Forced off the job!!! How did it get to this??? 

Thanks

I am a surveyor of 47 years - still active and have, on occasion, inspected work in progress. The situation you found yourself in meant there was no option but to walk away. The architect (most likely a technician ) should have advised your client on the facts. Your approach is first class, and the trees will now be suffering due to the exposed roots . I suspect nothing will be right for the client, and to have progressed any further would have meant deeper foundations for the extension to satisfy Building Control. At your cost . I am pleased you stood your ground . The Building Safety Act 2022 now applies to all construction. I doubt the client is aware of their obligations . Wish you a good 2024 you didnt need this one .

From one self employed tradesman to another, well played my man.

20 years ago I might have listened to the client but after a lifetime of listening to amateur builders now I'm out the door when I start getting advice from clients ,you did the right thing

I’m a Chartered Engineer specialising in bridges and major civil structures - I have designed some very large retaining walls (up to 35m retained height). I completely agree with your approach, and based on this video would definitely employ you! Well done for standing your ground.

I’m no builder but I think it’s always best to build inside your own boundary. It may save a lot of hassle from-neighbours later.

I have been a working foreman for a very good builder for many years. I am now retired, but I would have loved working for you with the quality and morals you have. Well done outstanding. Wish you all the best, you did the right thing.

First time I've seen your channel. I'm sure most of us viewing this would be delighted with a builder like you to be working with us. The greater loss is theirs not yours. Good luck to them in finding a builder as conscientious as you.

You will never regret standing to your guns ( I have run my own small construction company for 40 years ) The customer not understanding good practice Just imagine how the rest of the project would have gone I think you have got out at the right time Well done Keep the high standards up

I've been telling my mates in the trades to embrace the power of the word "no" for years. It's one of the best lessons i've ever learned. We all need to be happy with the work we are doing. You did well.

My first thought when I started this video was 'sounds like a boundary problem' then you spoke about the issue with boundary re. extension it all makes sense! The British are so boundary conscious - personally I think you've come off the worst end of a neighbourhood dispute. Good luck finding more customers that appreciate your skill level and attention to detail.

It’s a testament to the high standards you’ve set that you are willing to walk away instead of backing down and going against your morals. Well done Adam and gang. Am sure you will look back on this one and say am glad I walked away. Also you won’t be losing me as a subscriber because I respect you even more lads. Keep up the great work and have a fantastic new year. 👍🏻

I'm a painter and decorator i get similar, after a lifetime in the industry i now am able to filter out the difficult clients and jobs before i even start

Glad to see some honest builders out there KEEP UP YOUR GOOD WORK

During our extension build I asked the builder for things that I wanted and he said he could do some but others would have to be because they would be better He's the expert and did the best he could and we were happy

Total nightmare mate, I have been there so I know how you feel , I closed my own company down due to issues like this , just wasn’t worth the stress , I work for another builder now but tbh I am wanting to set up again , this puts me off 😂, always do your best and if that’s not good enough well that customer obviously wants the impossible..

I think you've done exactly the right thing, this customer seems to be totally unreasonable and uncompromising. If they wont listen to an expert and be lead by common sense then there's no point in continuing. Your integrity is unquestionable and I'm sure there's plenty more work out there for builders like yourselves. Keep up the great work and please keep the videos coming, I personally love them.

I’m 4 mins in and you’re 100% right! A good contractor will always highlight potential problems to their clients, I know we do. I had the front of a building fall on me a few years ago by listening to a client, thankfully nobody was hurt but since then we’ve questioned and commented on anything and everything that we feel could have a negative impact on the client. Your actions are logical and based from a position of experience, fair play to you!

I’m sorry to hear this. I’ve had my struggles with builders in the past where they have not informed us of issues or discussed approaches. I would love to have a builder with your integrity.

With you 100% mate looks like you had a lucky escape from this one makes you think if the customer had the money to pay you in the first place …good luck on your next project ..👍👍

Sometimes these types of jobs are better to walk away from when neighbour disputes are going on they can go on for years. Blessing in disguise.

