Episode 19 Cowboy Trap

We're on a mission to rescue homeowners across the UK from the misery left by cowboy builders.

It's in your mind all the time. You can't get rid of it.

You should be trying to concentrate on doing things with your grandson, but I wasn't.

Whether shoddy workmanship or downright lies, cowboy builders are unscrupulous villains

who destroy dreams and wreck lives.

I said, "What do you mean there's no damp proof course? That's what I paid you to do."

Am I on a different planet?!

One silly thing that's been done is there's a timber door that's been put on upside down.

It's a really basic silly mistake.

We've rounded up the good guys to help turn these helpless homeowners into merry mortgagees.

-I thought this was a new garage.

-It's brilliant now.

-It's been raining today. In there, it's bone dry.

-It's dry. It's amazing.

-You seem pretty happy now.

-I am. Now I've got smooth, dry walls

and I'm just looking forward to having my home back.

Even the smartest people forget basic common sense with builders,

so the next 45 minutes is a cautionary tale to help keep you out of the cowboy trap.

Today's Cowboy Trap is a stern lesson in the dangers of leaving your builder to get on with it.

These homeowners failed to adequately supervise their projects and would live to regret it.

I want my house sorting out so I can get on with my life again.

I felt betrayed, I felt angry. I felt disgusted.

I suppose whenever those emotions subsided I was just gutted.

Later, we catch up with a homeowner in Yorkshire who paid a builder to renovate her home and garage

but ended up with a bungled bodge of a job.

Our first Cowboy Trap location is Belfast,

capital of Northern Ireland and a centre for industry, the arts and higher education,

but 100 years ago this city was renowned for a different field - shipbuilding -

although one of its vessels didn't last too long.

The Titanic was built here in Belfast by Harland and Wolff

and it was a massive project.

No one had ever before attempted to construct a vessel so large.

The Titanic was said to be unsinkable. As it turned out, a worthless claim,

a bit like today's Cowboy Trap where a so-called guarantee meant nothing

and it ended up dead in the water.

This cowboy builder's unlucky victims live in a three-bed semi, home to social worker Sarah McCusker

and her Maltese puppy Alfie. Sarah enjoys boxing,

but her main passion is helping underprivileged people through her work.

I love my job. Some might say I'm a bit of a workaholic.

I get a sense of satisfaction out of working with other people

and trying to build a relationship.

Sarah went to uni in Belfast and lived with her parents,

but after graduating she felt it was time to move on.

Sarah's parents have always encouraged her to save. Three years ago, she had enough for a deposit.

So when she spotted a 1930s semi in a quiet neighbourhood fairly close to her parents,

she was over the Moon. It needed quite a lot of work, yes,

but Sarah could see its potential.

I fell in love with it instantly. Great house, quiet street,

own garden. Everything that I needed.

Sarah's homebuyer survey stated some vital remedial work needed doing for the mortgage to come through.

One area of work was the damp proof course, so I thought, "I need to get that work done

"and send everything to the bank."

Sarah realised the had to find a builder quick. At that time, she worked evenings in a bar.

A regular recommended someone who'd worked for him.

I said, "Brilliant. Saves me trying to look for a builder."

The builder came round and quoted £3,500 to put in a damp proof course with a 25-year guarantee

and underfloor ventilation.

Work began on 19th May, 2009. Sarah couldn't move in until the job was finished,

so she basically left him to it. Big mistake.

I just gave him a key because the house was empty, nothing had been moved into it yet.

So I didn't see a step-by-step process. I didn't supervise the work or anything.

Hmm. An unsupervised builder? Not great.

Take my advice.

They should take photos of work in progress and keep you updated on whether it's proceeding as planned.

Fail to do that and you could be heading for trouble.

After two weeks, Sarah's builder called her to say he'd finished,

but when she came to check the work she got the shock of her life.

The whole floor had been ripped up. He said, "Don't worry. I'll replace that free for you."

I thought OK, no worries.

