Michael was hired to knock through a load bearing wall to make two rooms interconnect. He offered sensible advice on whether to opt for sliding doors and save money.
Michael gave a very attractive quote which on reflection gave an indication of the time and quality of the work.
Michael did what was asked and completed the job incredibly quickly. He damaged the Victorian coving which cost a few hundred pounds to put right by an expert plasterer. He said this was unavoidable when knocking through the wall and inserting a wooden beam. This may very well be the case although it would have been helpful to have been warned of this. Further, he could have inserted the beam from the other side which did not have original Victorian coving.
Michael brought the opening too wide on one side so that the door adjacent, when fully opened, extended beyond the opening which looked ridiculous. Although, in fairness to him, he acted upon instructions given by telephone he was too literal and common sense and a telephone call to check would have avoided it.
One of the support struts, supporting the load bearing beam, was not resting on a joist but instead nailed precariously from an angle. Even as a lay person I found this uncomfortable to watch and knowing this was holding up the second floor.
Other builders and tradesmen came and were critical of the job. I have since added an extra support beam and brought the opening to where it should be.
So whilst Michael's quote was cheap, the repercussions were costly. and although I say cheap £280 is still not bad for a day's work.
