New bathroom for Christmas!
Kind-hearted builders help out family
A Kind-hearted Moorlands builder gave a family a very special Christmas present – by fitting their new bathroom for free.
Householder Mark Batkin was finding his old facilities ‘too high maintenance,’ so he was looking to replace his bathroom tiling with cladding and carry out a few other improvements.
The 57-year-old had hired a builder through a friend of a friend. But after just one day working, he told Mark he could no longer continue with the project.
The bathroom, used by Mark, his wife and step-daughter, was left in an unfinished and unusable state.
“It was one of those situations where somebody knew somebody who knew somebody,” said Mark. “So we went with them. He started on the Monday but then said: ‘I can’t do it, it’s too big of a job’.
“The bathroom was unusable and stripped back to bare brick. Thankfully, he didn’t take any money.
“The job was set to be around £600, but we knew that the added damage he had created would make it more expensive.
“Throughout the next hour, we were googling different companies, and HIM came up. I called three different places, but HIM seemed to have the best credentials and were the most reputable.
“John and Peter from HIM came along and they were really nice chaps. They were very understanding and reassuring and went through everything. They said it was a really bad situation.
“We discussed what needed doing and they went through quotes and then, a couple of weeks later, they got back in touch to say that the work would be going ahead and they wanted to do it free of charge.
“I am so grateful to them for such an amazing gesture.”
The 41-year-old, from Cheadle, said: “Mark had been left in the lurch right before Christmas, and I just felt so sorry for him and his family. We met them all and they were so nice.
“The price point was a major concern and I knew that what he was asking for wasn’t going to last, so we wanted to do it properly. But obviously, that would put the price up. So we just decided to do it for him anyway.
“Mark came to us because we are a bigger firm and I suppose he just wanted that bit of security and peace of mind.
“Covid has really hurt us, just as it has so many other businesses. Jobs were cancelled and our turnover dropped, but there are many people out there in far worse situations.
“And when you go to someone’s house, like Mark’s, and he can’t even have a bath because of the state of the bathroom, it really puts things into perspective after you’ve been all doom and gloom for so long.
“We are able to use our skills to do something positive for someone in need, so why wouldn’t we?
“Mark was so emotional when we told him that we would do it for free, and he just couldn’t believe it.
“I wanted to put a smile on his face and we did just that. I also wanted to show him and everyone else that you might come across these cowboy builders, but not everyone is like that, and the majority of builders are decent, reliable people.”