He suggested replastering the walls in the bedroom as well since he'd done the ceiling.

He did say... To me there wasn't anything wrong with the walls, but he said, "You'd be best doing it now."

And that added hundreds of pounds to Sarah's final bill.

As did the fact the builder charged her for the new floor. I thought that was going to be free.

And he charged her for new skirting boards. And he didn't mention VAT in his quote.

His final bill for what was supposed to be just a damp proof course was £2,000 more than Sarah expected.

The total amount ended up just over £5,500.

Sarah tried not to let the inflated bill spoil the excitement of moving into her first home,

but something else did. The builder left the house in a right state

and the damp proof certificate he'd promised was conspicuous by its absence.

Sarah chased the builder for the guarantee, but he constantly gave excuses for not sending it,

like his wife was due to give birth and then that he was too busy with the new baby.

I said to him I was expecting this guarantee. I chased for another while and it never materialised.

The lack of guarantee would end up becoming a bone of contention as 18 months after the damp proofing,

serious problems started to emerge. Sarah noticed a damp spot under her settee.

I actually thought, "Have I spilt a drink?" It seemed to be wet on the floor.

And I pulled the settee forward and thought, "Gee, look at that!"

The floor was soaking and it wasn't just under the settee that was wet.

Mould started to appear on the walls, plaster began to bubble,

rot appeared on the skirting boards and walls became wet to the touch.

You can feel that it's just loose, cracked bits of plaster stuck behind the wallpaper.

If you pull the wallpaper off, you'll pull half the plaster with it.

Sarah's home was turning into a swamp. She phoned the builder.

"There's damp back in my house."

Initially, he said there couldn't be. I said, "I assure you, there is. I'm looking at it now."

After much cajoling, the builder eventually came to examine Sarah's wet-through walls.

He's looking and he paused for a minute and three times he said, "That shouldn't be doing that."

I'm looking at him going, "You're telling me!"

The next week, the builder returned and cut some inspection holes.

Sarah was horrified that her lovely laminate floor had to be ripped up,

but she was even more horrified when the builder said...

"As I suspected, there is absolutely no DPC - damp proof course - in that house."

I think I was just confused and lost and thought,

"Am I on a different planet or is he?" I said, "Look, what do you mean there's no damp proof course?

"That's what I paid you to do."

And guess what - this cheeky cowboy then gave Sarah quotes to put in a damp proof course.

She asked some other builders to inspect the work. They said that no DPC had been put in.

So here's why Sarah never got her 25-year guarantee. It was an imaginary damp proof course!

I mean, you couldn't make it up. When Sarah made one last attempt to get the cowboy to rectify matters,

things turned ugly.

Yep, not only was this cowboy awful at doing what he'd promised and charged for,

-he was also pretty poor in terms of his phone manner.

-He was very aggressive.

"Go ahead. Take me to court!"

Sarah hadn't got enough money to take legal action against the damp proof desperado.

Her first home had turned into a nightmare.

I felt betrayed, I felt angry. I felt disgusted.

And I suppose when those emotions subsided, I was absolutely gutted.

What an extraordinary tale. You feel he took advantage of Sarah's youth and inexperience.

It's a dreadful thing to happen to any first-time buyer, especially as she'd tried to do it properly.

So what, if anything, did he do to Sarah's home when she wasn't looking?

To investigate this mysterious missing damp proof course, we got building expert John Ashenhurst.

He's about to fill me in on his findings. First item to discuss -

'where the damp proof course should be.'

We should be seeing it in this open area.

-It should be between the joists.

-The damp proof course itself?

-Yeah.

I would suspect it hasn't been injected in this area. The surface of the plaster has gone.

The plaster behind is very dark, which shows it is full of damp.

'So John's forensic attempts to find evidence the cowboy put in a damp proof course have come to nought.

-'The implications of that aren't hard to spot.'

-You can see in the picture where there's a large area

where the plaster's come away, especially behind the radiator.

