Hidden Talent
Some years ago we had to do the preparation work for a real artist. We of course did a great job on preparing the walls, lining and painting in white. What was to follow on was a really talented guy doing pictures and scenes from films on the walls. I did happen to mention to the owner of the house that there was a shower room above and it would be worth getting Mark to check it out first to make sure there were no leaks.
Time moved on and a couple of weeks later this guy called Maggot had transformed this room to all but a film set without the sound. I was so impressed by his talent.
A few weeks later I got the call that you are now suspecting. The shower had leaked from the waste and the water had now come through and stained the Lion King and Jungle Book scenes painted on the walls. I was asked to come back and do some more decorating in other rooms which I did on a regular basis anyway. When I saw this I was horrified and when I was asked to repair and repaint the scenes my jaw dropped even further. I got a load of sample pots delivered with my other materials and was due to start. I wasn’t nervous I was petrified! I am not an artist after all. I took it on, on the undertaking that I wouldn’t make it worse.
In those days one of the guys who worked for me was an old boy called Pete. He looked like Bob Hoskins and we would have entered him for gurning competitions if the prize money were there. On the first couple of days I had the flu so did not get over to site. I had left instructions that just do the other rooms and we would look at the film scenes later. A few days later I got to the house only to find that Pete had not only put the stain block over the damp stains but had repainted the pictures. These scenes had really complicated sunsets and numerous changes in colours and blends of colours and fading areas. I was absolutely gob smacked - this was perfect! I honestly could not see where he had repaired it and blended all of the new paint work in. I say it here and I cannot take any credit for this apart from providing the paint which doesn’t count apparently! I would never have done such a good job as Pete and whenever I think of him and his gurning ways I remember his ability and his hidden artistic talent.
I hope you are OK Pete where ever you are now as some of lifes unfortunate turns affected him badly.
First impressions!
I went out with Des last week my trusty hoppo from the Revival company. We had a couple of new projects to look at. We arrived at the first place telling each other that the first impression was key. So what did we do but Des slipped over in the snow and I then set his car alarm off. We let them know we had arrived in style! Adam turned up and banged his head on the beam in the Barn conversion! We showed the right impression of course!
The problem when we finally got around to looking was that a pipe had burst in the wall. The old brick wall of what was a store barn at one time had been battened out and an insulation sheet then plasterboard on the inside of the wall. The problem with this is that the pipes run around the back of the insulation making them colder than if there had been no insulation at all. It is more important to insulate pipes independently than ever before and as we increase the insulation to loft areas the pipes exposed are more vunerable.
Don’t worry I will get off my green hobby horse soon summer is coming! Did I mention the fact that a better insulated house keeps the premises cooler in Summer. One for a couple of months I feel.
On the second job we went to we had a speed dryer there to dry out after a flood. The boys had been in a week ago and stripped the ceilings and skirtings etc etc. I had not visited the site before. The poor lady who lives there has no idea of the damage caused and how long it will take before she can return to her home. This was not helped by the fact that someone has stolen the diesel from the generator that runs the dryer so has totally defeated the object for now. We then couldn’t get the key out of the padlock becasue it had frozen in. Neither Des or I have the passion for kissing locks to free the key so we used brute force and were lucky. Then we could not lock the front door which was a pain as no one is there at the moment. (We did it in the end!)
Then it snowed!
P.S. You remember previously when I sang the praises of Steve at The Colour Centre for their service? I am now withdrawing the niceties after he told me they could not get out of the depot because of the snow with my two paint tester pots. I said he could do them at the same time and not to make two separate journeys! There is no pleasing some people…….!
Can’t win ‘em all - let’s face it!
Another period of time has elapsed of wandering around the roads of Oxfordshire with my cohort Des, I am going to run out of names for him, ones I can put here that is! We were chatting about getting it right for clients. Something we all want to do all the time. Occasionally we don’t and it doesn’t matter what we do it just ain’t gonna happen. These are fortunately rare occasions and the harder you try the more frustrated you get. We were both reliving occasions where a client has just gone out of their way to be a pain. Of course the idea is to get it right but it isn’t always good enough. You could turn up on time do the work better than all had hoped in less time and for less money and the complaint will still come in. It’s then that it gets interesting and is a test for us all.
I had finished a job for a particularly scatty lady and she was determined to challenge me. I guess it was around fifteen years ago. I had a repair to make on a flat roof . The client said I had not carried out the repair and so we were in stalemate. I said I had - she refused to believe me. I had the answer. I told her that I would ask any surveyor of her choice to come along and look at my work. If I had not carried out the work properly then all the money outstanding could be dropped and I would pay for the survey. All I asked was that if the work was satisfactory then she pay for the work and survey fees. She did not take me up on the offer and paid me in full. The other thing that proved it was when it rained there was no water coming in the bedroom ceiling.
I have found that we just make a rod for our own back when we do too much on occasions but………. it is from these times when you put yourself out that many customers have been born and long term relationships have flourished. I still think it pays to put your all into whatever it is that you do. At least you can look back with a clear conscience.
