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We're travelling all over the UK | 0:00:07 | 0:00:09 | |
to meet the homeowners forced to live with the grim consequences | 0:00:09 | 0:00:12 | |
of employing a cowboy builder. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
It was so distressing and so upsetting | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
to have lost all that money on a building job that was never going to be right. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:21 | |
Whether shoddy workmanship or downright lies, | 0:00:21 | 0:00:24 | |
cowboy builders are unscrupulous villains | 0:00:24 | 0:00:26 | |
who not only destroy dreams, they wreck lives, too. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
No external doors, so it was very cold when he put them on the wrong way round and they didn't shut. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:35 | |
-He's a builder?! -He put them on backwards! | 0:00:35 | 0:00:37 | |
We've rounded up the good guys to help turn these helpless homeowners | 0:00:37 | 0:00:41 | |
into merry mortgagees. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:43 | |
Everything here looks as it should look in a finished job. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:48 | |
-It's nice to see there's a good end to this story. -Yeah. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:53 | |
It's thought cowboy builders cost Britons over £700 million each year. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:58 | |
So if you think you know how to spot one, think again. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:01 | |
Make no mistake, the next 45 minutes could help keep you | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
out of the cowboy trap. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
'On today's Cowboy Trap, a phoney builder whose so-called kitchen extension | 0:01:16 | 0:01:22 | |
'left a young family living in chaos.' | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
I was a little surprised he was fitting the cabinets and the sink without putting the roof on. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:31 | |
'And three years after we rescued them, | 0:01:31 | 0:01:33 | |
'we catch up with some cowboy builder victims in Devon | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
'to see how they're doing now.' | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
-Your house looks fantastic. -We feel indebted to the good guys. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:43 | |
I know how bad it looked before they started. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:46 | |
Our first Cowboy Trap saga revolves around a home in picturesque Barrow upon Soar in the Midlands. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:54 | |
The village is famous for its fossils | 0:01:55 | 0:01:57 | |
and a scientifically important find in 1851, | 0:01:57 | 0:02:00 | |
when a prehistoric plesiosaur was excavated from a lime pit here. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:04 | |
The specimen, known locally as "The Barrow Kipper", | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
is now on display at a museum in Leicester. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:10 | |
Plesiosaurs, of course, were giant sea reptiles | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
that lived at the same time as dinosaurs. | 0:02:14 | 0:02:16 | |
I live for the day when the scourge of the cowboy builder | 0:02:16 | 0:02:19 | |
is consigned to history books and museums, too! | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
But right now, we're on the trail of a present-day reptile | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
who's very much alive but whose work was a dead duck. | 0:02:24 | 0:02:28 | |
His victims live in this four-bed semi. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:32 | |
It's home to 47-year-old Natalie Mackenzie | 0:02:32 | 0:02:34 | |
and her four children, George, Cora, Louis and Ruby. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
Oh, and we mustn't forget the real bosses round here, Jifar and Sinbad. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:44 | |
Five years ago, Natalie's marriage broke down | 0:02:44 | 0:02:46 | |
and she was forced to move out of the family home. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:49 | |
At the time, she was devastated. | 0:02:49 | 0:02:51 | |
When the relationship came to an end, | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
I was in quite a scary place. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
I hadn't been independent in any way. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
I'd been at home with a young family | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
and it was a little like jumping off a cliff. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
These were tough times for Natalie. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:09 | |
As well as coping with the heartbreak of divorce, | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
she found herself facing life on her own with four children under 12 to support. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:16 | |
Her husband had always been the breadwinner, | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
so now, in addition to finding a new home, | 0:03:19 | 0:03:21 | |
she had to find work, too. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
Natalie's always had a passion for cooking, | 0:03:23 | 0:03:25 | |
so she got a part-time job in a local cafe. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
When it came to finding a new home, | 0:03:28 | 0:03:30 | |
she wanted somewhere nearby | 0:03:30 | 0:03:32 | |
to minimise disruption for her children. | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
So she was delighted when a small but pretty 18th-century semi | 0:03:35 | 0:03:39 | |
came on the market, just 50 yards from her old home. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
The house was perfect, bar one thing. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:46 | |
The previous owner was elderly and hadn't touched it for years, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
so there was an enormous amount of work to be done. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
But Natalie went into it with her eyes open | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
and what she could see was the potential of the place. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
It needed complete renovation, it needed gutting, rewiring, replastering. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:03 | |
It had been covered up, and things were hidden, | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
but it had great potential. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:08 | |
Natalie moved in, intending to live in just a few of the rooms | 0:04:08 | 0:04:12 | |
while she refurbished the others as quickly as her small budget would allow. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
They made do like this for a couple of years, but there was one thing there was no getting away from. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:20 | |
The busy mum with a passion for cooking and a family to feed | 0:04:20 | 0:04:24 | |
desperately needed a proper kitchen. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:26 | |
Natalie decided the answer was to build an extension to make space for a kitchen diner. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:32 | |
A friend recommended an architect, and she had him draw up plans. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:36 | |
Natalie applied to extend her mortgage and got a green light. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
Now all she needed was a builder. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:44 | |
And her architect said he knew just the man. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:47 | |
He said that it was well within his capabilities. | 0:04:47 | 0:04:50 | |
He could do a really good job. And he seemed very honest. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
You might think the thumbs up from an architect | 0:04:56 | 0:04:59 | |
means you're on to a safe bet. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:01 | |
But you'd be wrong. And we see it time and time again on Cowboy Trap. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:04 | |
This sort of thing is no more reliable than a word of mouth recommendation | 0:05:04 | 0:05:08 | |
to be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
Natalie's builder quoted £8,000 for the extension | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
and a further £2,000 for the new kitchen and drainage, | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