There's also an area by the entrance to the kitchen where there are salts that appear on the wall,

a tell-tale of damp. You can see that the surface of the plaster has gone.

The plaster behind is very dark, which shows it is full of damp.

'There's so much damp, it will affect the strength of the walls and cause the floors to rot,

'but it's not just about bricks and mortar. Damp affects the house occupant's health, too.'

I'd be concerned about the health issues damp would cause.

-Respiratory health issues?

-Yes. Over time, if you live in a damp house, that would be more the problem.

'For Sarah's sake, this clearly needs sorting ASAP.

'It's not just rising damp that's a concern.'

Let's talk about this damp here. What is this? Is this condensation? Is it rising damp?

The mould itself is condensation.

'And guess what - that's caused by poor air circulation,

'caused by the cowboy putting the air vents in the wrong place.'

He has taken the least resistance, which has been the side wall.

If he had put one through the front wall as well, it would increase circulation, but it's more work.

'And to this guy work was clearly a four-letter word.

'It's make your mind up time for John.'

Seeing what you've seen, how would you grade this work out of ten?

I would say probably a two or three.

-Is that all?

-Yes.

-'I can see why John isn't impressed.

'Check out what Sarah has to live with because of this con artist.

'Damp here, there and pretty much everywhere. Plaster becoming cracked, mould patches

'and long-term health concerns.'

In short, if there was any hope of a happy ending to this soggy saga, it was time for the good guys.

And here's head honcho Kenny Andrews leading his posse into the fray.

So much needs doing, Sarah's chipping in as she hopes her damp problems will be fixed for good.

'First things first - removing the poorly-applied plaster.

'Then the good guys have to drill deep into the walls so the damp proof treatment can begin.

'The next stage - injecting the magic ingredient.

'So far, so good, but can our fellas make Sarah's first home dry as a bone? Only time will tell.'

I'm in Belfast where first-time buyer Sarah McCusker's new home was in dire need of a damp course,

but she was taken advantage of by a cowboy builder who just pretended to do the work,

leaving her despairing of a house riddled with damp. Our good guys have now finished. Let's see it.

'It's still a work in progress as the new plaster has to dry.

'I bet Sarah can't wait to decorate it.'

-Hi, Sarah.

-Hiya!

-How are you doing?

-I'm good.

-It's a bit rainy out here.

-Yeah, come in.

-Thank you.

'Sarah's in a bubbly mood. While she puts the kettle on, I'll take a quick look around.'

Well, can't smell any damp,

but this is the main offending wall. This is the external wall.

It was in a right old state, but there's almost like a magical watermark.

It starts here and goes right across to the end. And below it, there's dark, very fresh-looking plaster.

You can still feel it quite damp. It's in the process of drying out.

There's no way of rushing this so they're doing as they should and letting nature take its course.

'Yep, it's good to see an early sign that the job's been done properly.

'Remember what this wall looked like before? Wetsville, Tennessee.

'Now it's on the right track and this plastering looks spot-on.

'Our good guys didn't do a slapdash job like the cowboy.'

Everywhere you look, you see new, fresh skimming and plasterwork.

They must have had to take all that back to the brickwork, everywhere you see this new plastering.

This looks like a much bigger job than I anticipated.

'Right, into Sarah's dining room. Because of the cowboy's virtual damp proofing,

'the wallpaper was peeling and the plasterwork was cracking, but it's now damp-free

'and plastered beautifully.'

There's a new floor covering here. They've put damp proofing down.

Also I like to see that if there's rising damp, they'll have to chop back to the brickwork,

but everywhere you see is fresh plaster, even the ceiling as well.

'Sarah will be able to decorate this room as soon as the plaster dries

'and we all know first-time buyers love to decorate. I like what I see.

'Good guy head honcho Kenny has come to talk me through the challenges.'

You deal with damp day to day, day in, day out. What can you attribute all this damp to?

It was mostly rising damp coming up from below the ground.