THIS is the video of your that RU-vid decided to try me with, I'd never watched your channel before, but it looks like this video may bring you more subscribers than the build you were hoping to work on. Anyway, good for you in remaining professional and I hope the year ahead brings you some wonderful surprises.

You put your experience, knowledge and most importantly your integrity, over being a yes man and jeopardising what you know. Full respect to you mate, you deserve all the best.

Sometimes it’s best to walk away. Projects like this can become increasingly unpleasant and the joy of building something you’ve proud of is lost!

Well done Adam I admire your honesty, hope 2024 is a great year for you and your team.

Mate, feel your pain. You’ve gone above and beyond on all accounts. I’ve been self employed for 31 years and had firms go bust on me, non payers and dealing with the general public, trying to make everyone happy. People don’t understand what it’s like to run your own business. Unpaid holidays, working weekends, no sick pay and giving your time to people who sometimes don’t deserve it. I had some great jobs even through covid, some beautiful jobs , met some lovely people but then a fair share of muppets who you have to bite your tongue with. I hit 50 and realised ide had enough of trying to make 100 percent of people 100 percent happy all the time so decided to sack it all off and take a maintenance job within healthcare. Been there a year and don’t regret it at all. No way near the same money but Monday through Friday 8-30 till 4-30 and let them pay my NI, pension, sick pay and 35 days off paid a year. I ❤love you videos and think your professionalism is brilliant. People are people and you’ll not change that. Good luck to you in future jobs and keep posting the videos. Rich from Chesterfield

Definitely dodged a bullet there guys, well done for sticking to your principles. Good builders are not easy to find, I wouldn't worry, plenty of work out there.

There's non-zero chance there will be a silver lining to 'losing' that job tbh. Sure more than a few of us have lost out on a job, only for months or a year later to get a call out of the blue explaining how xyz has gone wrong paired with the classic "oh and can you come and take a look". Keep your head up and best wishes to you and the team 👌

You obviously put in a lot of thought and the craftsmanship is great. I can see how you've got the strength in the corners there and with the water management and taking into account the tree. Very good job. And you were good with the customer too. You will find better work and you'll be glad you got out of this one when you did. Thankfully it didn't turn into a bigger nightmare as dealing with those customers often does.

I suspect these customers are wealthy and of lets say the "incoming variety" and don't want to listen to those they look down on i.e. tradesmen who actually know what they are doing. They will regret it and you are better off out of it! Merry Christmas to you, your family and your expert fellow tradesmen.

I always get written permission following any conversation concerning either changes or additional works on anything over £100 in value. Its always worked for me, I also include photos and won't proceed unless they respond with permission. Yes its a bit of a faf but what its saved me in 'you said this, I said that' is priceless. Sorry you lost the job buddy, am sure a professional like yourself will find work to fill the gap. All the best 👍

a case of others thinking they know best - i admire that you knowing what was right and walked away with a clear conscience - top man

I believe you are lucky to be out of it. Always going to be a wrong 'un, the customer and new "builder" will now get the hassle you won't. 👍🎄

Re the trees: one option could have been for the client to talk to the neighbour about just cutting the trees down. Some level of compensation (£) would have being in order but at least it would have allowed the wall to be built closer to the boundary without worrying about the trees. Other than that I think you did the right thing by walking away as what the client wanted wouldn't have been safe / practical, given the site constraints.

Good morning from the wilds of Andalucía Spain. I, for my sins, head up a team of architects and technical architects. I have enjoyed watching your vlogs and have formed the opinion that your companies operation is extremely professionaly exemplary and any customer should feel secure in your teams abilities. In my opinion, the project has been mired by a substandard and wholly unprofessional 'design team,' which would appear to have deceived the client with smoke and mirrors. The Architect appears to be disgracefully unprofessional, and the so-called structural engineer would appear to reside within a fantasy world. Here, as in the UK, professional and trustworthy building contractors such as yours are as rare as rocking horse poo. Your decision to walk away is, in my view, the totally correct one. It is my opinion that this particular project, with your departure, is going to descend down a slippery slope into disaster after disaster. It's a big world, and a company such as yours will go from strength to strength. I wish you a happy new year and am looking forward to enjoying many more of your projects.

