DAMAGE LIMITATION
Do your homework before choosing a builder or learn the hard way . . .
The Carillion debacle has captured the headlines — and rightly so. But the crash of far smaller construction firms often goes unnoticed, although the fallout can be devastating.
each time Anna Alexander, 35, arrives home with her two young children and a car load of shopping, she feels a swell of fury.
Thanks to shoddy workmanship, she cannot park her car on her cracked and damaged drive. And that’s just for starters. Fissures have begun to form in the rendering on the front of her house, while rust is appearing on the metal window frames.
her calls and letters to the company she had employed have gone unanswered. Anna and her husband now have to face the fact they paid £16,000 for a sub-standard job carried out on the property 18 months ago.
‘I can’t believe what’s happened,’ says Anna, a copywriter. ‘What’s worse, a friend had used this builder and told me how quick he was — which suited me as I was pregnant at the time.
‘At first, the job seemed Ok. But when problems started occurring, we couldn’t get him back. It has been stressful and frustrating.’
When Anna finally caught up with the builder, she discovered that he had dissolved the company, making it impossible to get her cash back.
A lot of the time, having building work done feels like a leap of faith.
But are there ways to spot whether you can trust a builder to do the job and not leave you out of pocket?
Simon Ayers, chief executive officer for TRUSTMARK Ltd, the governmentendorsed scheme for trades in and around the home, says that before even selecting a builder, you should set out a detailed brief with which to request at least three quotes.
‘Only hire a business that advertises using a landline phone number — be wary of those only willing to give you a mobile,’ says Ayers.
Insolvency practitioner Charles Brook advises doing a credit search on the business and its directors before taking anyone on.
‘ Check the Companies house section of gov.uk, where you can access any limited company’s last filed accounts. If the accounts are overdue, late being filed, or the balance sheet is weak, think twice.’
Once you do recruit your builder, it’s important they sign a written contract as it offers you protection if anything does go wrong.
Brook also advises talking to local tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians to find out if they have accounts with local trades merchants and suppliers.
‘Contractors will be quick to tell you if they have had a bad experience when working for a particular builder, especially if they weren’t paid.’
It helps if your builder is a member of a trade association, and especially if they are registered with the National house Building Council (NHBC).
‘If the builder isn’t around to deal with snagging during the initial warranty period, NHBC suffers the risk and won’t do that too often for builders that have a reputation for going bust,’ says Brook.
Having some form of contract will offer some protection. Andrew Burns, director of Atelier MB Architects in Manchester, advises using one of the pre- prepared contracts offered by organisations such as The Joint Contracts Tribunal.
‘These agreements have been tested in law so are likely to offer the best form of protection. If you do your own, it might be harder to predict the ifs and buts,’ he says. David guest, head of insolvency at gorvins Solicitors, says it’s vital to be wary of heavily weighted ‘ up front’ payments, and requests for early payments on account.
‘Also watch out for third parties claiming to be entitled to receive money on behalf of the contractor. This may be a creditor or an indication that the contractor’s debts are factored in or invoice discounted and that cash flow is, therefore, an issue.’ If a builder — who is, or should be, VAT registered — offers to work at a discounted price, walk away, says Charles Brook.
‘It is not only criminal but may be a sign that the builder struggles to manage cash flow.’
Meanwhile, for Anna Alexander and her family the options are limited. Anna could apply to court to restore the company to the Companies house register, says guest.
‘Then, as a creditor, place it into liquidation and appoint a liquidator to investigate the conduct of the builder.’
however, any cash recovered would be available for all creditors and not just Anna. Or she could make the claims against the director.
Anna could report the firm to its trade association. Or find out whether the company has a bond to guarantee its work.
‘It has been three years since the original work was done, which used up all our savings,’ says Anna. ‘We moved from a tiny house to what was supposed to be a lovely home, but the whole thing has been devastating.’
The overriding rule seems to be: look before you leap.