-Partly penetrating damp coming in through the walls. Soaking wet.

-Right, so two-fold there.

-Yep.

-When you say rising damp, that was coming up through the brickwork.

-And through the plasterwork.

'None of which would have happened if a DPC had been put in originally.

'So we're back to the mystery of what the cowboy actually got up to.'

What evidence of work had you seen had taken place?

There was some randomly drilled holes in the brickwork,

an old-school method that never worked. You have to inject the mortar bed.

Injecting bricks does no good. There were random holes.

'Aha! At last we get to the bottom of it. The cowboy did do a bit of random damp proofing,

'but in a totally useless and ineffective way.'

Take my advice.

It's crucial you identify what kind of damp you have - rising, penetrating or condensation.

The only way to be completely sure is to consult an independent damp specialist

who has no vested interest in recommending unnecessary work.

Before I hear what Sarah thinks, I'm going to chat to her about her cowboy builder.

I wanted to find out his side of the story and I can't wait to hear her thoughts on his side of events.

He says he was never contracted to do a damp proof course.

He says you told him your surveyor's report indicated there was already one present.

All he was doing was hacking the plaster off the walls to redo it.

He was contracted to do damp proof work. He's also given me the quote here. And the receipt.

In which, you know, he says there, "a damp proof silicone".

-His position becomes rather more untenable when it's in black and white here, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

He denies he was intimidating and aggressive on the phone. He shouted as he was on his hands-free.

It's not that it could have been misinterpreted. I asked him several times. I said, "Stop shouting at me.

"Could you stop shouting?" And he responded by further shouting, "I'm not effing shouting at you!"

'Hmm, very non-aggressive(!) Looking at the results of this guy's handiwork, I'm not surprised

'he wasn't keen on hearing from previous customers. So what has Sarah learnt from the experience?'

-Do you regret not coming round more frequently?

-I do to an extent,

but I'm not too sure that me standing watching what he was doing... I still wouldn't have known.

I was 21, 22, when I bought the house and he thought... Yeah, exactly.

It's all part of being a first-time buyer. You are naive. It's a learning process.

Unfortunately, someone else has taken advantage of that.

'That's exactly what cowboy builders love to do.

'Anyway, that's now ancient history. It's time to hear whether Sarah's damp-free home

'has changed her life for the better.'

Now this... I know it's not finished, but this must be completely different to how it was.

It's totally different. It's so good to have nice, smooth, dry walls and new floor and skirting boards.

-How bad did it smell?

-Musty kind of old smell.

'You'll have to take my word for it, but I can assure you Sarah's home doesn't smell musty any more.

'Now she's finally in a position to turn this house into her dream home.'

-Talk me through the colour schemes and stuff.

-I'm going to paint it.

It was papered, kind of because it had to be, but now I've smooth walls

and I think the paint will look great. I'm thinking of a cream and teal, probably.

'I've no idea what teal is, but I'm sure it's very nice.

'Next, into the lounge.'

Now this room... Well, it was carnage in here.

Yeah.

-When I spoke to Kenny, our good guy builder, he said that was, well, he said it was soaking.

-It was.

It was actually wet to the touch.

-When it's all painted, it'll feel like a brand-new home.

-It does already.

Even though to other people looking at it, it might look unsightly because it's just this plaster,

but in comparison with what it had before, it's such a great difference.

'And that's because, as always, our good guys have gone the extra mile.'

He could have just sorted out the damp bit, but he thought we'll make the finish look like it's new,

so he's gone floor to ceiling.

'From quagmire to quality, in one fell good guy swoop.'

All's well that ends well, really.

It's been lovely to meet you. I'm sorry you had to go through this.

-It must have been upsetting at times.

-Mm-hm.

-But you seem happy.

I'm over the Moon. Now I've got smooth, dry walls and I'm looking forward to getting painted

-and having my home back.

-'And on that happy note, it's time for me to bid Sarah and Archie

'a fond farewell.'