Gutting for you , I understand the customers point of view, I guess my point of view would have been to ask the neighbour if I could remove their trees and re plant something else. Also in the past I have stood with the customer and explained in detail what it would look like and asked them if they’re happy with that before I started digging. I feel for you because it looked like you must have invested a lot of time, energy, money and thought not to mention the sleepless nights pondering all this. Bless you mate, you seem a decent builder to me.

To be fair guys, I think it's a blessing in disguise, because instead of possibly spending 18-24 months(if things go bad) on one job, you could do i don't know, multiple floor rebuilding jobs like Richard, or many extensions,etc. In a nutshell it's a blessing in disguise because you guys could do multiple projects in the period of time you'd spend on this one project. Plus, you guys would most likely end up with fatter pockets.Merry Christmas and I sincerely hope that 2024 is the biggest year for the channel yet! #getMrABuildersto100k Cheers!

What this hinges on is whether you agreed the wall position before starting, not just verbally but in writing. Personally I would recommend drawing out the garden and putting on the wall position as you proposed to do it. Avoiding disputes with customers is often rooted in them not feeling they were consulted before. Never assume a verbal agreement is actually an agreement if customers don’t like what’s built it’s surprising how that discussion a few weeks ago becomes as the Queen once said “recollections may vary” I can see why the customer didn’t like the wall not being parallel to the boundary, although I agree with your assessment, I think if the structural engineer / architect / building inspector were happy with the wall being closer to the trees, you perhaps should have accepted that as an instruction to follow. Anyway let’s be honest if that wall is being rendered, it’s gonna crack, go green and look sh1t in 5 years time. Why is there this trend for white rendered garden walls, it’s not Spain.

all this over what will amount to ~600mm of yard area that they are not going to even notice and that's coming from someone who recently completely remodeled my own laundry to gain 90mm. (laundry was very narrow, washing machine door and controls 'stuck out' into the door swing (door missed, but it was still awkward) pushed the washing machine back 90mm into the wall so now the door and controls are in line with or behind the edge of the benchtop.) it definitely sounds like (particularly with the 100mm on the bunker side and the not being able to go down the narrow side of the house) they are just making up reasons to discontinue using your services, Not sure what the building industry is like in the UK, but there is no way you would be able to get anyone to be able to pick up tools on a new job in that short of notice here in Aus. for a job that size you would be waiting months at best unless you had lotto winnings to throw around (or potentially hiring dodgy builders that are out of work for good reason.) its all fun an games until the neighbors tree topples over and kills someone or knocks down part of the owners new extension due to undercutting its roots.

Always enjoy your vids Adam and on the evidence of this one, speaking as a 66 year old bricky, you really are better off away from the place. The work you've done looks all correct and you and your team have left the place looking spotless. I hope you have not taken a financial hit on this one and wasn't the client ever so lucky to get another builder in at such short notice!? God help the next bunch of guys who take that job on, good luck for 2024.

Good on you Adam. A professional through and through is all I can see from you and your team every time. It seems like the owners don’t understand building regs and what is needed for safety. Gutted won’t be seeing this next year but you have done the right thing to cut ties with someone who dosnt want a professional job Marry Christmas and have a great new year you your wonderful home

I feel for you guys!! Sounds like you are best off out of it!

They should have spoken to their neighbours beforehand to see if they would be willing to have the trees removed. Keep up the good work guys.

