Is this a bodge job?

C

Carlyx

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I have a general workman in to build a unit which houses a washing machine & tumble dryer in a downstairs loo.

The job was detailed as :
Insert electric socket (spur from kitchen next door)- (he quoted £250)
Build a unit (he quoted £600 incl a small piece of oak countertop)
Oak shelf (he quoted £200)
Plumbing in appliances (he quoted £250)

The job meant extending some plumbing which he has since said will be extra (but wont give me an idea of how much).
He has run a spur through from the kitchen but it looks terrible and is in the wrong place now for the unit doors to open so I think he has gone to plan B which is to move the lot and make a plinth to hide the gap. Not ideal as it eats in to space the other side which is where a sink will go.
The unit doors do not fit the frames - is this normal?
I wanted tiles off the wall before he installed the oak countertop but has pulled most of the wall down with them and now wants £250 to rectify it (also professing that he is not a plasterer).

I have already given 50% as a deposit and he said because of the extra work he now has a cashflow problem and wants 50% of the remaining balance.

Help!

Thanks,
Carly.
 
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Sounds expensive and cash-flow problems always ring alarm bells, especially when there is not that much to buy it seems.
 
Try to get money back.
He's ripping you off.
I and any carpenter can build such cabinets in a couple of hours.
Oak shelf £200???
How big is this shelf???
£250 to plumb in appliances???
Is he going to use gold pipes?
It's a rip off and unfortunately I doubt you will ever see your money again, unless you are familiar with old school persuasion techniques.
 
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£250 can get you a plasterer for a day to do an entire room. Prices may be higher or lower depending on where you live and the quality of plasterer. Unless it's a very big wall, or you live in Monaco, I'd say that's excessive for an amateur to fix one wall.

I think you're going to have to write off your 50% deposit.
 
Seen the pictures.
I see no oak, just very thin mdf.
Kick him in the teeth until he spits your money.
 
Yes, it's a total bodge and you are being ripped off. Sorry there is no kind way of saying it. This is absolutely tops 2 days work - so ~£400 labour, and materials would struggle over £200, so not only is the price ridiculous, but the quality of the work is poor as well. Also, it is not good practice to run both a washer and a dryer off a single double socket because they both potentially draw a high current, and double sockets are only rated to 20A (not 2 x 13A). Although 9 times out of 10 it will be OK, it is better to have two single sockets than a single twin - I'm not a sparks - this really needs one because although it looks simple, you are introducing 2 high-load appliances.

Also I bet he won't issue you with an electrical minor works certificate http://www.sparkyfacts.co.uk/The-Mi...gally required for,done on a modified circuit. which is a legal requirement.

You might be able to use this as leverage to get some of your deposit back - "give me half back and we'll say no more, otherwise I will both report you for unauthorised electrical work and raise a money claim online for the return of the deposit" - OK easier said than done, but depends how strong you feel...
 
If you want nice doors rather than knocked up MDF, you can buy "kitchen" doors in any size from e.g. https://www.kitchendoorworkshop.co.uk/shaker-kitchen-doors/ and many other companies. Typically a vynil covered door made to measure will be about £30-£40.

If it had been me, I would have fixed a shelf/countertop across the alcove for the dryer to stand on, and then made a front frame to carry some doors (probably just a single door to fold flat against the wall) - no need for a "box" around the washer (which it will vibrate and bang against)
 
D

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