Some rather typical changeable weather here in Belfast,

but while it's damp outside, it's not inside Sarah's house,

due in no small part to our good guy builders. They've done a cracking job leaving Sarah just one task -

that's to redecorate her new home. But it's also another opportunity for a housewarming party.

I'll wait for the invite.

Sarah found out the hard way that when it comes to cowboy builders, if you're out of sight

you're very much out of mind.

Our next cowboy victim was also deceived by a builder who could talk the talk,

but didn't work the work.

We're in Easingwold, a small market town near York.

It's a town with a history. Back in 1221, it had an old tollbooth

and in the Middle Ages Easingwold was renowned for rows of shambles where butchers sold their wares.

I can't help but wonder whether a few hundred years later a certain fellow of disrepute

rode through on his way to York.

Back in the 18th century, notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was imprisoned and executed in York

after he was captured living nearby under an assumed identity.

These days highway robbery is consigned to the history books,

but locals are still being targeted by an outlaw of a much more modern kind - the cowboy builder.

'His unlucky victim lives in this two-bed bungalow.

'It's home to Judith Metcalfe, a cleaner. Judith is a mother and grandmother,

-'who dotes on her grandson Tom.'

-He keeps me going.

He loves his tractors and he loved making things with his granddad, who loved making things with him.

'Tom's granddad, Judith's much-loved husband of 35 years, Alex, sadly passed away

'from cancer in 2011, with Judith by his side.

'In his younger years, Alex was a farmer and after they married in 1980,

-'Judith adored her outdoors life with him.'

-He was very easygoing.

We were happy going for walks and in the garden. When he died, it was hard. It was very hard.

When Alex died, Judith not only had to cope with losing her soulmate,

she was also forced to accept she could no longer live where she was.

Reluctantly, she decided to downsize her home. As she suffers from arthritis, when a bungalow came up

close to her family in Easingwold, it seemed ideal.

When I moved in, I realised it needed a bit of modernisation.

There was a loft which I thought I would like boarded now.

I'd promised my grandson a train set.

And the loft was just the start of Judith's grand plan.

She wanted a new bathroom, new kitchen, the garage renovating

and electrical, plumbing and joinery work doing, too. One of her friends recommended a builder

who came round to quote. He came up with a figure of £25,000 to fit the new kitchen and bathroom,

board up the loft and renovate the garage with rendered walls and new roof, with £10,000 upfront.

Judith gave the builder the green light, but didn't put a contract in place or agree a schedule of works,

-and would live to regret it.

-With everything happening, I never stopped to think things through.

I trusted this builder.

The builder started on 5th August, 2012, assuring Judith the job would be finished in two weeks.

Because her bathroom was going to be out of action, Judith decided to move out until it was finished.

The builder promised to take care of her precious furniture and expensive beds while she was away.

I just grabbed some clothes, put them in a suitcase.

And tootled off to the nearest B&B. She popped back the following afternoon to say hello,

-but her house was like the Marie Celeste.

-It was maybe three o'clock and there was no one here.

Clocking off before 3pm on the first day? Not a great start.

The same happened the next day, too.

Perhaps Judith not being around to keep tabs on the builders was turning out to be an issue.

There was no way the project would be completed within two weeks, given the speed they were working.

And what little had been done looked really shoddy. And she was shelling out to stay in B&Bs.

Before long, the build had passed the three-week mark

and the cost of the B&Bs was mounting up.

Judith's outlay had reached £1,000 because her bathroom still wasn't usable.

There was a big hole in the wall and the quality of the work was awful.

Judith tried to raise her concerns with the builders, but that didn't go down well with the main man.

I was told to stop pestering them. I wasn't pestering them. It was my money.

And I was just looking after my money.

Finally, at the end of August, a full two weeks after the build was supposed to be finished,

Judith was told her house was ready. She paid the builder and he left, but she soon wished she hadn't.

Her home was in a state of chaos and her precious beds were nowhere to be seen.

-Eventually, she tracked them down to the garage.