Absolutely makes sense how you have gone about this. The lack of understanding from the customer is frustrating, and so petty about a small amount of land lost, to make sure the wall is stronger and less likely to be compromised by the Trees. A few years down the line that wall could very likely be. And then they would be blaming you. I hope every other builder that they get in to look at it at gives them the same opinions. It's astonishing how people with money and brains have little practical common sense, don't grasp the reality of how things will practically work. Must of done your head in, walking away is for the best. Just subscribed. ATB in the New year

I feel for u...sadly, there are too many OCD customers who can't stick with the programme...I will put my head on a block that these whacky whingers have run out of funds & any excuse to cancel the contract. I'm on ur side...cut ur losses & ur integrity will bring u right out on top...karma...the wheel turns. Keep building!! Ur a winner.🎖🎖🎖Never give in. Never, never, never!!♥️♥️♥️

Good on you mate, absolutely right

Keep up the good work gents, hope you all are enjoying Christmas and have a great new year. Here’s to 2024 I’m sure you won’t be short of work. 👍🏻

I traded as a plumber for 2 years. I gave up because 10% of customers made the business untenable. I won’t ever go back.

Quality guys like yourselves will never be out of work. All the best for 2024

Sharing and documenting the truth, whether good or bad, is often considered important for several reasons. It promotes transparency and honesty, which are key components of trust and credibility. Telling one's story, especially through a medium like video, can be a powerful way to communicate personal experiences and viewpoints. It's also true that there are often multiple perspectives to any situation. Acknowledging that the client's side might differ is a good practice, as it recognizes the complexity of most situations and the possibility of multiple truths or interpretations. This approach fosters a more nuanced understanding and encourages open dialogue and empathy.

Many of us always thought there was something odd about this project in so many ways. Not good for you in the short term, but maybe for the best. Also every credit to you for publicising the realities of your jobs. However, you must do your own due diligence on Planning Permission, its easy enough to check.

Hi fellas, discovered the channel by accident and followed this particular build from the beginning. So interesting from the start, well presented and humourous a real pleasure to watch. I could not believe how it turned out, I am not remotely qualified to comment on the technical aspects but I completely agree with your principled stand. You made a brave decision to walk away. You have a fan here so I am going back to the start of your channel and will binge watch.....always interesting to see how you all started!

If they have employed someone who was willing to bring the wall towards the boundary, that tree has probably fallen to their property already during the storms.

It sounds to me like you're way better off out of that nightmare. I hope that you find alternative, better, works.

Good explanation regarding the trees to the customer! I feel the architect should have supported your explanation to that customer.

What a strange idea. The worse consultants are the ones that don’t listen or won’t even compromise. I’m a construction manager and have dealt with the good, the bad and the ludicrous for nearly 20 years. We once advised an architect his detail would leak, he wouldn’t listen and insisted we build it as he had designed it. We built it and it leaked 🤷‍♀️

twist, his next job will is to remove the tree to build a wall for the neighbor

I am not involved in the building trade, but if I ever need a builder, I hope he has your standards and approach. Keep doing what you are doing.

You made the right call best practice always comes first ..good on ya👍

Havent watched the full video yet but i would like to say about the retaining wall, i think you did right by standing your ground. (Hope the tree is still standing after the recent storms) My company is in the underpinning business and we dig out basements all around the Netherlands. When we work under the groundwater table or near it we always specify a concrete floor with watertight connection to the new concrete walls. Almost every time we work directly for the owners the problems start when were finished with the excavation and got the rebar in for the floor(incl waterstop and connection for walls). At this point i take the customer down in the basement so we can measure exactly what the dimensions are going to be between the new concrete walls. Usually in the evening i get a email about the concrete walls taking too much space and the basement is going to be too small. and i understand when your making plans for the basement measuring the old walls and not think about the 20cm minimum specified in the offer it is disappointing to hear your basement is going to be 30cm smaller on each side (due to old walls out of plumb or not in a line or both) And i dont mind reducing the wall thinkness below 20cm BUT they have so sign a form they make changes to an engineered plan and i cant and wont provide warranty for a dry basement and they should get approval from the engineer.

I think you have had a lucky escape. If a retaining wall has caused drama to the customer- imagine the headache they would give you over a full extension. A neighbour dispute often sets alarm bells going.

It sounds like the Architect wanted his own builder to do the job and the easiest way to get rid of yourself was through Constructive Termination.. very underhand.. keep making the videos really enjoy them.. thank you..

