MAJOR ISSUES AT THESE UK NEW BUILDS! 

I feel much better about the standard of my diy work after looking at these. The people who build these places are supposedly professionals

The bosses of these building companies should be in jail. They are ripping hardworking people off with crap workmanship. Never mind insulate Britain how about getting some decent builders who have some pride in their work to build the houses in the first place. Absolutely shocking is an understatement.

As a former hod carrier for 9 years I can confirm that modern houses are just over priced"thrown up" magnolia boxes built by people pretending to be bricklayers

General rule is that a house built in 1930 will outlast anything built tomorrow. Either self-build or buy old. No other options if you're planning on keeping it for life

I went to Persimmon Homes as a snagging manager - I Lasted 2 hours before I walked off site. They try and snag 2 days before people move in so you cannot get anything sorted. Snagging needs to happen from day one of the build and every day. Not just the end.

This is fraud. Should result in compensation and criminal charges to the housebuilder companies.

It seems like there's a combination of problems with these new build companies. 1. They just don't allow enough time to finish a job properly. 2. They're going for low skilled and inexperienced labour. 3. The contractors are greedy and just trying to smash out as much as possible as quickly as possible because they know their work won't be checked. 4. The site managers are discouraged from looking too closely at work quality by the company who just want to chalk up sales as fast as possible. My first home, back when help to buy was only for new builds, was a TW house and it was full of issues just like all of these. TW were great, right up until I'd moved in, then it was radio silence! ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING!

Name and shame every single builder. Absolutely disgusting. I would never buy a new house.

These builders should be made to live in what they’ve built. I’ve always lived in Victorian or Edwardian built homes - beautiful workmanship. Thank you for posting this - such a relief to listen to someone with STANDARDS (and wit!)

bought a house recently that was built in the 70s, knowing full well there's a bunch of things I need to sort out, but I'm feeling a lot better about my decision now seeing the shit these companies are throwing together these days

Great video - hilarious, maddening and heartbreaking all at the same time... Nice to know our house isn't the only heap of sh*t out there - we bought it 6 years after it was built and no idea why first owner didn't get stuff sorted - every window fails to seal properly, so we've had to use StormGuard foam strips to stop draughts as the windows haven't been made to correct sizes! Shambles!

I've been called in as a 3rd party to do Gas and Electrical snagging on new builds and it quickly becomes evident that the majority get signed off in the site office and not actually tested. Advice to anyone that wants a new build - buy off plan and have your own team finish it, usually a similar cost, often cheaper and always a better finish. Many sites and large companies now don't like selling off plan because it often makes the adjacent buildings faults show even more.

Part of the problem is they demand a bit of paper, it doesn't matter how long you've been a tradesman, if you have the right paperwork you're in, good experienced men are out, this has been a growing problem for years.

I feel so sorry for those buying all these new builds . They finally manage to save and get a mortgage, look forward to their new homes and pay way over the odds for this shite. I've done several jobs on houses less that two years old and some if the shit I've seen is horrific. Are they suing these chappy firms, because they would win in court amd maybe these firms would actually pay for real trades who care about what they do.

The day housebuilders decided Grp canopies are ok sealed along the top with mastic rather than £50 of lead flashing was the day quality took it's final breath in the building industry. As for the NHBC requirement to have door chains like that fitted to front doors in the year 2022....just Wow!

House building companies CEO's and directors need to be held personally accountable for what their company produces. Its the only way things will get better.

I've said it for years and years . You wouldn't pay me to buy a new build in this country. And when my kids think about buying I'll be with them all the way checking every inch of a new build before the signature is signed ! Shocking and shamefull !

Okay so what happens after the inspectors have discovered their findings??? I know some of these corrections require a lot of work. Are these sort of things usually covered under a warranty for new builds, is this post sale??? Great work mate 💯

Just stumbled on your videos, can't get enough! So damn many absolute shockers!

