' belief in builders.

0:37:280:37:31

Soon after they left, Simon and Rachel had a new drive laid.

0:37:310:37:35

And that was just the start.

0:37:350:37:37

Once they'd done the drive, it incentivised us to do this bit

0:37:370:37:41

because it was sort of different.

0:37:410:37:43

So what we did is, we had sleepers around before because it was makeshift.

0:37:430:37:47

So we've used then and now created a nice level garden in the front.

0:37:470:37:52

'Time to look around the back.

0:37:520:37:54

'Remember how the cowboy left it?

0:37:540:37:56

'The good guys helped bring it back to life.

0:37:560:37:59

'And now the Ballamys have added their personal touches. Great to see.'

0:37:590:38:04

-Who put these slabs down, then?

-I have to say that was Rachel.

0:38:040:38:08

-She did all of that.

-Been getting hands on?

0:38:080:38:10

I enjoy being out in the garden.

0:38:100:38:12

I have to say this is lovely now.

0:38:120:38:14

You can see why the garden's so important to you. It's beautiful.

0:38:140:38:18

It's greatly improved, without a doubt.

0:38:180:38:21

'On to our good guys' piece de resistance, the decking.

0:38:210:38:26

'I'm not surprised the Ballamys love to show it off.'

0:38:270:38:30

It's fabulous for entertaining, cos it links the three rooms.

0:38:300:38:33

We've had nearly 30 people on here in an evening,

0:38:330:38:36

with the fire pit going, and the day's heat just glowing on through to the evening.

0:38:360:38:42

It's very, very sociable.

0:38:420:38:44

'I'm not surprised the Ballamys are in the mood for throwing parties.

0:38:450:38:49

'The transformation from before...

0:38:490:38:52

'to after is striking.'

0:38:520:38:54

Your house looks fantastic.

0:38:550:38:57

We're pleased with it.

0:38:570:38:59

I know it's a credit to the good guys, but it's a credit to you as well.

0:38:590:39:02

It's lovely. Well done.

0:39:020:39:03

-We feel indebted, actually, to the good guys.

-Yeah.

0:39:030:39:06

We work out here because we love it,

0:39:060:39:08

but I know how hard they worked putting all this in.

0:39:080:39:12

I know how bad it looked before they started.

0:39:120:39:15

To let it go to rack and ruin would be a discredit to them and everyone that worked on it.

0:39:150:39:19

It was a big pick-me-up.

0:39:190:39:21

'Right. Let's look inside.

0:39:210:39:23

'Rachel and Simon used this splendid spare room to host lodgers from all around the world.

0:39:240:39:29

'International students coming to study English at the local college

0:39:300:39:33

'love staying here. I'm not surprised.'

0:39:330:39:36

-Students have this room.

-Yes.

-It's nicer than my hotel room!

0:39:370:39:41

When I was a student, I won't tell you the sort of accommodation I lived in,

0:39:410:39:44

but it wasn't anything like this. Amazing.

0:39:440:39:46

Well, we took a lot of time and effort.

0:39:460:39:48

'Crikey, with accommodation like this, I'm surprised the students ever want to go home!

0:39:480:39:55

'The transformation is astonishing.

0:39:560:39:58

'Remember what this place looked like after the cowboy builder left them in the lurch?

0:39:580:40:02

'When our good guys rode to the rescue,

0:40:030:40:05

'the outlook improved massively.

0:40:050:40:08

'Garden and decking transformed.

0:40:080:40:10

'But there was only so much our fellas could do

0:40:110:40:14

'and it looks like the Ballamys have finished the job with aplomb.

0:40:140:40:17

'Outside and in.

0:40:180:40:20

'Nice one.

0:40:210:40:22

'Time for a heart-to-heart with Simon and Rachel.

0:40:220:40:26

'As you might have guessed, they never realised their dream of becoming foster parents.

0:40:260:40:30

'And they're in no doubt who's to blame for that.

0:40:300:40:32

'The emotional impact of having cowboys in the house took its toll

0:40:320:40:36

'much more than they expected.'

0:40:360:40:39

We're really still very upset

0:40:390:40:42

because all the plans which we'd put in originally

0:40:420:40:44

for the adoption and the child side of things

0:40:440:40:47

that's gone now.

0:40:470:40:49

It's wiped four years of our life away

0:40:490:40:51

plus that chance

0:40:510:40:53

to do what we wanted to regarding this house.

0:40:530:40:56

You're saying the cowboy builders have influenced you so much

0:40:560:40:59

that you've given up on that dream of adoption?

0:40:590:41:02

Yes, because we couldn't put ourselves through another emotional upheaval

0:41:020:41:08

and the whole fostering and adoption process, emotionally is so difficult

0:41:080:41:14

that we would just, you know, you know in yourselves what you can and can't take.

0:41:140:41:18

And I think the building side of it just pushed us to a limit.

0:41:180:41:22

It was emotionally and financially.

0:41:220:41:24

We wanted to make sure we were financially stable to look after a child

0:41:240:41:28

and we still haven't got to that point yet.

0:41:280:41:30

It's so sad that the trauma of being caught out by a cowboy builder

0:41:300:41:35

wrecked the Ballamys' fostering dreams.

0:41:350:41:38

But by opening up their home to foreign students,

0:41:380:41:41

they've ensured there will never be a shortage of youngsters around to appreciate their transformed home.

0:41:410:41:46

And that's not the only positive.

0:41:460:41:48

The lessons Rachel and Simon had learnt

0:41:480:41:50

were well used when it came to contracting builders to do the drive.

0:41:500:41:54

We made sure that everything was written down

0:41:540:41:57

and the drawings were done so we knew exactly what was going on.

0:41:570:42:02

There weren't going to be any extras, no corners cut,

0:42:020:42:05

it was a case of we know what you're going to do and we'll pay you for the job you've done.

0:42:050:42:08

That's the perfect strategy.

0:42:080:42:11

Payment for results tends to focus any builder's attention.

0:42:110:42:15

Lastly, where do you think you would be

0:42:160:42:19

if the good guys and Cowboy Trap hadn't come to the rescue?

0:42:190:42:22

We were pretty much broken when Cowboy Trap came originally.

0:42:220:42:26

And I don't know where we would be if they hadn't.

0:42:260:42:31

Well, enjoy your house, your home.

0:42:310:42:33

-And good luck for the future.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:42:330:42:35

'And what a transformed home it is

0:42:360:42:38

'for the Ballamys and their guests from all over the world to enjoy.

0:42:380:42:41

'Lucky things! When I was a student, I lived in a shoebox at the end of the motorway!

0:42:410:42:46

'Listen to me going all Monty Python!

0:42:460:42:49

'Time for me to leave them all to it, eh?'

0:42:490:42:51

Well, what a lovely couple. What a lovely house!

0:42:520:42:55

It's great to see how a leg up at the right time

0:42:550:42:59

has given them the confidence to finally complete

0:42:590:43:01

their huge plans for this place.

0:43:010:43:04

Of course, it's a real shame they've had to give up on their dreams of becoming foster parents.

0:43:040:43:09

But they've managed to find other ways of making this a real family home from home.

0:43:090:43:13

You know what? No cowboy builder can take that away from them.

0:43:130:43:17

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0:43:420:43:45

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