The New Testament

What actually happens when you fall out with your builder? Is this when you find out what a contract is good for? Or are there other ways of sorting out the mess? We can start by listing the sort of things that can happen:

• the job programme starts slipping — builders don’t turn up when they say they will;
• the site starts to get very untidy — no one seems to be looking after it;
• sloppy work gets uncovered or pointed out by the building inspector;
• excuses start — materials are not available, subcontractors are mysteriously called away or otherwise engaged;
• your builder wants more money for work you thought was scheduled, or for material purchases.

In isolation, each of the above does not really constitute a disaster, yet they’re all warning signs that things are not quite as they should be. Dealing with the unforeseen is a fact of building life and it would be a very unusual job where nothing goes wrong. But there can come a point when things start to get silly, you realise that the wheels have well and truly fallen off and there is simply no more wiggle room for excuses. The chances are that you’ll have had all five warning signs.

So what happens next? The standard advice is to call a meeting with the builder and see if you can resolve things over a cup of tea. Funny how it’s always a cup of tea that’s brewed in these circumstances, as if coffee or something stronger would exacerbate the problem. Whatever your chosen drink, you get the chance to express your concerns, and the builder expresses his. If there is an architect or professional friend on board, they too will be present. In marriage terms, this stage is the equivalent of going to Relate. Can we put our heads together and see if we can resolve these issues?

Now it may be that the builder has one or two gripes to make about your behaviour. In fact, it’s quite likely. Have you paid him on time? Or have you been holding back on the money because you think he isn’t performing? Or are you desperately short of cash and are actually stalling and looking for excuses not to pay? Be honest. Have you changed your mind once too often? Are you nitpicking over tiny details and questioning his competence? Are you beginning to drive him up the wall? And, can you see the error of your ways?

This tea ceremony may resolve things satisfactorily. The air may get cleared, the issues resolved and the job may then march on to a happy conclusion. But what if it doesn’t work out? What if old bad habits return and the relationship breaks down completely? How do you finally divorce? The chances are that feelings are by now running high. Phone calls are not being answered, and emails and texts are ignored. Things need resolving, but how are you going to do this when you can no longer have a sensible conversation?

At this point, you may be wishing you had signed a contract. Or maybe you actually did, and now you’re dusting it off and deciding what it all means. The contract will steer you towards some form of resolution. But, you’ll have to wade through many an unfamiliar word ending in ‘tion’: arbitration, adjudication, litigation. What do they mean? What is the difference? And what good is a contract when your builder won’t even acknowledge your existence?

Good points all. But one big point to bear in mind is that whatever has led to this impasse, from here on in we are talking money. If the job’s defective in any way, it’s not going to be fixed by the guy who you are in dispute with. You are going to have to find someone else. And any resolution with the original builder will involve money — with a capital ‘M’. The decision to go legal at this point really boils down to how much money is at stake. If the amount in dispute is a few thousand, then experience suggests that it is better to write it off, as legal costs will quickly swallow up any award. And, if the builder is in financial difficulties, then the chances of any award being honoured are slim. Unfortunately in this instance a contract is not going to help you one jot.

If your builder thinks you owe him money, he may be tempted to go legal himself. This is where it is good to be aware of the various dispute resolution services. Try and persuade him to use one of these services rather than going for litigation. They are relatively cheap and quick, but for them to work, both parties have to agree to abide by the outcome. One of them, the Construction Conciliation Group (ccgroup.org.uk), is specifically designed for smaller domestic disputes where contracts may not have been signed. As CCG’s David Miles points out: “The introduction of a third party frequently makes people behave more reasonably.”

What you want to avoid at all costs is full-scale litigation — in other words, going to court. It’s not only incredibly expensive, but it is slow, stressful and unbelievably energy draining. Better to take the medicine — admit you made a mistake in hiring the wrong builder and try and move on. Always try to settle out of court in building disputes.