coming to a grand total of £10,000. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
He wanted a hefty down-payment in cash | 0:05:23 | 0:05:25 | |
which Natalie duly handed over. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
The builder promised the job would be completed in six weeks and work commenced. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:34 | |
But his idea of a working day was a bit - how can I put it? - unconventional. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:40 | |
He never came before ten o'clock. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
And he always left around half past one or two o'clock. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:48 | |
So he was never available to speak to. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
It was quite difficult to communicate with him | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
because he worked quite a short day and I was working. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:57 | |
A three-and-a-half-hour day?! | 0:05:57 | 0:05:59 | |
That's not short, it's miniscule! | 0:05:59 | 0:06:02 | |
The builder put it down to problems at home. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
Hmm. I've heard that one before. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
He always had a major trauma with one of his stepchildren | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
or something was always going wrong, | 0:06:11 | 0:06:14 | |
why he couldn't be here, or why he had to leave early | 0:06:14 | 0:06:18 | |
or why he was on his own. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:20 | |
I began to suspect things weren't quite as he said. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:24 | |
Take my advice. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:27 | |
The builder may have been poor at time-keeping, | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
but he was great at asking for cash. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:03 | |
Soon another £3,000 had changed hands for supplies and works. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:08 | |
Talking of which, Natalie was worried about the order in which works were being carried out. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:13 | |
We didn't have a roof on the utility room. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:18 | |
He explained to me that the roof and the doors were to be put on later. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
He was doing the internal wall for the loo | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
and the tiling and the sink and fitting some of the cabinets. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
I was a little surprised he was fitting the cabinets and the sink without putting the roof on! | 0:07:27 | 0:07:33 | |
Not kidding! | 0:07:33 | 0:07:35 | |
Without the roof on, there was no protection for the fittings or the electrics underneath. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:40 | |
Madness! | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 | |
And there was another worry. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:44 | |
As the build progressed, it became apparent that the builder wasn't following the architect's designs. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:51 | |
He didn't put in the window that was supposed to be on the drawings. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:55 | |
He had a reason. Everything had a reason why he couldn't do that. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
Oh, the drawings were a bit wrong, or he couldn't do that because of this. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
I did get a bit concerned at that stage that he wasn't doing exactly what had been requested. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:10 | |
Things came to a head in November, | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | |
a full five months after this so-called six week job got underway, | 0:08:12 | 0:08:16 | |
when the cowboy had a row with the building control inspector. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
Shortly afterwards, he simply vanished. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
Natalie could forget about the family Christmas she'd planned with a turkey cooked in her new kitchen. | 0:08:22 | 0:08:27 | |
Because despite call after call, | 0:08:27 | 0:08:29 | |
this so-called tradesman never got back to her. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
Natalie's dreams were in tatters. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:37 | |
She can't believe the shocking state her home's been left in. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:41 | |
The roof leaks in five places. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:45 | |
The bathroom window doesn't exist. | 0:08:45 | 0:08:47 | |
The doors don't close. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:49 | |
The bubble wrap is unattractive, which is stuffed between the door and the feature wall | 0:08:49 | 0:08:55 | |
which was supposed to be a feature with a lovely old granite wall, | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
but it's just been left. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:01 | |
And that's not all. | 0:09:01 | 0:09:03 | |
The plasterwork is pathetic, | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
the tiling terrible | 0:09:05 | 0:09:07 | |
and the rendering risible. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
Not surprisingly, Natalie is devastated. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:11 | |
She doesn't know where she'd be without her kids to take her mind off it. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:16 | |
They have tried to jolly me along and cheer me up | 0:09:16 | 0:09:20 | |
when it's got to me, and got me down, | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
and the rain's coming through the roof. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
They have made an effort to make me feel better about the whole thing. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:28 | |
You know, bricks and mortar might sound a bit humdrum, | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
but they're the foundations of many a dream come true. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:36 | |
That's why it's so upsetting when you see those dreams | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
dashed by these rank amateurs and charlatans. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
And one thing these charlatans are good at is covering their tracks. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
It's often the case on Cowboy Trap that on the surface, | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
things don't look too bad. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
But on closer inspection... Oh, dear! | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
That's why we asked independent building surveyor Paul Brown | 0:09:55 | 0:09:59 | |
to inspect the work at the Mackenzies'. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:01 | |
He's been through it with a fine-tooth comb | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
and he's about to fill me in on what he found. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
First item on the agenda, the architrave on the extension's internal door. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:13 | |
And Paul doesn't mince his words. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
It's terrible, and it shows that the person who did this | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
didn't have the requisite trade skills to be doing what they're attempting to do. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:23 | |
And it's a very amateurish attempt | 0:10:23 | 0:10:26 | |
that most people would do better. It's quite poor. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
A DIY-er would be gutted if they'd done this. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:33 | |
I can't tell what's filler and what's glue. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:35 | |
It's a mess, isn't it? | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
It doesn't line up. There are steps. It shows no finesse, no quality. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
And below what is the reasonable expectation | 0:10:41 | 0:10:44 | |
of almost anybody who is purchasing, and that's the key thing here. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
They've paid for building work to be carried out. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
You expect it at a reasonable standard. And this just isn't that, is it? | 0:10:50 | 0:10:53 | |
And things aren't getting any better at ground level. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