Fake weep vents will probably mean no cavity tray in there

Worked on new builds for years as a groundworker, have to say most of the time the motto is "quantity over quality" and if you don't work by that they get rid of you sharpish, I do civils now because I couldn't stand it any longer

Not just the UK. I am having a house built in the Philippines and the contractor put the reflective roof insulation in upside down so it would keep the heat in the house instead of keeping it out. Good job I spotted it!!!

Can not wait for your revisit to my property; as I don’t believe for a second they’ll have correctly put right the >250 errors you found on your first visit!

Looking at some of the stuff you've found, it seems like someone is trying to see how crap they can do a job before they get noticed.

Glad to see/hear some positive! Been in the game a long time and they're not all bad! But massive difference between builds with same materials/programs! All comes down to site teams/trades👏

Loving the videos commentary is excellent as always!

I know a civil engineer that graduated a few years ago, so has seen the rise of new builds. He says that there is no way he would buy a new build and that is only based on the "new technology materials" that are being created and MUST be used for insulation/energy rules etc. "They are not going to last. Good thermal efficiency, crap structural integrity!". And that is before discussing the chimps that are being used to put it all together.

We had/have some issues with our new property. We did 8 pages of genuine snags and not even 1 page of that got dealt with. All the internal walls/ ceilings and door frames/ skirtings were caked in excess plaster. We have dips under the vinyl in the kitchen and hall which need rectifying when I laminate in the future. Digging up the garden currently it's full of rubble, batteries, bits of plastic and the slabs aren't cemented down just sanded. I could go on but it is a joke considering we spent 300k on our property, you want it done right.

And that's why when people ask me why I cost 3 times more than a other builders I say it's because I actually do the job properly.

You are bang on, Absolutely Shocking!

Are people allowed to get your inspections done prior to buying a new build? It seems so backwards they would have to buy it, then get it inspected.

I laughed a lot at the persimmon job at the end 🤣

What is the usual outcome for the properties with ‘out of plumb’ brickwork? If it’s out of tolerance, does that mean any insurance would be void in the event of a claim down the line? Can it be sold in those conditions?

Love your videos matey. Keep go 👏🤝👍👍

'The grass is nice and green' - end of video. Classic!

People are paying hundreds of thousands for these properties and potentially in dept for life and this is signed off fit for purpose. TOTALLY SHOCKING

Feel I've got very very lucky with my new build, I purchased it about nine months ago from a developer that was only building four of these houses on a very very small plot near the countryside, and I think because it was such a small plot the developers seem to put more effort into these buildings, I've not found a single issue with this house everything is tiptop perfect, the paint work, the brickwork, all of the wiring, the lights etc. I wonder if the developers on large plot with 100+ houses get fed up from doing the same thing day in day out and bodge things and rush them?

Thank you for exposing this. These builders are criminals, ripping off people.

Most site agents are just interested in health and safety and box ticking and what they are going to have for lunch. Zero practical experience in actual construction or a failed trade tonguing their way up the ladder.

The things I've learnt since moving into my house 12 years ago... I'm surprised it's still standing tbh. Shocking brickwork. Shocking finishing, Shocking window fitting and Shocking internal door fittings.

"How'd the site manage sign this off after inspection?" Mate, helluva assumption that they've *actually* inspected the property...

Thank you very much for your videos

"Melt with a mastic gun" classic.

Wish we had someone like you when we bought our house in 2000, even now I keep finding issues when I come to upgrade things. House builder finished the house on a Friday and we had 5 days to complete including the weekend but they didn't work weekends so 2 days wasted. They only fixed 2 items on our list of 20 snags. #Shocking

Work should stop on site until they get to the bottom of shoddy work. Also new buyers should have free access to an independent snagger that has full access to the site at all times and be paid at the cost of the developer. Then they might start taking builds more seriously. This could also provide more jobs in the industry.

i like that he put in a quick "this one's perfect!" video. Guess if you buy new it should be form Taylor Wimpey...

