Strathaven Roofer - work instantly condemned by surveyor

coco1 · 16 Sep 2011

Just had a roof built by J Wilkie, Roofer, Dovecastle Drive, Strathaven, ML10 and it was so bad that I called in a surveyor to look at it when it was supposedly finished, apart from the new window (which we paid for and never got) was put in.
I have put the information on a website where you can see photos of the work and view or download the entire surveyor's report, which says every bit of the work is so bad that it cannot even be repaired, it needs stripped and started again, which Wilkie refuses to do, as well as refusing to repay the money my gullible, 90 year old mother trusted him enough to pay him just before he had finished. The surveyor cost her £240 and we are now going to take J Wilkie to court, despite the fact that it is known that such an action is often fruitless even when you win.
Also just learned that in a case like this one should report the tradesman to the police for fraud and report him to trading standards, both of which I now intend to do.

The report and photos are here http://badbuilder.net63.net

Here are a couple of photos, many more on the site along with the surveyor's report

catlad · 16 Sep 2011

clicked on photo's it says web site under review?

coco1 · 16 Sep 2011

that's odd. The photos aren't links. The only link is to the website and it opens fine on my computer and on my daughter's.
I'll add the link to the site showing the work again

http://badbuilder.net63.net

freddiemercurystwin · 17 Sep 2011

catlad said:
clicked on photo's it says web site under review?

Yea I get this: http://www.000webhost.com/admin-review If you're gonna slag off a roofer at least do it right!

Did you know she was having here roof done? I hope not because that would suggest you or anyone else who could have were too bone idol to go and look at it whilst the works were being carried out?

coco1 · 17 Sep 2011

When work is being done it is hard to see what they are doing and by the time they have done enough for you to realise it is bad, the damage is done. Sadly I trusted them to do a decent job too, plus I'm no expert, which is why I ended up getting one in.
Another roofer we had doing a different job was good (sadly, I couldn't persuade her to use him again, although I did try) and I didn't check that one's work as he went along, I wouldn't have known if his was good or bad unless it actually leaked anyway, so checking as they go along isn't easy if you are not a professional.
You always assume that stuff is still unfinished if it doesn't look right while they are doing it, then eventually discover that is how they plan to leave it. It wasn't a lengthy job to do either, so it's not as though one could tell long before it was too late. Although it took them longer, due to gales stalling it and other excuses given for not coming up some days, the actual work only lasted about three days.

Whether or not you think I should have realised earlier that his work was bad does not alter the fact that this builder is a fraud and I put the post here to warn others about him, so your comment isn't very helpful to anyone, it just comes across as someone being righteous and unpleasant, which doesn't seem at all necessary. If you're going to mention that this forum's moderators have a site link under review before allowing people to check it, at least do it politely

Mw Roofline · 18 Sep 2011

It's only a small lean-to too. Not worth walking away from this one to get all the bad publicity, If it was a 30k reroof then maybe but this is only a weeks work to rectify.

A week of no money and being out of pocket to eat humble pie. Oh well.

It is shyte though. Post this on moneysavingexpert too in the rants and praises section.

Love the lead flashing

HH1 · 18 Sep 2011

Well done for highlighting the dodgy builder.
More people should do that.
And No, there is no reason to inspect someones work as they go along, They should be doing it right in the first place!

coco1 · 18 Sep 2011

Thank you for that suggestion. I put it on moneysaverexpert too, when you gave me that idea.

I should add that this roofer was recommended to my mother by her friend, with whom I am annoyed but can only assume that the work he got done didn't involve an entire new roof and he has yet to discover problems arising from shoddy work. She has had bad recommendations before, so I had tried to persuade her to just get the one roofer who had not ripped us off in the past and did a good job but she didn't listen. She regrets it now but for some reason, she never seems to learn and it is rather frustrating. Still, she did not deserve this.

datarebal · 18 Sep 2011

obviously a very poor example of work... be carefull what you write and say.. i'm sure you want to keep your house..

coco1 · 18 Sep 2011

I know what you mean but I am only stating the truth, with the surveyor's evidence to back it up. I can't let fear allow him to get away with it.

Morrisman · 21 Sep 2011

freddymercurystwin said:
Did you know she was having here roof done? I hope not because that would suggest you or anyone else who could have were too bone idol to go and look at it whilst the works were being carried out?

So now the home-owner needs to supervise professionals as they ply their trade, look over their shoulder as they're doing their job??

I bet they'll love that.

^woody^ · 21 Sep 2011

Ok the bad work is self evident, but what about your bad report?

Its a typically crap report by a chartered firm who it seems are trading on their chartered status and making you think that just because they have reported on something then it is correct.

The report does not contain a single reference to any standards by which the work should be measured by.

They have appended a picture from Chudleys book - which is by no means a standard to conform to - that book is a basic guide for apprentices.
And have they got copyright permission for it? They will need it if going to court.

And the lead sheet association guide is nothing more than ... an association guide.

If you are seriously going to court, then I would not rely on that poor report to support your claims. It has more holes in it than your roof.

A proper report with cited references and standards will carry much more weight that that effort. I hope it did not cost you much

Morrisman · 22 Sep 2011

^woody^ said:
If you are seriously going to court, then I would not rely on that poor report to support your claims. It has more holes in it than your roof.

A proper report with cited references and standards will carry much more weight that that effort. I hope it did not cost you much

So now we need to watch the skilled artisans and the surveyors, to make sure they do their jobs properly.

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^woody^ · 22 Sep 2011

Trust no one, Scully

cumbrianroofer · 23 Sep 2011

good on ya for showing this cowboy for what he is but lets not forget we also get bad customers aswell as bad tradesmen although clearly not in this case

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Strathaven Roofer - work instantly condemned by surveyor

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