That skirting isn't sitting in the right place | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
and there are joints that aren't joined at all. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
What a mess! | 0:11:02 | 0:11:04 | |
And when you look up, things...don't look up. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
This damp, this is something to do with the flat roof, is it? | 0:11:09 | 0:11:13 | |
This is all to do with the roof | 0:11:13 | 0:11:15 | |
and this is the real major problem that this person has created. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:18 | |
They've started a job without the technical know-how | 0:11:18 | 0:11:22 | |
to fit a roof at the correct pitch. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
The pitch of a roof is so key. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
The materials you put on a roof will only work above a certain pitch. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:31 | |
This was on at about eight degrees. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
That's technically a flat roof, so only certain materials can be used on it. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
Now, there were tiles on this roof. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
At that pitch, those tiles aren't shedding water as they should do. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:44 | |
Those tiles are made of concrete. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:47 | |
Not clever on what is practically a flat roof | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
because the gradient is so shallow. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:52 | |
Everywhere you look, there are potential causes of damp issues underneath. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
The roof window they put in shouldn't be at that pitch. | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
It should have a minimum pitch of 15 degrees for all the flashing to work | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
so none of the waterproofing, including the lead flashings, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
tiles, the roof window, again, are going to achieve what they should do, which is keep water out. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:12 | |
'Right. Into the utility room. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:14 | |
'Perhaps things are better in there. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:16 | |
'Well, what do you think?' | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
That looks abysmal. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
Those tiles, it's... | 0:12:21 | 0:12:23 | |
They're going to be ruining that work surface as well. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:25 | |
But they look like they've been thrown on! | 0:12:25 | 0:12:28 | |
Very, very poor workmanship in terms of the way the tiles sit relative to one another. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:33 | |
They should be neat. They should have even joints which are grouted in. | 0:12:33 | 0:12:37 | |
It should look pristine. It's virtually new. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:39 | |
And the other problem we have | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
is we have electrical items which are relatively close to the sink. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:44 | |
Most builders will employ a competent electrician to do their work. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:48 | |
Electricians don't do this sort of thing. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
This is alarming. Why have we got electrical items next to a sink? | 0:12:50 | 0:12:55 | |
Did that mean the builder didn't employ somebody who was competent? It's a safety issue. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:59 | |
'Plugs close to the sink? | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
'As my favourite James Bond, Sean Connery, would say, | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
'"That's shocking!" | 0:13:05 | 0:13:07 | |
'And the electrics aren't just at risk from tap water. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:10 | |
'Rainwater's bound to get in under the bottom sill of those external doors. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:14 | |
'And they're single rather than double glazed. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:17 | |
'That contravenes building regs as well as being draughty.' | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
This looks like a sinking ship! | 0:13:22 | 0:13:24 | |
Yes. It will just allow possibly even vermin and insects, | 0:13:24 | 0:13:31 | |
everything that comes around that door, ants, that sort of thing, | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
but most important probably water. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:36 | |
And that, in the long term, will cause the bottom of the door to decay. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
It'll probably affect the adhesion on the tiles around the door. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
It's going to fail and start to look shabby very quickly | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
which you can see in the photo. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
'And the builder didn't put a damp proof course in. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
'Natalie's going to need flippers and a snorkel at this rate! | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
'It's as clear as day. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:55 | |
'Bodge, bodge, bodge. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
'And the garden path was supposed to be done, but the builder never got round to finishing it. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:04 | |
'Tripping hazards with kids around? Not good. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
'Well, it's make your mind up time for Paul.' | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
Someone has left a lady bringing up four children on her own in this house, in this state. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:17 | |
But in your professional opinion, | 0:14:17 | 0:14:18 | |
what would you give this builder out of ten? | 0:14:18 | 0:14:22 | |
I could only suggest that this is a one. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:26 | |
He arrived and the fact he was present for part of this work, | 0:14:26 | 0:14:30 | |
I'll give him one for that. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:32 | |
But other than that, the work itself, appalling. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:34 | |
It breaches every standard virtually going. So nothing beyond that. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:38 | |
The message to him is, "Give up your day job." | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
I think this isn't his day job. He should go back to what he was doing before. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:44 | |
'Hmm. I wonder what that was! | 0:14:46 | 0:14:47 | |
'Herding cattle in a Stetson and stirrups, perchance? | 0:14:47 | 0:14:50 | |
'Because there can be little doubt this guy's a cowboy. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:53 | |
'Check out the evidence. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:55 | |
'A wonky architrave, shambolic skirting, | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
'pitiful plastering, terrible tiling | 0:15:01 | 0:15:05 | |
'and poorly placed plugs. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
'And let's not forget those dreadful doors, | 0:15:07 | 0:15:11 | |
'the risible rendering, the precarious path | 0:15:11 | 0:15:13 | |
'and that rubbish roof!' | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
'Having this guy in charge of a build is like having Count Dracula in charge of a blood bank. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:21 | |
'Bad news.' | 0:15:22 | 0:15:24 | |
In short, we're talking a building horror story | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
with only one chance of a happy ending. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:28 | |
Time to bring in our good guys. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
And here's our head good guy honcho, the exotically named Konrad Skubala. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:38 | |
If anyone can sort all this out, Konrad can. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:43 | |
So much needs doing, Natalie is chipping in. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
No hanging about. The Skubala squad swings into action. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:53 | |