Great video showing some of the pitfalls possible with sub-par workmanship 👏🏾

Keepmoat are a bloody awful "builder". My cousin bought one and had similar issues. I think they build them using cheap labour (apprentices and foreign workers paid a pittance) she's currently battling them in the courts as there are massive cracks in the bedroom walls (one of which is about half an inch wide, and the plaster scrim is coming away from the wall, she's actually duct taped it in case it falls), skirting coming off, doors not locking properly. She has sash windows which are distorted and open about an inch. She also requested a Quooker tap (it was on offer to her), and PAID for one, wasn't fitted, and a really cheap mixer tap was fitted, They are like a scam, cowboy builders. Alarm bells rang for me, when I went with her when she was viewing houses (we're close) and spotted builders not wearing ANY site ppe. Not one hard hat, hi vis, safety boots. One lad (he literally was a lad) loading stuff onto a truck wearing a band t shirt, jeans and TRAINERS, not safety steel toe trainers, just Adidas trainers. Keepmoat don't care as long as the houses are there, and they look like houses, no QC, no assurances, just chuck them up. Expendable workforce it seems. One dies from a stray brick to the head, run over by a truck because no high vis, foot lopped off because no safety shoes? No problem! Go to local college, grab lads from construction course or contact Polish community and put them to work in the deathtrap site. I'll bet there's no site safety videos, no briefings, just build that, build this, eff the quality

Imagine buying that house with the brickwork like that. Everything would have to be refunded or re do the brickwork. Shocking.

Love ur job about time some one made this visible

Absolutely shocking. I would do a full site inspection before even showing an interest in a "New" house. Great vids, thanks for showing these cowboys up. Keep up the good work.

Who were the approved inspectors on this? Who were the housebuilders /contractors on this? Just asking so we can avoid in future.

Superb vlog as always sir, if someone is going to use wood 🪵 fence posts why don’t they coat the first 2 feet in 2 coats of bitumen to stop the ground damp getting in, I prefer concrete posts and composite fence panels myself, take care mark from billericay 😃👍🇬🇧🏡

I worked in this industry in the health and safety part, for a fairly huge "family owned" (to not be obvious about who it is) company and was told these new builds are made to sell, not to live in. Glad I bought a house built in the 70s now

Your knowledge is great and your eye is keen. Please note however that windows have cills whilst doors have thresholds.

Lol great review work, subscribed

What’s the process after you do your report? Like some of these defects are really major. Does the builder rip down brick walls and stairbuilders remove entire staircases etc?

It all comes down to the site management. There should be outside quality control

Site management is key. A proactive site manager, who checks & questions at every stage, nipping problems in the bud & not allowing them to be a can that’s kicked down the road.

I now live in a 1980s house but boy do I miss my old 30's semi. The quality was superb, you could tell they used to make houses back then that people wanted to live and spend time in and there was real pride in doing things properly in order to last a lifefime

I tinker with metalwork and DIY and as a result Ive earned absolute respect for professional tradesmen and the level of skill and expertise they exhibit in their work. So it pains me to say that I could have done better than this. Some of my DIY might be a bit rough, but at least I clean up my shit, dont leave giant holes in things, and I certainly wouldnt "hide" mistakes. I would do the job to the best of my ability before calling it a day. As you say..... shocking. I recently watched a video about an angry builder tearing down some new builds over a pay dispute. The quality of the builds was absolutely appalling. Once he started tearing down sections of "wall" you could clearly see that they were like post war prefabs, which gave the illusion of being a bricks and mortar house, when really they were posh looking sheds mostly made of shit timber, plasterboard and the cheapest trade paint money can buy. There were some new builds near my mates house, and it caused a real stink in the local press because apparently the contracts for the properties factually stated that the buildings were only fit for purpose for a 40 year period. They literally wrote it into the contract that the houses would be dilapidated and not fit for purpose after 40 years. Imagine buying a house that you know will require knocking down in four decades. I could literally build a log cabin with homemade chinking that could last longer than that.