Master Builder
Its not like me to make a comment on the “Cowboy builders ” programme but here goes. We had a usual tale in the latest episode of a lady on her own and a rogue builder. Yes she didn’t know what she was doing he took the money and ran. She got the job finished courtesy of Channel 5 and he didn’t give a penny back, all normal, but for one thing. He was on a recommended list with the Federation of Master Builders.
The MD admitted to Dominic Littlewood that this particular builder had had eight complaints against him. He was still on the list though. We have been assured that FMB has improved the system and this should not happen. Surely builders should be suspended until clarity of a case has been dealt with.
Some years ago I was offered the chance to become a member of the FMB, I turned it down. It promised a lot to me but they were not going to check my work. Whats the point of accepting me as a member if they don’t know how good or bad I am? What assurance has the customer got if they didn’t sift out the poor builders? What good is the investment by other builders who become members of an organization to be considered elite and above the rest? In difficult times builders may be paying money to clubs and societies in the hope for some advantage over the competition. Then when stories like this come out, the advantage has been diluted as watchers of the programme will now not automatically have faith in the organization doing their homework for them.
I am not of course blaming the majority of builders who are part of this and other federations but the federation owes the clients who pay a lot of money the peace of mind to know they will not have their reputation tarnished by the few. The federations must check first and constantly review to have standards worth aspiring to.
Showing True Colours
I was having difficulty about a year ago with a supplier. It was not all of the people within the supplier but a particular manager in a particular branch. The problem is this is the branch that serves that area that covers my yard. Yes thats the problem, great company let down by a poor standard from one person. I have I think been patient - six years of trying to build bridges. Why do I need to build them I am the b&^£$% customer for goodness sake. In expressing my disappointment to a rep for a paint manufacturer they put me in touch with the Colour Centre based in the south west and Cardiff. Daniel came out and saw me, we filled in the credit forms and an account was duly set up. I met Steve the branch manager at Swindon who has since looked after me and sourced the out of the ordinary products I often need. Apart from his humour and the constant email banter (to which he comes an honourable second to me!) he gets on with the job in hand. So I did what people should do - if the service is poor then move to where they want your business. It just shows the smaller company can beat the large company and give the customer what they want. The large company have not in the last year asked me why they are not getting the thousands a month I used to pay for the past thirty years. The district manager of the large company defended the manager that was losing him business saying he did try for his customers. Many people I know all think this guy is unsuitable. We cannot all be wrong and we are all customers that don’t use the branch anymore. How do you need to see the writing on the wall, how big and what colour? Business is all very simple made difficult by people who do not understand business.
I did feel duty bound to tell the Sales Director about Daniel and Steve, he was shocked as well as extremely pleased. Not because have they provided good service, but that someone actually bothered to ring him to tell him so. People are always quick to complain and I have been known to do that in the past so I like to balance this out when the situation arises. Keep up the good work guys.
How Unlucky!
A few months ago we were working on a very nice barn conversion. We were only there for a strip out when faulty pipes caused a flood to the entire ground floor. When the pipes were found in the concrete screed they literally disintegrated in the hand. I have never seen such poor copper in my life, it all looks the same when you buy it although appearances can be deceiving. Knowing that we were not in for the re-instatement, the client already had a firm of builders doing some work there and I did not want to tread on toes. The other point here is that if you have a good builder show some loyalty. She would have been mad to throw them aside for me because she has dealt with them for years. I always recommend keep the relationship going if it hasn’t broken down.
On inspection today to see how the drying was going another leak has been found in a different part of the house. The floor slab is back to being soaked and the four months out of the house has almost been in vain. A lovely lady not getting the best of luck at the moment. Not really sure if anyone is to blame just bad luck and originally poor quality copper pipe.
I am in the middle of another project on a huge property with the same quality pipework but the damage, thank goodness, was much more contained.
I hope for a resolution for all here.
Seek and you shall find (by accident)!
Last week were at a clients house a very nice house and we were in the snooker room next to the pool area. There had been a flood coming from burst pipes in the loft. I think you have the picture now and you can tell me that there was not enough insulation to pipes. We knew this was the case because we could not find any. Anyway above the snooker table is a very nice light canopy. It is a stained glass window. The whole canopy is made up as one shaped stained glass. It has been damaged due partly to age and partly to the water coming over. I could see that the client is very fond of this genuine work of art and was dismayed of the thought of it being ruined. I tried to reassure the client that all would be well and that these items can be repaired. I know there are the skills out there but I don’t know where. It is very frustrating when you can’t help someone. I did say I would look and see if I could find someone to restore it for her.
On the weekend I went on a course unrelated to building. I don’t know if its a British thing but when introducing ourselves to each other the first thing most people do is say my name is and I am a………. Well the first person I met said “my name is Matthew and tonight I want to be…” no, what he actually said was that his name is Matthew and he is a specialist in making and restoring stained glass windows and products. I lit up in disbelief! In thirty years of being in the building industry with many strange and varied challenges I had never needed a specialist in stained glass. Two days after I have a need the solution appears in the form of a likeminded individual who wants to do the right thing in the right way. Send the thoughts out there and the answer is granted to you. I am looking for the Ferrari outside as I write this maybe I’ll have to wait a couple of days for this too.