They terminate the old tiles, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
and do away with the dodgy window. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
Then they cut the timber frames... | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
..and place the new plywood in position. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:06 | |
It's a great start. But can Konrad get Natalie's dreams back on track? | 0:16:08 | 0:16:12 | |
Only time will tell. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:14 | |
I'm in the Midlands, in the pretty village of Barrow upon Soar, | 0:16:20 | 0:16:23 | |
where busy mum Natalie Mackenzie | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
hoped that by building an extension, | 0:16:26 | 0:16:27 | |
she'd finally get the kitchen diner her family badly needed. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:31 | |
But her dreams turned to dust | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
when she hired a builder who didn't know what he was doing | 0:16:33 | 0:16:36 | |
and who, eventually, just vanished. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
Now, instead of a disappearing trick, | 0:16:38 | 0:16:40 | |
with a bit of luck, our good guys have worked a different kind of magic. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:44 | |
Let's see how she's getting on. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:45 | |
-Hi, Natalie. -Yes, that's right. -I'm Jonnie. -Hello, Jonnie. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:54 | |
-You're smiling! -Yes, I am! | 0:16:54 | 0:16:56 | |
-Good news, good times? -Yes, very good. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:58 | |
-Can we have a look? -Come on in. -Hello, cat! | 0:16:58 | 0:17:00 | |
'It's "Hello, cat", but is it "Goodbye flawed extension?" | 0:17:00 | 0:17:06 | |
'As soon as I cross the threshold, I can't resist a quick peek. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
'Remember, before, the interior was a cornucopia of catastrophe. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:15 | |
'Check it out now! | 0:17:17 | 0:17:18 | |
'And our good guys were faced with a woeful exterior | 0:17:20 | 0:17:24 | |
'and rank awful roof. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:26 | |
'Now, it's a whole new ball game. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
'Before I take a closer look at the good guys' efforts, | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
'I want to ask Natalie how she got caught in the cowboy trap in the first place.' | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
When did you realise things were going wrong? | 0:17:40 | 0:17:42 | |
The first issues, I think, would have been in the utility area. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
They were problems which seemed to escalate. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:49 | |
And he had a reason or an excuse every time | 0:17:49 | 0:17:53 | |
and I started to get a bit niggly. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:55 | |
He didn't put any roof on, nothing was waterproofed, | 0:17:55 | 0:17:59 | |
nothing was covered. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:01 | |
-What time of year was this? -It was getting into autumn and it was getting late. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:05 | |
It was getting wet. I had exposed electrics. I was concerned about that. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:09 | |
He assured me that wasn't a problem. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
But I was concerned and the time schedule was lapsing and lapsing and lapsing. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:17 | |
You've got winter fast approaching. This is a concern. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
Yes. And no external doors. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
So it was very cold. He told me that they would be fitted | 0:18:22 | 0:18:26 | |
and unfortunately he put them on the wrong way round | 0:18:26 | 0:18:29 | |
-and they didn't shut. -He put them... -Yeah. | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
-He's a builder! -I know. He put them on backwards. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
'He put the doors on backwards?! | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
'Door-fitting clearly wasn't part of his builder's skill set. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:42 | |
'Maybe he should have opted for a career in escapology instead!' | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
In early December, he told me he'd got a much bigger job on | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
and he was travelling to this job and it was a huge deal for him. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
I accepted that and said, "As and when you can, please come back | 0:18:54 | 0:18:58 | |
"and give me half a day or a day to do the final bits and pieces." | 0:18:58 | 0:19:02 | |
He absolutely assured me that that would be the case. He would do that. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:06 | |
And he never did. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:08 | |
You've been very understanding here. Do you think you were a bit soft with him? | 0:19:08 | 0:19:12 | |
Yeah, I think I was very soft with him. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:14 | |
I think that was probably a big, big mistake. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:18 | |
'And an expensive mistake it was, too. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:22 | |
'By this point, the cowboy builder had taken Natalie for £10,000.' | 0:19:22 | 0:19:27 | |
He'd had the money. I couldn't afford then, on the loan I'd taken out, | 0:19:27 | 0:19:30 | |
to get anybody else in. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:32 | |
-Did you try and get him back? -Yeah, I did. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:34 | |
Even though I was uncomfortable with that, | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
-I didn't think he was coming back. -It's a rock and a hard place. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
-You want him back, but you're uncomfortable. -I knew he wasn't coming back. In my heart, I knew. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
He had no intentions. You could see that. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:47 | |
-So he spent all your money. -Uh-huh. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:49 | |
Left you with a... | 0:19:49 | 0:19:51 | |
Well, we can't call it an unfinished job. A botched job that hasn't been finished. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:57 | |
It's almost a blessing he didn't finish the job because there'd be more botching done! | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
But you must have... You'd been through a divorce, yourself, | 0:20:01 | 0:20:04 | |
-raising four children on your own. -Mm-hmm. | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
You must have been at the end of your tether! | 0:20:07 | 0:20:09 | |
It was so distressing and so upsetting | 0:20:09 | 0:20:11 | |
to have lost all that money on a building job that was never going to be right. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:15 | |
I was never going to be able to afford to repair it. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:18 | |
It leaked everywhere, the plaster was falling off, it was a disaster zone. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:22 | |
'Disaster Zone with a capital D and a capital Z, too. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:27 | |
Looking better now, though, | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
and the other good news is that despite the trauma of her encounter with a cowboy builder, | 0:20:29 | 0:20:34 | |
Natalie is wiser for the experience. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
I should have done more research. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have accepted these excuses, | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
I shouldn't have believed the stories. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
I should have stopped him earlier. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:46 | |
I shouldn't have let him continue. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:49 | |
When the warning bells were ringing, I should have done something sooner, basically. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:53 | |
Yep, listen to those warning bells, my friends, | 0:20:54 | 0:20:57 | |
they could save you lots of money. | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
Right. Time for me to take a closer look at the good guys' handiwork. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:04 | |
