As you know we have been spending our life’s savings and building our forever home.
It’s a large extension that curls around our house . Adding a bedroom and two extra bathrooms, a much needed boot room (4 kids, 2 adults = LOTS OF COATS AND SHOes)
Anyway the build was completed a few weeks ago just leaving us with the inside to do, plastering, decorating fitting bathrooms etc.
Anyway when we built the bedroom I decided to keep the roof space open and put in skylights. When I went to look at it I saw the way the roof cut in to the original roof and got totally inspired and wanted to plaster it out and use it as a feature where I could display sculpture and add spot lights.
Well anyone would think I was wanting to recreate the dome of St. Paul’s! I had a plasterer booked into to do the work, he was £150 a day and we had used him to cover a hole in the wall and he seemed great. Just as he was about to start on the Monday he came to visit the job with his ‘lad’ . (The lad must be 70 at least). They walked around the job and made all he right noises until they go to the roof void!
The hissing through teeth started and tails of how dangerous it was and how it would put loads of time on the job etc etc.. I simply asked ” can you do it or not?” He replied he could.. All was well until he started to leave. He told me he would be on site Monday and he’d booked out his diary for 6 weeks!!! The build only took 8 weeks!.. I mean the whole building! 6 weeks at £300 a day ( his lad wanted £150 a day too) bloody hell it was gonna cost more than the whole project!
So I contacted some other plasterers, they all came around and had a look , pretty much all the same price but all reckoning two week tops.. As we thought. But… No one could fit us in… We needed to start straight away and it needed to be done before we went to Glastonbury as we would be on the road for weeks.
Then this lovely man contacted me… He was going on holiday and couldn’t do it but he sometimes worked with someone who was looking for work. He came to see it and the man who was going on holiday was so giddy about the roof void.. He loved to do different stuff and he really wished he could do it.. I got on really well with him.. We chatted about house and the design plans and he was totally into it.. His mate however stood quietly and made the odd sighing noise.
After they left I got the quote.. He wanted £200 a day for three weeks.. So I replied saying we could do £150 a day which we believed was standard and we expected it to be done in around two weeks… We asked if he could match it.
Now keep in kind he has no work on and obviously needed he job… There was no way I was going to over pay him for longer than needed just to keep him in work… I expected him to come back to me with maybe a set price or something.. I was happy to come to deal! Instead I got this text…
Think he meant to sent it to his mate!
Well for a start i offered £150 a day not a hundred so he was lying to his mate for effect and …. And…. ‘Picky bitch’ ????
Anyway after much hilarity and sacking him off I got the first guy back to do the down stairs, I said if he could do it in a week it would be cool.. No complications just do the work!
Cool.. It happened..
It only took four days! So I had a chat.. Turned out he did feel he could do the roof void but would do the upstairs and leave that bit.. I’d get the man to come after his holidays to do the roof.
Then he text… “I’ve been thinking .. We will do your roof it’ll be fine”
Day one on upstairs I get called… ” Sam I don’t understand how you want this roof” …for god sake!!! I told him to just leave it! He carried on and at 2pm told me he had fit the insulation and tidied up so he was gonna get off… This was his tidying up…
I put a couple of bags up there hoping he’ll take the hint!
So ….Yesterday mr O and I went upstairs armed with some plasterboard and some determination.. Guess what? We had it done in a couple of hours.. Never put on plaster board in our lives!
They are here today and I can hear banging about, they are falling out with each other and saying it’s too warm.. They havent mentioned the roof void! But they are nearly done boarding the rest.
They will be plastering tomorrow and done by Wednesday.. So 6 weeks turned into 10 days after all… And the roof will get done…
All that fuss.. I am such a picky Bitch !
UPDATE: it’s Saturday morning and things have moved on. Last time I wrote on this is was Tuesday and expecting him to start plastering on Wednesday. As it is he didn’t finish the last bit of boarding and certainly didn’t start skimming.
I rang the bloke who’s mate called me a picky bitch and he’s know here with his mate doing the roof void for me… There’s moaning and lots of ‘information’ but they are on it and have even done a couple of the walls.
Plasterer number 1 and his elderly Lad are back Monday.. But I’m gonna try ask these guys to stay late and do a bit more for us.. They are doing more in a morning that he’s done all week!
Round Peg festival Mama 