The tide seems to be turning against plastic and we’re all thinking how we can be less throwaway at home. happily, there are plenty of designers opting for natural materials, so we can furnish our interiors with beautiful, lasting pieces. here are some useful suggestions.
SWITCHED-ON LIGHTING
The new Cupola lighting range at Tamasine Osher Design features wooden shades turned by hand from a single trunk of fallen and spalted english beech.
Spalting is the process by which certain fungi grow on dead or fallen trees, leaving a pattern. Designers collect trees that have fallen and catch them at the optimum time to start cutting.
each piece is unique as it’s impossible to tell what will appear in grain, knots, spalting and holes. every lampshade has its own pattern and history.
Tamasine Osher says: ‘This type of timber is very sustainable, but due to its unpredictable nature, it’s a relatively untapped source of material for furniture and lighting.’
The Cupola range includes large and small table lamps, a floor-standing lamp, chandelier and pendants starting at £225, tamasineosher.com.
BAMBOO BEAUTIES
A new bedroom collection by designer Matthew Long is based around sustainable rattan, and lighting designs using rattan and bamboo. The pieces are handmade in Indonesia where rattan is steamed and bent around moulds to make frames for each piece.
After these have cooled and the moulds have been removed, skilled artisans weave around the frame to create the finished woven surface. This can take up to five hours per piece. Designs start at £350, habitat. co.uk.
Long, senior designer for furniture and upholstery at habitat, says: ‘They allow us to create more interesting 3D shapes, from fluid curves to angular forms.
‘we’re moving away from traditional rattan associations to more inspirational, contemporary ideas.’
AWESOME OFFCUTS
Sebastian Cox designs furniture made from british wood: harvested, coppiced hazel, offcuts and wood from felled trees destined for the chipper.
his studio even offers to bring its portable mill to your home and use wood from a tree in your garden to make a bespoke piece of furniture.
A furniture and lighting range in a lightweight suede-like material, made from a fungus called mushroom mycelium, will be launched this spring.
At the London Design Fair in September, he showed prototype lampshades which are in the final stages of testing.
‘Our business is an example of the consumer appetite for sustainability,’ says Cox. Furniture designs start at £350, sebastiancox.co.uk.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Interiors company nkuku works with creative types throughout the world, combining traditional skills with natural materials including recycled metal, mango wood, rattan, hemp, jute and stone.
Its vast collection ranges from hemp storage baskets to metal cabinets, and reclaimed wooden tables to leather chairs. A nami brass pot (£69.95) is hammered into shape in India before it’s completed with a beautiful hand-etched design. The narwana leather chair (£ 495) has a distressed black iron frame with a soft, leather seat made by Mohamad, a 50-yearold father-of-two in rajasthan.
A Lomwe trestle table (£795 to £995) is handmade from reclaimed boards a little closer to home — in Devon by nkuku’s resident carpenter, Angus.
There are several accessible suppliers including next, amara.com and wayfair.
co.uk — the latter of which has reported a 45 per cent rise in sales over the past 12 months. Visit nkuku.com.
NON-TOXIC PAINTS
Interior designer and architect edward bulmer has been working with paint manufacturers for ten years to develop non-toxic paints. They are produced from raw materials such as plant extracts, chalk, earth minerals and linseed. The interior design service at Oka now uses edward bulmer natural Paint as its preferred choice. Giselle Mannering, head of interior design at Oka, says: ‘The quality of the colours and the caring ethos behind the paint makes it a great choice for those who want to reduce their use of plastic at home.’ From £45 per 2.5l, edward-bulmer-paint.
SUSTAINABLE STYLE
London-based designer Leonid Davydov creates furniture aimed at saving space around the home.
his brand only uses wood that has been sustainably sourced and treated to ensure that it retains its natural lustre. each design is modular, so it’s possible to add sections to create unique designs to fit your home.
Davydov’s award- winning shelving systems can be modified to fit any purpose in any room in the house. A dining table, bench and stool is to be added to the collection soon.
Prices start at £48, mydothome.com.