Well, the door's not sticking, which it must have done before. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:11 | |
The architraving, it looks perfect. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
Not a word I've used before. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
Everything here looks as it should look | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
in a finished job. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:26 | |
This gap is uniform all the way down the reveals of this door. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:30 | |
It looks fantastic. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:32 | |
And the whole place feels good. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:34 | |
Let's think about the problems that were here before. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:37 | |
Remember the skirting board? It was a joke, as much as anything else. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
I can't see a join, which is how it should be. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
This skirting board here looks absolutely fantastic. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:47 | |
The walls. It's been plastered, finished. Look at the coats here. | 0:21:47 | 0:21:51 | |
People are using this | 0:21:51 | 0:21:53 | |
as part of their home. | 0:21:53 | 0:21:55 | |
It feels warmer. It feels like a space you'd want to use. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:57 | |
Now, here we go. | 0:21:57 | 0:21:59 | |
Here, if you remember, | 0:22:01 | 0:22:03 | |
there was - I don't think "dodgy tiling" does that awful job justice. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:07 | |
Here, you've got something that marries up with the worktop. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:11 | |
They've done very well. It's not botched. It looks like a finished product. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:14 | |
But all this was in danger of being flooded out if the roof collapsed | 0:22:14 | 0:22:20 | |
which, in time, it probably would have done. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
But look what we've got here. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
'A water-tight roof at last. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
'The wet stuff is no longer penetrating. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
'The evidence is clear to see.' | 0:22:29 | 0:22:31 | |
Consider what was here before. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:34 | |
There was damp all the way across the corners of the ceiling. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
Now, the walls are dry, it's finished. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:40 | |
It's a top job. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:43 | |
'Top job inside. Right, onto the exterior. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:47 | |
'Remember the back-to-front single-glazed external doors the cowboy left behind? | 0:22:48 | 0:22:52 | |
'The good guys' doors are spot on.' | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
Well, they feel solid, they look solid. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
And most importantly... | 0:23:01 | 0:23:03 | |
..they're double-glazed and comply with building regulations, | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
which, let's face it, is to look after the people who have the projects done. | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
This, not only does it look solid, | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
it's going to save heating bills in future. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:17 | |
And they've got draught excluders here. It looks the part. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:22 | |
And the smart fascia and new gutters the good guys installed are perfect. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:27 | |
'Let's get a better view of the roof.' | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
Funny, isn't it? Beforehand, there were concrete tiles on that roof. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:36 | |
But the concrete tiles were ones you'd put on a pitched roof. | 0:23:36 | 0:23:40 | |
But it's almost a flat-roof gradient on there. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:43 | |
Now, the builders we've had in, the good guys, | 0:23:43 | 0:23:47 | |
they've seen what needs to be done. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:49 | |
The slope of the roof is basically a flat roof, | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
so they've put a flat roof covering on it. Makes perfect sense. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:55 | |
Looks like they've also done something clever with the skylight. | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
I'm chuffed to bits. It looks great, doesn't it? | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
'And the man responsible has popped back to give me the inside track | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
'on the challenges he faced.' | 0:24:04 | 0:24:06 | |
Straightaway, you've made a decision that an experienced builder makes. | 0:24:06 | 0:24:10 | |
I can see a stack of concrete tiles over there. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
And you thought, "We've essentially got a flat roof. Let's put a flat roof covering on it." | 0:24:13 | 0:24:18 | |
Exactly. When we'd stripped it off and got to where the water had collected on the felt, | 0:24:18 | 0:24:22 | |
there was a sink's worth of water we had to take out. | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
The felt is semi-permeable, | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
so it will leak if water's sitting on it. It's not designed for water to sit. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:31 | |
Hence the reason we had all the damp issues inside. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
-That was a bigger problem waiting to happen. -Exactly. Massive. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
'Inside, Konrad and his team had a lot of making good to do. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
'And what a great job they did.' | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
There were a lot of damp issues on each part of the ceiling. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
We had to dig all that out and then replace and put back. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
Re-done this door. Re-hung it. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
It wasn't a working door. It had a big hole in the bottom | 0:24:54 | 0:24:57 | |
where they just cut a hole to let the cats in and out! | 0:24:57 | 0:25:00 | |
-What?! -Exactly. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:02 | |
I shouldn't laugh, sorry. But what?! | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
Some strange ideas from people. Obviously all the woodwork, redecorated everywhere. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:09 | |
You've got almost a farmhouse feel. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
-This suits what she's trying to replicate throughout the kitchen. -Exactly. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:15 | |
'Yes, very tasteful. | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
'Before Natalie reveals what she thinks to her new utility room, | 0:25:18 | 0:25:22 | |
'there's a sensitive issue to discuss. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:24 | |
'Her cowboy builder's version of events. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:26 | |
'Or, to be more precise, his lawyer's. | 0:25:26 | 0:25:30 | |
'I kid you not.' | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
Now, we always give our builders the right to reply. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:35 | |
Your builder has declined the opportunity to give his side of the story. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:39 | |
-Right. -Now, through his solicitor, | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
he did say he "didn't intend to waste any more time and effort on this matter." | 0:25:42 | 0:25:48 | |
-They were his words from his solicitor. -OK. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:52 | |
How does that make you feel? | 0:25:52 | 0:25:53 | |
That's the strangest response. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:56 | |
"He didn't want..." Could you repeat that? | 0:25:56 | 0:25:59 | |
He said he "Did not intend to waste any more time and effort on this matter." | 0:25:59 | 0:26:04 | |
That's unbelievable. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:06 | |
That's unbelievable! | 0:26:06 | 0:26:09 | |
-Almost blase, isn't it? -Yeah. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:10 | |