Your integrity is laudable and rare. Unfortunately, idiots are 10 a penny. You're well rid😉

Mr A if I had a detached house I’d like to think I could walk all the way around my house just saw I could maintain all my walls of the building

As a Design Engineer in a Commercial Construction and fit out company, I'm uniquely qualified to comment here as I see both sides of the argument. If there's one thing I've learned it's that communication and flexibility are the keys to success. The boots on the ground don't give a damn about my drawings. I need to be able to talk them through each element and my reasons why and then have them call me out on every small detail. I also need to accept that half way through the programme something drastic may need to change and head to site to review with them.. If you put your foot down and don't listen to the boots, you'll soon find yourself up a narrow passage towards a s***storm. The desk folks on this job should have been better at communicating the clients wishes AND they shouldn't have thrown the builders under the bus, which seems to have been the case. Sorry to hear about the loss but you'll soon find another project as bloody hell is it hard to find good builders at the moment.

would love to see what job looks like further down the line and weather they still are friends with the neighbours ,i think you did a good job given your circumstances

I can almost predict who that client was! I have worked for similar people. After seeing your work, if you were near the North West I would use your services. I always like things done properly, not half a job that costs half the price, but will need correcting later. This sounds like someone who agreed a price, then started the negotiations afterwards!!! You were expected to do it for nothing. I can't wait to see him come back to you in 6months saying no one will fo the job. Imagine if there was a problem later on - you would be blamed.

Lucky escape. I worked for myself plumbing and heating for people and builders. I packed it in as soon as i could, dealing with the customers managing and asking for things that made no sense i couldnt carry on

You did exactly the right thing, the client hasnt got a clue, sounds as though they were dealing with a text book structural engineer , who only sees what he sees on drawings , he,s probably never been on the tools , had any sort of practical experience as do some architects . Its ok designing something as long as the final outcome is practically fit for purpose . You,ve had a lucky escape at the end of the day .

Sounds like they’re trying to absolutely maximise the area for the extension after they’ve agreed on the structural plans. Stick to the plan folks! Let it flow!

Working for the general public is always an experience.

I have been building for 40 plus years and would have done exactly what you have done, in my experience you get a few people along the way that obviously know better but in reality haven’t a clue , but I’m the sort of person that would hope they totally come unstuck and would absolutely hope those people do , all the best for the future.

I totally agree with the positioning of the wall as built, the pillers on the rear of wall whilst giving a straight run on the inside looking better, don't actually work as well as they would on the inside and would have to be a lot bigger to do the same job on the other side as pillers on the inside are intended to increase the force needed to rock the wall over were as on the rear of wall they are intended to hold the wall down so need to be alot heavier to do the same job but without seeing the drawings of job, i'd guess that they are bigger than they were going to be on the inside and as agreed with a structual engineer? Only fault i can see on your part is the total lack of shuttering to the ground regardless of the fact it seems to be staying stable, shuttering is always legally required by Health and Safety laws as heavy rain, frost and even wind moving trees could easily make the ground unstable resulting in someone being burried alive. a HSE inspector would have stopped all work until suitable shuttering was put in place or ground raked away to at least a 45 degree angle to make it safe.

It's not about if you weren't prepared to go a bit closer. It's about what the customer wants, because he is paying. I would have explained everything and advised him not to go so close, but at the end of the day, it's his property and his cash. If he wanted you to go there, then you go there. Provided of course, you don't go over the boundary or break regulation.

It takes courage to stick to your principles. A great builder with unexpected capacity is unlikely to be quiet for long.

the retaining wall is nicely in line with the side od the house.... imagine this mess over that.

Jasper wishing you and the family all the best for Christmas and the new year. I watch your videos because you and the guys are conscientious at what you do. I commend you for standing up for your principles. I would employ you if you were in Liverpool. Hope your enjoying your new home.

You're asking for it with that retaining wall. The first thing they will do is to backfill the space. The pillars will be under tension not buttressing the wall.