I live in a old victorian house and it has it's issues. I always dreamt of owning my own, cheap new home or flat. But after seeing this video and what my friends told me about there new homes - I am having second thoughts about moving.

Heres what pisses me off, I have worked on many sites for different companies over the years and the rules/regulations change so fast. As a tradesman I dont get notified of the changes, NHBC dont send me the update, they dont know who I am!. On top of that you have know nothing site agents trying to win awards because they read it in a book that no one can find! Then you get a nobody come round and pick holes in your work, Pick holes is the easy option and better paid and site agent will tell them to f off anyway

You sir are a hero!

It would be interesting to know what happens after you've found all these problems. Do they have to rectify everything you've found? I bet they hate you. 😅

We bought a new build, from new, and genuinely we must have had 20 outstanding pieces of work that needed to be corrected. From a whole new set of garden turf to be relayed, to handles on kitchen cupboards not being lined up correctly. Fridges being dragged along the lino floor, cutting it/denting it. Honestly you couldn't make it up. What made the whole experience worse is that, I fully appreciate mistakes can be made, but it's the mentality of the 'new build' industry, in that unless you as the customer makes the initial enquiry, they will not proactively amend anything. It's very much a 'let's see what we can get away with' approach. Even then, you have to debate what's expected and what's not. My argument was always the same, if a spent 200k on a brand new ferrari and the wheels were scratched would that be acceptable? No chance, therefore if I'm spending 200 k on a brand new house, why should I accept a crack in the front window?

And YES! The word ridiculous is three syllables in Wales. Glad I could help. 😎

I was glad to see at least one get a good mark XD

I'm assuming you fail these houses but what happens once you fail them? If the brick work is so out of plumb do you have to knock the house down?

Is this really for real?Your government must suck for allowing this to happen.

Great review for them lads at the end there..... "The grass is green" 😂

Great commentary.

Mark Do you do these inspections for mortage companies or are you an independent inspector for the client/homeowner. Because surely it’s down to the mortgage companies to clamp down on these horrendous builds. If they all withheld funds unless the property was of a satisfactory condition, the firms would think twice before signing off on such 💩 work. And what is the outcome of these inspections? Where do the home owners stand? Do they fix the issues or refund a percentage to the clients? Cheers

Genuine question, how do you go about putting most of this right without actually knocking walls down again?

I took out 2ft deep of dirt from our crest back garden and was still finding scaffold poles,cans, cowboys

Fantastic, keepmoat have won the contract to build at the back of my house.. brilliant

This guy found more issues with a tiny new build home than I found in a 200 year old property the other day. Maybe I'm not doing my job properly, but I know for sure that whoever built this wasn't!

No wonder they are only 400000 thousand 😃😃

"Shocking" is definitely the right word here.

😂😂😂 i loved the ending.

Holy shit, what are the internals you can't see going to be like. How about a walkthrough by Roger from Skillbuilder channel?

For my sins I've worked on keepmoat homes. They are definitely one of the worst.

Bravo sir. Keep up the good work by calling out the terrible quality of new builds. Sadly it's not a new phenonium. I am in the middle of renovating my 80s build house and am finding many of the same issues. Particular bug-bears are absolutely terrible carpentry - nothing is square or plumb, none of the door are hanging in plane, plumbing and electrics were terrible and standard of plastering - yes guessed it, shocking!

Shocking....absolutely shockin

This is why I resent the way that DIY is increasingly discouraged by regulations. Grants are not available for DIY work and things like electrics are made extremely difficult. The idea that professionals are always better is just wrong. If you are doing your own stuff you are likely to take the time to do a decent job: it's not speed and cheapness at all costs.