It is. It's very cold and, um, it's shocking, really. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:16 | |
-I think. That's quite a shocking thing to say. -Yeah. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:20 | |
His solicitor also went on to say | 0:26:20 | 0:26:22 | |
that you "have clearly given us an inaccurate account | 0:26:22 | 0:26:27 | |
"of both the money and the work done." | 0:26:27 | 0:26:29 | |
Well, you've seen the work done | 0:26:29 | 0:26:31 | |
-and you can judge that for yourselves. -Yep. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
The money was exactly that. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
-That was the loan. -Yes. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:39 | |
-You spent the loan that you got. -Yes. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
You've been throughout this process pretty understanding. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:46 | |
You cut this guy some slack. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:49 | |
He had "trouble at home" apparently. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:52 | |
You let him come in after half nine and leave after lunch. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:56 | |
Now, knowing that he's said he doesn't want to spend any more time on this, or effort... | 0:26:56 | 0:27:01 | |
How does that make you feel about how much slack you cut him? | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
It makes me feel a bit foolish, really, to be perfectly honest. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
Because I was very understanding. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
And also very gullible. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:14 | |
Really, at the end of the day, very gullible. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
But that's when you start taking the blame yourself | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
-when it's someone else that's ripped you off. -Mm. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:23 | |
I should have seen it coming, I think. | 0:27:23 | 0:27:25 | |
I should have been more aware. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:27 | |
'Well, hindsight is a wonderful thing. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:30 | |
'But whatever the why's and wherefore's, | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
'one thing is for sure. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
'The good guys have totally transformed this place. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
'It's time for Natalie to tell me how she feels about her new kitchen extension.' | 0:27:38 | 0:27:42 | |
-So now we're all finished. -Yep. | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
Look at it. It's... | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
-It's good, isn't it? -Yes, it's all done. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:55 | |
This is basically your main entrance to the house, in and out, isn't it? | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
It is. And the animals, the dog going in and out. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:00 | |
And the kids coming in from school. Yes, it is. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
So walking through here before, | 0:28:03 | 0:28:05 | |
you must have been constantly reminded of the disaster. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:08 | |
Absolutely. There were doors that didn't shut, | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
it was just, oh, just a mess, a nightmare. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
-So now we're looking at straight lines. -Yes. -There's nothing sticking out. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:20 | |
Your skirting board was sticking out, your architrave was falling off. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:25 | |
And an external door that I can shut properly without having to wrench the key | 0:28:25 | 0:28:29 | |
and support it. It's brilliant. It all works, and it's how it should have been. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:33 | |
You look relieved and happy at the moment. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
Absolutely. It was a lot of money at the time | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
and it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:42 | |
I was only ever going to be able to do it once. | 0:28:42 | 0:28:45 | |
And I was hoping for this! | 0:28:45 | 0:28:46 | |
'Natalie's hopes have now been realised. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:50 | |
'Better late than never. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:52 | |
'What does she think to the exterior?' | 0:28:52 | 0:28:54 | |
-It looks very different! -Yes, it does. It does look very different. | 0:28:55 | 0:28:58 | |
And the skylight is the correct skylight. | 0:28:58 | 0:29:01 | |
It's the correct roof covering for the fall of the roof. | 0:29:01 | 0:29:04 | |
The correct skylight and the kind of roof covering. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:07 | |
It's just what a competent good builder would do, isn't it. | 0:29:07 | 0:29:11 | |
It's what should have been put in place initially. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
So now it's done. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:16 | |
-Are you sleeping at night? -Yeah! | 0:29:16 | 0:29:19 | |
-Yes! -You're grinning. You're smiling. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:21 | |
Definitely. | 0:29:21 | 0:29:22 | |
-It's nice to see that there's a good end to this story. -Yes. It's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:27 | |
'From bad guy building bodge | 0:29:29 | 0:29:30 | |
'to good guy building brilliance. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:33 | |
'What a great note to end on! | 0:29:33 | 0:29:35 | |
'Time to leave Natalie and the children | 0:29:36 | 0:29:38 | |
'to enjoy their new super-smart, highly-tasteful, damp-free home!' | 0:29:38 | 0:29:43 | |
Our next Cowboy Trap saga | 0:29:46 | 0:29:48 | |
revolves around a couple we first met three years ago. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
Like Natalie's, this story features a cowboy builder | 0:29:51 | 0:29:55 | |
who built an execrable excuse of an extension. | 0:29:55 | 0:29:58 | |
His unwitting victims, Rachel Ballamy and her husband, Simon, | 0:29:59 | 0:30:03 | |
live in Newton Abbot in Devon with their boisterous pooches, Alfie and Molly. | 0:30:03 | 0:30:07 | |
In 2010, the Ballamys moved in to a new house | 0:30:08 | 0:30:11 | |
and were looking forward to putting their own stamp on it. | 0:30:11 | 0:30:14 | |
It had a really lovely sized garden. You could see a potential | 0:30:15 | 0:30:19 | |
in what the garden could look like. | 0:30:19 | 0:30:21 | |
And then a potential with the house. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:23 | |
To make it into a lovely home. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:26 | |
It had stayed in the same family. | 0:30:26 | 0:30:28 | |
In the same family, I believe, since when it was built. | 0:30:28 | 0:30:31 | |
Passed through the generations. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:34 | |
You could feel that. | 0:30:34 | 0:30:35 | |
Rachel and Simon believed they'd found their ideal home. | 0:30:37 | 0:30:39 | |
One they knew right away they could transform into the perfect house for them. | 0:30:39 | 0:30:44 | |
When I say transform, I don't mean a lick of paint here and there. | 0:30:44 | 0:30:47 | |
The couple had big plans for the place. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:50 | |
Rachel and Simon wanted to extend the bungalow | 0:30:52 | 0:30:54 | |
from a two-bedroom to a four-bedroom home | 0:30:54 | 0:30:57 | |
with two extra bathrooms, a kitchen and a utility room. | 0:30:57 | 0:31:01 | |
And that's not all. Their plans also included a huge decking area | 0:31:01 | 0:31:05 | |
across the back of the house. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:07 | |
This project meant a lot to the couple. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:09 | |
Rachel wasn't able to have children, following an operation eight years previously. | 0:31:09 | 0:31:14 | |
She and Simon were hoping to foster instead. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:17 | |
They thought a large family home and play area | 0:31:17 | 0:31:20 | |
would help with their application. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:22 | |
The lady came round and said, "Yes, you're perfect candidates. | 0:31:22 | 0:31:26 | |
"As soon as you get your house built, | 0:31:26 | 0:31:28 | |
"the red tape will be done and you can have some foster children." | 0:31:28 | 0:31:33 | |
Rachel and Simon found a builder | 0:31:33 | 0:31:35 | |