-They weren't covered, just laid against this garage wall.

When her beds were brought in, they were in a terrible state.

I just looked and I cried because they were filthy.

No sweet dreams for Judith, then. And it wasn't just because of the state of her bed.

The first time she used the shower, it leaked and water flooded the bathroom. The basin leaked, too.

And the water coming out of the taps was scalding. She couldn't let Tom near them.

She phoned the builder to complain, but he was having none of it.

He made me feel as though I was...daft.

I was a woman on my own and didn't know what I was on about.

So no marks for customer service or for the garage render, either.

It looked a right bodged job with gaping cracks letting water through.

And the garage roof was one loose sheet of metal. Rain was getting in.

I thought, "I can't do with all this wet. I want it dry."

It wasn't just her damp garage that concerned Judith.

One wall hadn't been rendered at all. Judith asked the builder to come round and explain. His excuse?

"My belly is too big to get to that bit." You couldn't make it up.

What he did or rather didn't do in the loft was no laughing matter.

Where was the safety rail around the hatch?

He knew the loft was for my grandson.

I said to put some railings round. I didn't want him to step back and fall through the hole.

So bathroom, bad. Loft, bad.

Garage, bad. Surely he got the kitchen right. Well, what do you think?

Yeah, no prizes for guessing that was bungled, too.

The kitchen tiles had been put on uneven. Judith again summoned the builder to discuss the problem.

-He couldn't blame his belly this time, so he'd a different excuse.

-They were bevelled,

so they couldn't be put on even. He made me feel as though I was daft, I suppose.

Well, I don't think it was Judith who was daft. Everywhere she looked, there were problems.

The drainpipe was dodgy and the electrics unfinished,

but, running out of excuses, the cowboy wasn't up for any more pow-wows. Despite her best efforts,

-Judith hasn't been able to track him down since.

-I've never disliked anybody.

This builder, I don't want to set eyes on him again.

Having her hopes of her dream home shattered by a cowboy builder has had a devastating emotional impact.

It's even affected her quality time with Tom.

It's in your mind all the time. You know you should concentrate on doing things with your grandson,

but I wasn't. And I know it changed me as a person.

Judith's paid £29,500 and seen her hopes of a dream home fall apart.

She doesn't know where to turn.

I want my life sorting out. I want my house sorting out so I can get on with my life again.

Oh, sorry.

Heartbreaking, isn't it? Judith's had so much to cope with -

the death of her beloved husband, the emotional upheaval of downsizing and now this.

How cruel that thanks to one rogue builder, her hopes of a fresh start have been left in tatters.

'The problems in the bathroom, kitchen, loft and garage are all too apparent,

'but often with cowboy builders this is just the tip of the iceberg.

'To find out the full extent of this bungled build, we asked surveyor Colin Harrap to inspect the work.

'Colin's been through it with a fine toothcomb and is about to fill me in on what he found.

'First item on the agenda - that appalling garage.'

The garage has been put together fairly quickly without much thought.

The outside is rendered and it hasn't been given any weatherproof coating. It isn't waterproof.

Eventually, water will seep through.

Also, the roof is pretty thin, no insulation. Just a single sheet of profiled metal.

Outside the garage, dreaded cracks. Is this how it's dried or...?

There are one or two cracks. The render is quite cement-rich.

That makes it quite brittle and prone to cracking.

-Now the bottom of this render, where it's hitting maybe block work, this looks scrappy.

-It is scrappy.

It should have proper detail there.

'So he didn't start things right and didn't finish things right either.'

One of the silly things done here is there's a timber door and it's been put on upside down.

It's a really basic, silly mistake. I'm not sure why it's been done.

The only thing I can think of is it was done on a Friday afternoon.

The rail should be at the bottom of the door. It's at the top.

-You mentioned a number of jobs. They all add up to make you think they just threw this up.

-Exactly.

'And it's the same story inside. The bathroom is wet in all the wrong places.'

