Thread: Is the building industry full of cowboys?

I find the building industry bizzarre. I know some people who are master craftsmen, but they are either retired altogether or out of the trade due the beaurocracy.

I am astounded at the utter stupidity of some of the people I find in building. Some examples:

My ladyfriends house is in part on a slab at the back. The bricklayer layed one wall about 1/3 brick off the slab.

She has just had a timber retaining wall rebuilt that collpased in last years storm. They went on all along about the uprights needing to be thick side perpendicular, but built the wall with the wide side to the horizontals, after weeks of condeming it being built that way before. They also managed to build it 1 horizontal too low, and dead vertical. Then they raked out the remaining fill instead of using it behind the wall, now I've got to rake it up again and backfill, and the wall is too short to properly retain the neighbours land.

The building industry has layered checking. This doesn't provide quality, it disperses blame so no one is accountable. The mining industry have learned the same trick. Decision by committee so it no ones fault, but costs twice as much. A licensed tradesman works for a licenced builder, with a licenced inspector looking over his shoulder, and a set of plans from a chartered engineer all overseen by council, state government and building authority. Absolute BS. Cunningly designed to discourage people who want to build good houses and effect a monopoly to the institutional building firms.

I'm bitter because I want to move, but every option is not easy.

Originally Posted by Groggy

Hint: an onager is an asian "wild ass".....

So what else have the romans ever done for us

Originally Posted by silentC

I would not walk into a pub and say to the drunk in the corner "hey would you like to come and do some plastering for me",

Is that cause he's already plastered