who said he'd do the job at a discounted price of £50,000. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:39 | |
They gave him the green light | 0:31:39 | 0:31:41 | |
but things didn't get off to a good start. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:44 | |
There was a catch. The builder didn't actually do much building. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:48 | |
All he seemed to do was demolish. | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
Knocking down walls, that's easy. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:54 | |
They got a jack hammer in, there was dust flying everywhere, | 0:31:54 | 0:31:57 | |
all the ceilings were coming down. | 0:31:57 | 0:31:59 | |
Windows were being pushed out. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
That was great. They were having a whale of a time! | 0:32:01 | 0:32:04 | |
But nothing was being put back in. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
The walls came down, the floors came up | 0:32:08 | 0:32:10 | |
and the roof came off. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:12 | |
But after that, there was little sign of progress. | 0:32:13 | 0:32:16 | |
The build may have been on a go-slow | 0:32:16 | 0:32:19 | |
but the builder was quick to reassure his worried clients. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:22 | |
He'd have the conversations and have the chat with us. | 0:32:23 | 0:32:26 | |
He would make it sound very good. He was very much a charmer, from that point of view. | 0:32:26 | 0:32:31 | |
And he made it very believable what was going to happen, what is happening. | 0:32:31 | 0:32:35 | |
And every time we did have a good chat with him, | 0:32:35 | 0:32:39 | |
things would happen for a week or so. | 0:32:39 | 0:32:41 | |
All of a sudden, your confidence was back. Things started to happen. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:45 | |
And then it would just lapse again. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:47 | |
Even though Rachel and Simon weren't happy with the work, | 0:32:48 | 0:32:51 | |
they were still handing over money left, right and centre. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:55 | |
That's because of the terms of the contract they'd agreed with the builder | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
at the start of the project. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:01 | |
Rachel and Simon did at least have a proper contract with their builder. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:06 | |
But it was absurdly in his favour. | 0:33:06 | 0:33:08 | |
He received £10,000 just to start the job, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:11 | |
then another £5,000 every two weeks throughout the build | 0:33:11 | 0:33:15 | |
no matter how much work he'd done. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:17 | |
Of course, as you've already guessed, | 0:33:17 | 0:33:19 | |
if this guy had been going any slower, he'd have been going in reverse! | 0:33:19 | 0:33:23 | |
Do I not like the sound of that contract! Take my advice. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:27 | |
But only if you're 100% happy with the final product. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:51 | |
And the Ballamys couldn't see a final product happening any time soon. | 0:33:53 | 0:33:58 | |
The builder kept sending young, unskilled labourers to do the job. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:02 | |
Except they clearly couldn't. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:04 | |
They didn't seem to know what they were doing. | 0:34:04 | 0:34:07 | |
It was taking three of them to do a single job. | 0:34:07 | 0:34:09 | |
They also never had any materials. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
It was a case of thinking, "What are they going to do?", | 0:34:11 | 0:34:15 | |
because there was nothing there for them to use. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:17 | |
Not surprisingly, the couple decided they needed to take their minds off their flaming building project. | 0:34:19 | 0:34:26 | |
For three years, Rachel and Simon had been planning a tenth anniversary second honeymoon | 0:34:26 | 0:34:30 | |
to Florida and Jamaica to renew their wedding vows. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:33 | |
So now the builder made a promise of his own. | 0:34:33 | 0:34:36 | |
Whilst they were away for a month, | 0:34:36 | 0:34:37 | |
he would completely transform the project. | 0:34:37 | 0:34:40 | |
Of course he would(!) | 0:34:40 | 0:34:42 | |
Course he wouldn't. | 0:34:42 | 0:34:44 | |
The Ballamys couldn't believe their eyes when they returned from their hols. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:48 | |
We walked in. There were still no floors going towards the bathroom. | 0:34:50 | 0:34:55 | |
Some of the walls had been plastered. | 0:34:55 | 0:34:57 | |
He'd ripped one floor up that we'd agreed not to. That was to stay as it was. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:04 | |
The kitchen, I walked straight into the kitchen, | 0:35:04 | 0:35:07 | |
and I went into a state of almost shock. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:12 | |
Straightaway I said to Simon, the kitchen won't fit in. The door's in the wrong place. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:16 | |
By this point, Rachel and Simon had spent £41,000. | 0:35:17 | 0:35:22 | |
And because of the bungling builder's bodges, | 0:35:22 | 0:35:25 | |
they had no hot water, no electricity, | 0:35:25 | 0:35:28 | |
a rubbish roof, a flawed floor, | 0:35:28 | 0:35:31 | |
a kaput kitchen | 0:35:31 | 0:35:33 | |
and no outside deck. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:35 | |
And guess what? No builder, either. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
He'd walked off the job. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:40 | |
Rachel and Simon's hopes of becoming foster parents had been dashed | 0:35:41 | 0:35:44 | |
by a builder who promised them a discount extension, | 0:35:44 | 0:35:47 | |
but delivered them a demolition job. | 0:35:47 | 0:35:49 | |
Instead of a safe haven for foster children, | 0:35:49 | 0:35:51 | |
the couple were left with a dangerous building site. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:55 | |
But the Ballamys weren't going to let their dream be demolished. | 0:35:57 | 0:36:01 | |
They hired new builders to make the inside of the house safe. | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
And our good guys swung into action outside. | 0:36:05 | 0:36:09 | |
Head honcho Matt Walker and his team | 0:36:09 | 0:36:12 | |
set about their task with relish. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:14 | |
It was out with the spades, saws and drills. | 0:36:16 | 0:36:19 | |
And soon the transformation was complete. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:23 | |
What was a rubble-strewn danger zone | 0:36:23 | 0:36:26 | |
became a tranquil oasis of calm. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:28 | |
The decking was beautifully clad in feather-edged timber | 0:36:29 | 0:36:32 | |
with handrails and steps to comply with building regulations. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:35 | |
The change from what the cowboy left behind was striking. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:40 | |
But with their dream back on track, | 0:36:40 | 0:36:42 | |
it's now over to them. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
The cowboy's bodge was history. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:46 | |
But there was still much to do to create their perfect home. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:49 | |
Would Rachel and Simon finish the job? | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
Only time would tell. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:54 | |
It's been almost three years since we helped get Rachel and Simon's plans back on track. | 0:37:00 | 0:37:05 | |
When we left them, they were a step closer to achieving their dream of becoming foster parents. | 0:37:05 | 0:37:10 | |
Let's see how they're getting on. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:11 | |
Hopefully our good guys spurred them on to even greater things in their home. | 0:37:11 | 0:37:16 | |
-Hello, Rachel. How are you? Simon? -How are you. -Good to see you. | 0:37:18 | 0:37:21 | |
-You, too. -New door? -Yeah, we needed one. -Yeah? It looks fantastic. | 0:37:21 | 0:37:27 | |
I guess our fellas revived the Ballamys' belief in builders. | 0:37:28 | 0:37:31 | |
Soon after they left, Simon and Rachel had a new drive laid. | 0:37:31 | 0:37:35 | |
And that was just the start. | 0:37:35 | 0:37:37 | |
Once they'd done the drive, it incentivised us to do this bit | 0:37:37 | 0:37:41 | |