The UK is going backward and the golden era was the Victorian, but after that the UK looks very old, and the new builds are shocking and horror! However, you can't blame housing developers and it's down to governments past and present Labour and Tories! Governments promise to build 500,000 homes each year, and that's exaggeration and always housing developers end up building less than 200,000 a year and during Covid it was less than 100,000! And the big problem is when developers are rushed then quality will be shyte and mostly cheap materials to cut costs as developers pay for lands and get to wait 5 years before local authorities do their assessments and all the bureaucratic craps and it's waste of time and developers pay for those assessments! And what's worse is the Help to Buy scam sorry scheme forced 1st time buyers to buy cardboard homes way too expensive as that's the only option they can get their hand on a property! Which means 1st time buyers with low deposits end up with negative equity as if they try to sell in two years time they'll find out their homes worth less due to overpricing! In my area plots are being sold before even being built by developers and it's just shows how desperate some people to get into housing ladder! The issue is young generation is fooled into must have own your home and that's wrong, as more than half of Europeans live on rent! But the difference is majority of European countries build social housings but never sell them, unlike the UK keeps selling council properties and never replace them!!

It's a race to the bottom on price, these developers want the cheapest work for max profit.

Had a new build semi 20 years ago. You could hear the neighbours flushing the toilets, using the stairs, shutting from the door, it was bloody awful. We got invited round one evening for coffee and one of them used the upstairs toilet and you could hear them clearly peeing through the ceiling. Walls were all plasterboard. Drilling wasn't necessary, hit a screwdriver through it. Moved out and bought an older property made during the 70's with solid walls!!

I come from a family of builders in New Zealand and both my dad and grandad built their own houses. After moving to the UK I cannot honestly believe how terrible the quality of work is over here. It’s horrendous and how these people get away with it beggars belief. From new builds to just having a wall plastered, there’s no pride in their work all. No way would I ever buy a new build in the Uk, it’s a disgrace!

The day they went from hourly rate to price/piece work killed the building trade, no pride in work anymore. Served my time late eighties, and as an apprentice would have been slapped if did work like this. Weeping vents must take longer to bodge than fit in first place.

I had a choice of a DIY 'fixer upper' house built in 1966 or a new build. Deciding took about 2-3 seconds, maybe.

I have a new build Very grateful and it’s lovely, I’ve done a lot of work being a multi tradesman But One thing that really annoys me is the banana hand rail I’ve been presented with and a newel post 50mm out of plumb Also all the grass in the garden died as it’s a rubble pile underneath I’ve had to lay down top soil and seed it all myself Cause I just feel like sometimes I can do a better job, especially because I’m living here But in general people are very proud of their work I have personally seen a few people on sites who are just there for the money, they don’t give a fuck about the finish or standards They just want it done And it doesn’t help with some deadlines, Just to get the job done to some extent

😱😱😱m a window and door guy in Canada that caulking was horrible! The one window with missing stops ! The broken Frame on the door ! So many terrible things!

My 'New Home, built in 1989, by Rydons, had a 'garden' that would have put the Somme to shame. A 2-foot drop onto 'topsoil' that was more builder's rubble and a barrowload of cement, which took two men to lift, dumped right where it could sprain an unwary ankle. Then there was the East German faux Velux window, which had been so badly installed that it leaked within 5 years...

Shockinggg!!

The persimmon one at the end had me laughing, always avoid a persimmon home

Funny, having worked for most big house builders in the country you start to recognise certain builders. At 04:17 that looks like Redrow to me as they don’t use engineering bricks to oversight…..

The garden gate bolt 😂

how do they sort out the whole wall being out of plumb?

The problem with new builds is there’s no money left for the actual tradesmen building the properties. A company buys the plot and gets the plans for the housing estate then engages another company to price for the building work who then engage another company to carry out the work who then engage trades and do their best to knock them down and even once a price is agreed make them jump through hopes to actually get paid. Hence the poor work!