Day 105

It still goes on - the first four week revised schedule followed by the second four week revised schedule and we are still well away from the finishing date. The last revised schedule had the tiler coming two weeks ago and we still do not have one. We do not know why. Steve Downes will not say and ignores email requests for information. Clive built a great patio and Cos is here every day and basically not doing much - he will be very busy fitting out the kitchen and building the roof for the side passage.

The plumber has installed the new boiler and the central heating is working again. The first fix on the electrics is completed. The floor is screeded, the kitchen units are delivered and ready to go. The tiles 60x60 full bodied porcelain are piled up waiting....

There have been long delays through the project - none of which have been properly explained by Steve. First the steel, then the Velux windows and emptying the skip. This was followed by a long pause waiting for the plumber. The latest is the tiler.  It is inexplicable. We have generally had at least two men here every day for 105 days and on some days they do nothing. It does not make sense. Given honesty and openness we could have avoided some of these issues which may have been money related.


Steve said it was easy and promised to fix a couple of broken tiles on the main roof. He also does not always reply to emails unless related to the payment of bills. I have gone out of my way to be helpful and pay the fortnightly bills the day they are presented - but it hasn't helped. Not paying until progress is made is more successful.

Day 63

The skip was finally emptied. We had a meeting with the architects yesterday and they then arranged a meeting with Steve to discuss our concerns. Lots of activity - Clive could now clear the cumulated piles of rubble and dig the trench for the drains, Steve did the false ceiling in the kitchen, the electricians completed the first fix in the kitchen and garden room and the CamTile completed the tiles - just ridge and flashings to do.

So we have progress now and a new plan from Steve - 4 extra weeks - but compressing 9 weeks from the original plan into 6. The new finishing date of the 14th October looks very optimistic. According to http://www.companycheck.co.uk/. Steve has along list of defunct companies associated with him and Inspire has only been registered since Jan 2010.

Day 61

Good news we are no longer held up waiting for the Velux Windows - after my wife had a conversation with Malcom this morning he went away and produced (as if by magic from St Ives) the Velux windows (4 weeks ago Steve said he ordered them after a 90 minute search and paid for them with his own credit card). Clive has returned but was unable to do anything because the skip is full. The electricians are working in the kitchen and garden room cutting holes for the sockets. The roofers put the roofing felt and some battens. Is this just the pre fortnightly meeting burst of activity?

Day 60

Last Thursday they promised

• the skip would be emptied on Thursday
• the Velux windows would be delivered on Thursday or Friday
• Clive would create the doorway into the utility room on Monday
• The electrician would start on Monday
• The roofers would start on the roof on Monday

Today Monday - the skip is still full (it has been for weeks), the Velux windows (ordered 9th August) have not come so roofers came at 8 and left by 9, Clive did not reappear (probably left Inspire after row last week), the electrician came but seemed uncertain exactly what the plans were.

We went for the Rolls Royce approach to building our extension - an expensive architect taking a basic fee of 11% of the contract price for design and managing the contract on time and materials. They chose a builder they had not used before and despite misgivings about the personalities and a gut feeling about the business we did not go out to tender (we would have been too late by then for a summer start if we had). How can it have gone so wrong in so short a time. After the first week mishaps the project recovered when there was an Inspire site foreman on site (Stan who is very competent) and an efficient bricklaying sub contactor (Simon, who disappeared one Friday). Stan disappeared a couple of Fridays later. A few weeks later Clive (a competent site foreman and sub contractor) arrived - but by then the project was stuck with a full skip and the roof held up. He has gone now and the project is leaderless. 

Day 59

This project was supposed to take 14 weeks and here we are at the end of week 12 and there has been little progress for the past 5 weeks. Inspire admitted to being 2/3 weeks over (I reckoned 4/5) two weeks ago and we are now 4/5 weeks over. They seem unable to buy the two P08 Velux windows for the garden room - they were going to be delivered in 10 days over three weeks ago. The skip has been full for what seems like ever. The roof on the garden room extension is held up - first allegedly for Velux windows and then for the barge barge boards and facias. From the delivery of the wood for these it took 6 working days to complete them. We were promised that the Velux windows would be delivered last Thursday/Friday (1/2 Sep) and that the skip would be emptied on Thursday. 

We have a fortnightly meeting with Inspire and Archangel. At the meeting on the 10th August the plan was for the kitchen to be concreted, the drains connected and our temporary kitchen to be moved into there. The drains cannot be connected because the scaffolding is in the way. At the meeting on the 24th August the barge boards were suddenly the barrier for the roof to be tiled.

Day 51

Our building project has be going since September last year. We are on day 51 of the building phase - it was supposed to take 69 days but due to various delays it is behind schedule. The history of the project is recorded on the web space I have from my ISP - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/cakjelsa/Extension/index.html

This is a picture from the architects design application.

This is the plan

This is what we had before

This is what we will have when we finish