Bloody feel for you on this one, some customers can be terrible. Probably best off not being on the site any longer for your own sanity. 😊

If the wall wasn’t going to be parallel , wouldn’t you have been better off bringing in the wall at the house end so that it would have been? I know that had nothing to do with the customer problem, but just a question from a purely aesthetic perspective. Great video - you sound a top chap.

The customer is always right; in matters of taste. That is the full quote; the customer is not right when it comes to how to do your job. I work as a site manager and when it comes to things I don't know about I listen and take notes and verify thing if they don't sound quite right. This all makes sense to me.

Nice work guys, I’m just sorry it took so long to have this all come to a head. Was that tree protected out of interest? I’m just wondering why the client didn’t negotiate with the neighbours to have it removed, so the wall could’ve sat a little closer to the boundary, if they were so adamant about it?

You have done the right thing. Sometime the customers are highly educated but have no common sense. Where they are working on a budget they would want you to start paying for their home and doing large amounts of work for free. They will find out the hard way by getting a cheep builder that cuts corners. Best to move on to the next build.

would never have started that job without confirmation on every point. you have gone through in writing & discussed with customer. i have seen some shocking drawings in my time .

You’ve done the right thing, if they are insisting on it being done the way that they want it I’m sure the next builder will tell them the same as you

Build it where the architect / engineer wants it. Let the trees be their responsibility. But if you are not happy with the position of the wall where they want it, walk away 👍

The bit about taking 100mm off a wall to make the garden bigger, is as you say lunacy. But you know what I do in situations like that? When they say how much for this and how much for that? I say, "I'll finish this job I'm doing now for you then work out a price". And if I really don't want to do it, at the end of the current job I say, some other work has come in that I quoted a while ago and I'm unable to do the wall at the moment.😊

I would be celebrating if I was you mate you are free from a know it all. You are not owed money and you haven’t got a person questioning your knowledge and ability. I think you should have a very good new year and enjoy working for some fresh new understanding customers summer is coming. 👍

Dealing with customers in a different field (electronics design) it's usually best to let people know before diverging from an agreed plan. You can explain to them your reasons for building it the non-agreed way, but from the customer side if they don't like your solution - it just comes across that you've done it wrong and now you don't want the additional cost - irrelevant of whether there's any practical reasons for doing so

Well done for walking away.this would have been a nightmare of a job.they would not be happy with what ever you done.so well done and keep building

I had an absolute nightmare neighbour who kept putting snotty notes through my door about a tree that was getting close to over 100 years old. They were annoyed it put too much shade on their astroturfed disaster of a garden and they had to keep hoovering leaves up.

You would think with the front of their house barely being attached to the rest of the house, they might want something doing correctly the first time

Expectation Vs reality..... Very rarely a match for people like that. you did right.

I've just completed a lower wall & it was so close to the boundary we had to tank it as it was going up. At the height of your wall you need that structure behind it or in front.

Engineer should have gone for a reinforced concrete wall option with permanent shutter. Perhaps more expensive.

Well if that wall goes near that tree the roots will grow and posh the wall people won’t understand and listen to the person that has the knowledge. You dun the right thing take care and pot it behind you. 😊

Probably not a bad thing in the long run. Jobs like these need an open check book, and most clients just wont accept anything except a fixed estimate. The actual work wouldnt be an issue, but discovering all the extras as the job progressed would have caused animosity. Move on and crack on guys. Your time and work are valuable to everyone, most people dont have a scooby about whats going to happen on a job like that !!!

When the customer starts knowing more then the professionals theve hired its time to walk away

Ive got a pile of work for u up north of Scotland.....cant get ANY trade no matter what within next 6 months & most are just a bunch of muppets but still seem to be very busy. So busy that the average 'handyman' is charging qualified tradesmen hourly rates

Some customers are just clueless and dam right awkward with no common sense nor compromise, it’s all give and take at times to get a job complete as hurdles always seem to pop up on any job. It’ll be interesting to hear how the new firm gets on with the home owner. It’s just one of those jobs you’ll have to put down to experience buddy no point in stewing over it as you obviously know your stuff, it’s a new year approaching and a fresh start.