The shower tray leaks and the way the WC has been installed isn't good. It blocks access to the stop tap.

It's not very good forward planning.

'And when it comes to the loft, it doesn't look like there's been any planning at all.'

The main access staircase comes through a hole in the floor. That hole's unguarded.

-It's pretty easy to step back towards the hole.

-'And that could be the last thing you do.

'It's a long way down. Right, it's make your mind up time for Colin.'

What you've seen overall, how would you mark this out of ten?

-I'd probably give this a four.

-'I can see why Colin is unimpressed. Check out the evidence.

'An abysmally-rendered damp garage with upside-down doors and appalling roof.

'Badly bungled drainpipes, a dangerous loft hatch, appalling electrics,

'a bathroom with leaks, scalding taps and mould in the corners.

'And sloppy tiling in the kitchen.'

Bodge upon bodge, in fact. But no long list of problems can adequately sum up

the emotional fall-out from this job. Time for the good guys.

Here's head honcho Richard Attridge and his team coming to the rescue.

So much needs doing, Judith is chipping in to get her dreams back.

First things first - sorting out that rubbish garage roof.

Good to see how the professionals set about the task in hand.

Then it's on to those all-important electrics. And making that loft hatch safe for young Tom.

It's a great start, but can they get Judith's dreams back on track?

Only time will tell.

I'm at Easingwold, near York, where 59-year-old Judith Metcalfe hoped to make a new beginning

after the death of her husband, but she got a cowboy in to refurbish her new home,

with dire consequences. Well, our good guys have now finished, so let's see how Judith is getting on.

-Hello, Jonnie.

-Hi, Judith.

-How are you?

-All right, until this weather.

-Well, come inside.

-Thank you. 'While Judith puts the kettle on, I look at the good guys' handiwork.

'First up, the bathroom.'

Right then, now... All the tiles around the shower look nice and dry.

Looks like they've sorted that out.

Now this loo,

it was closer to the wall before, so it must have been moved.

You couldn't get to the stopcock, so you couldn't read the water meter or, most importantly,

when you've got a leak, you need to turn the water off.

Now here it looks like... Let's have a look at this. Ah.

That's easy, isn't it? Straight to the stopcock and very easy to read your meter.

When the cowboy left, Indiana Jones would have struggled to find the stopcock.

Our good guys have provided a totally sensible solution, but what about that life-threatening loft?

That wasn't here before. Already it's safer coming up.

But that wasn't the big issue before, was it?

Now look at this. You know what? I wasn't expecting to see this,

but because we've got this structure here,

this room doesn't feel like a loft. It feels like a play room, a proper part of the house,

rather than the death trap it was before.

Our fellas realised the importance in the grand scheme of things of getting the small things right.

Just little attentions to detail, like these little peg joints.

It looks now like a proper structure, which will give Judith real peace of mind when Tom is here.

I'd love a quick go on his train sets, but I've got a garage to check out.

Remember the render was dreadful? It looks better now, eh?

It looks tidier. There's no cracks in the render for water to get behind and blow out later on.

There's a new roof. That was a tin roof or something.

New guttering. And here we've got a uPVC door, fitted - guess what - the right way round.

Funny how that's beyond some cowboys. This guy left the garage interior in a right state.

But our fellas have transformed it and put in an entire new roof structure, too.

Before it was a tin roof that looked like it might blow off any time

and was probably not much more than just a roof covering. Now it feels... Well, you can see.

It's obviously safe to keep the white goods. Very impressive.

Our good guys have certainly done the business. Head honcho Richard talks me through the challenges.

So how long were you guys here?

-About 14 days, on and off.

-Really?

-14 days.

-It's the detail. That's what was missing before.

It's small things that take time. They're the bits that matter.

I've noticed it's had a good lick of paint on the outside. There's no cracks.

No, it's all sealed. It's had three coats, two coats of weatherproof.

-So it looks the part and will continue to in years to come.

-Yes.

