At long last! I have finally move onto the next project. It is always a joy to leave a happy customer behind and get your teeth into something new.
However, this next project is going to be a pain in the arse. i have been drafted to finish a renovation. A renovation which has had numerous builders, Bulgarian and English, bodge and cut corners. The state i inherited in at first glance looks ok but on closer inspection is appalling.
I told myself i would never redo some one else's work after i had to do this in Rujitza after another cowboy English builder had screwed it up. However, i have sympathy for this client, Mr T. He has been shafted numerous times since he has been out here and refuses to give up or be beaten, regardless of the cost.....
Where to start? Inside or out?
On the outside a Bulgarian has attempted to insulate and render it. Not only is it not level, the panels are fitted unevenly, not stuck on properly, electric cables left hanging on the outside (and not hidden behind) but he attempted to render the outside WHEN IT WAS SNOWING!!!!! For those who don't realize how big a mistake this is, ice crystals will form in the render and cause it to crack and fall off really quickly-even if you use special chemicals. Idiot.
The septic tanks is a joke. its about 2.5m3 (the last on i installed was over 27m3, have a look here for pictures), very badly built and chances are will leak sewerage into the street and garden.
The roof-leaks, need i say more?
Some of the windows were installed backwards!
The inside was very useful for me. It allowed me to go around, point by point and explain to my newer workers how not build and if they ever did anything like this they would be fired.
The woodwork is appaling. And considering half the ground floor is wood panelled then this is a problem. the plaster work on the ground floor has had to be completely redone. I have skimmed it with a water resistant render but as its the ground floor and no damp proofing has been done i fear in places damp will come through. this could be easily fixed by dry lining but i would have to gut the entire ground floor and start again to get it right. this is not an option after all the money that has been spent so far.
The bathroom. My trainee tiler found this really funny considering this was meant to have been done by a 'meister'. It appears that he hasn't heard of a spirit level. The top course of tiles have a height difference of almost 3cm! try getting thouse grount lines to match up! The ceiling has had to be redone to make it meet the tiles. it would have had to be redone any way because the centers were to wide (over 60cm!, i use 40cm), there were not enough screws, the frame to which it was attached was to weak and the installed didn't use water resistant plasterboard. Nice.
There is a lot more problems, in fact it think it may be worth a second post! Stay tuned for how i make it look nice!
No comments:
Post a Comment