because it was sort of different. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:43 | |
So what we did is, we had sleepers around before because it was makeshift. | 0:37:43 | 0:37:47 | |
So we've used then and now created a nice level garden in the front. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:52 | |
'Time to look around the back. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:54 | |
'Remember how the cowboy left it? | 0:37:54 | 0:37:56 | |
'The good guys helped bring it back to life. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
'And now the Ballamys have added their personal touches. Great to see.' | 0:37:59 | 0:38:04 | |
-Who put these slabs down, then? -I have to say that was Rachel. | 0:38:04 | 0:38:08 | |
-She did all of that. -Been getting hands on? | 0:38:08 | 0:38:10 | |
I enjoy being out in the garden. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:12 | |
I have to say this is lovely now. | 0:38:12 | 0:38:14 | |
You can see why the garden's so important to you. It's beautiful. | 0:38:14 | 0:38:18 | |
It's greatly improved, without a doubt. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
'On to our good guys' piece de resistance, the decking. | 0:38:21 | 0:38:26 | |
'I'm not surprised the Ballamys love to show it off.' | 0:38:27 | 0:38:30 | |
It's fabulous for entertaining, cos it links the three rooms. | 0:38:30 | 0:38:33 | |
We've had nearly 30 people on here in an evening, | 0:38:33 | 0:38:36 | |
with the fire pit going, and the day's heat just glowing on through to the evening. | 0:38:36 | 0:38:42 | |
It's very, very sociable. | 0:38:42 | 0:38:44 | |
'I'm not surprised the Ballamys are in the mood for throwing parties. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:49 | |
'The transformation from before... | 0:38:49 | 0:38:52 | |
'to after is striking.' | 0:38:52 | 0:38:54 | |
Your house looks fantastic. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:57 | |
We're pleased with it. | 0:38:57 | 0:38:59 | |
I know it's a credit to the good guys, but it's a credit to you as well. | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
It's lovely. Well done. | 0:39:02 | 0:39:03 | |
-We feel indebted, actually, to the good guys. -Yeah. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:06 | |
We work out here because we love it, | 0:39:06 | 0:39:08 | |
but I know how hard they worked putting all this in. | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
I know how bad it looked before they started. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:15 | |
To let it go to rack and ruin would be a discredit to them and everyone that worked on it. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:19 | |
It was a big pick-me-up. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:21 | |
'Right. Let's look inside. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
'Rachel and Simon used this splendid spare room to host lodgers from all around the world. | 0:39:24 | 0:39:29 | |
'International students coming to study English at the local college | 0:39:30 | 0:39:33 | |
'love staying here. I'm not surprised.' | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
-Students have this room. -Yes. -It's nicer than my hotel room! | 0:39:37 | 0:39:41 | |
When I was a student, I won't tell you the sort of accommodation I lived in, | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
but it wasn't anything like this. Amazing. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:46 | |
Well, we took a lot of time and effort. | 0:39:46 | 0:39:48 | |
'Crikey, with accommodation like this, I'm surprised the students ever want to go home! | 0:39:48 | 0:39:55 | |
'The transformation is astonishing. | 0:39:56 | 0:39:58 | |
'Remember what this place looked like after the cowboy builder left them in the lurch? | 0:39:58 | 0:40:02 | |
'When our good guys rode to the rescue, | 0:40:03 | 0:40:05 | |
'the outlook improved massively. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
'Garden and decking transformed. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:10 | |
'But there was only so much our fellas could do | 0:40:11 | 0:40:14 | |
'and it looks like the Ballamys have finished the job with aplomb. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:17 | |
'Outside and in. | 0:40:18 | 0:40:20 | |
'Nice one. | 0:40:21 | 0:40:22 | |
'Time for a heart-to-heart with Simon and Rachel. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:26 | |
'As you might have guessed, they never realised their dream of becoming foster parents. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:30 | |
'And they're in no doubt who's to blame for that. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:32 | |
'The emotional impact of having cowboys in the house took its toll | 0:40:32 | 0:40:36 | |
'much more than they expected.' | 0:40:36 | 0:40:39 | |
We're really still very upset | 0:40:39 | 0:40:42 | |
because all the plans which we'd put in originally | 0:40:42 | 0:40:44 | |
for the adoption and the child side of things | 0:40:44 | 0:40:47 | |
that's gone now. | 0:40:47 | 0:40:49 | |
It's wiped four years of our life away | 0:40:49 | 0:40:51 | |
plus that chance | 0:40:51 | 0:40:53 | |
to do what we wanted to regarding this house. | 0:40:53 | 0:40:56 | |
You're saying the cowboy builders have influenced you so much | 0:40:56 | 0:40:59 | |
that you've given up on that dream of adoption? | 0:40:59 | 0:41:02 | |
Yes, because we couldn't put ourselves through another emotional upheaval | 0:41:02 | 0:41:08 | |
and the whole fostering and adoption process, emotionally is so difficult | 0:41:08 | 0:41:14 | |
that we would just, you know, you know in yourselves what you can and can't take. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:18 | |
And I think the building side of it just pushed us to a limit. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:22 | |
It was emotionally and financially. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:24 | |
We wanted to make sure we were financially stable to look after a child | 0:41:24 | 0:41:28 | |
and we still haven't got to that point yet. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
It's so sad that the trauma of being caught out by a cowboy builder | 0:41:30 | 0:41:35 | |
wrecked the Ballamys' fostering dreams. | 0:41:35 | 0:41:38 | |
But by opening up their home to foreign students, | 0:41:38 | 0:41:41 | |
they've ensured there will never be a shortage of youngsters around to appreciate their transformed home. | 0:41:41 | 0:41:46 | |
And that's not the only positive. | 0:41:46 | 0:41:48 | |
The lessons Rachel and Simon had learnt | 0:41:48 | 0:41:50 | |
were well used when it came to contracting builders to do the drive. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
We made sure that everything was written down | 0:41:54 | 0:41:57 | |
and the drawings were done so we knew exactly what was going on. | 0:41:57 | 0:42:02 | |
There weren't going to be any extras, no corners cut, | 0:42:02 | 0:42:05 | |
it was a case of we know what you're going to do and we'll pay you for the job you've done. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
That's the perfect strategy. | 0:42:08 | 0:42:11 | |
Payment for results tends to focus any builder's attention. | 0:42:11 | 0:42:15 | |
Lastly, where do you think you would be | 0:42:16 | 0:42:19 | |
if the good guys and Cowboy Trap hadn't come to the rescue? | 0:42:19 | 0:42:22 | |
We were pretty much broken when Cowboy Trap came originally. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:26 | |
And I don't know where we would be if they hadn't. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:31 | |
Well, enjoy your house, your home. | 0:42:31 | 0:42:33 | |
-And good luck for the future. -Thank you. -Thank you. | 0:42:33 | 0:42:35 | |
'And what a transformed home it is | 0:42:36 | 0:42:38 | |
'for the Ballamys and their guests from all over the world to enjoy. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:41 | |
'Lucky things! When I was a student, I lived in a shoebox at the end of the motorway! | 0:42:41 | 0:42:46 | |
'Listen to me going all Monty Python! | 0:42:46 | 0:42:49 | |
'Time for me to leave them all to it, eh?' | 0:42:49 | 0:42:51 | |
Well, what a lovely couple. What a lovely house! | 0:42:52 | 0:42:55 | |
It's great to see how a leg up at the right time | 0:42:55 | 0:42:59 | |
has given them the confidence to finally complete | 0:42:59 | 0:43:01 | |
their huge plans for this place. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 | |
Of course, it's a real shame they've had to give up on their dreams of becoming foster parents. | 0:43:04 | 0:43:09 | |
But they've managed to find other ways of making this a real family home from home. | 0:43:09 | 0:43:13 | |
You know what? No cowboy builder can take that away from them. | 0:43:13 | 0:43:17 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:43:42 | 0:43:45 |