And that's important. Judith wanted a low-maintenance garage that would stand the test of time,

not a badly-bungled build requiring constant upkeep.

'Before I do the grand tour with Judith, we chat about her builder.

'I wanted to find out his side of the story and hear her response,

'but that's not been possible.'

We always give the cowboy builders a right to reply, to offer their side of the story.

Unfortunately, he's refused to answer any of our questions as he says it's with his solicitor.

I'm sure he'll be watching this.

So if he is, what would your thoughts be towards him? What would you like to say to him?

Why didn't he answer my phone calls? And why did he do what he did?

He just about ruined my life. I was so low at one point. Very, very low.

You've been through so much. These past few years have been just the hardest they could be for you.

-Yeah.

-And this is the one thing that was supposed to be helping you get back on track.

-Mm-hm.

Because of all these problems, Judith got so low she feels her relationship with Tom suffered.

I just didn't... I wasn't doing what I normally do.

With my grandson.

-He means the world to you.

-He does.

He does, hm.

And I'm sure Judith means the world to him. The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel

and soon his train set will be back in action. Time to see if we changed Judith's life for the better.

Our first destination, her sparkling new kitchen.

-The first thing I notice here is it just looks a lot tidier.

-The tiles are a lot better.

-They've sorted these all out now?

-They have.

-'And they've sorted the bathroom the cowboy left behind.'

-I noticed it was all dry in there, the floor. Is that all sealed?

-Mm-hm, it's all sealed.

-It's nice to have a shower now and not have to mop the floor.

-Yeah.

-For months I've had to mop the floor.

Hopefully, you won't have to use the stopcock in the near future, but you can get to it now

and you can read the meter.

'Instead of a bathroom with ugly holes and scalding taps, Judith has a readable meter, reachable stopcock

'and a bathroom floor that doesn't require flippers to navigate. Result.'

-These are lots of little jobs that, if you add them up, stress you out. You paid good money.

-Yeah.

-They should have been right.

-But now...

-They're right. It's a lot better.

'Time to go up to the loft. Before, the safety barrier had to be somewhat improvised

'due to the cowboy's negligence. Now it's totally fit for purpose.'

-I wanted to see just how easy it was to come up. Like a normal staircase.

-Yes, very good.

-Know what I'm picking up straight away? You're leaning against something...

-Oh, I know.

-See?

I couldn't have done this before. It's wonderful, it really is.

'I'm not surprised Judith's delighted. Tom's play room is no longer a danger zone.

'Once again, she's spending quality time with him.'

-It's clearly used.

-It is. He loves the loft.

-It's one of his favourite places.

-It's easy for you to get up here as well, though. The handrail,

on a structure that wasn't here. You flew up.

'Our final location on the grand tour - Judith's garage.

'The cowboy builder left that in an awful condition, inside and out.

'I wonder what Judith thinks of the new, improved version?'

-I almost thought this was a new garage. It looks cracking.

-It's brilliant now.

-It was a problem. It was a massive problem.

-It's been raining today, but it's bone dry.

It's dry. It's amazing.

'Because of our good guys' work, Judith now has her extra space.'

It's more of an extension to the house. You downsized, but you still need storage space.

-That's what it was meant for.

-You've got space for more stuff.

I've got stuff I need storing. I live in London. I need all the space I can get.

-You sound like you're in good spirits now.

-I don't know what I would have done without you guys.

-I was completely lost.

-Really?

-Cracking to meet you, Judith.

-Thank you.

-See you again.

What a lovely note to end on.

Even lovelier is the fact that young Tom has turned up for some fun times with Gran. That's what it's about.

Well, after a year I'm sure Judith can't wait to forget,

it's great to see she's finally got her smile back. And that's due to the good guy builders.

They've come in here, been all over this house. Inside and out, their work has been pretty much flawless.

And that is what's making this lady plan for the future. Not only has she got a house she can call a home,

but she's also looking forward to the regular visits of her beloved grandson, Tom. Happy days.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd