Bodges you’ve seen.

[Little Lofty]

Dog Star said:

In a similar vein to the layers of bathroom tiles...

I have redone outside our place with all lovely York stone flagging. Most of it from around the house when we moved in, ours and next doors cellars - all cleaned up etc and relays on a new base and one level all round.

We removed the stone flags from the courtyard outside the kitchen, fine and dandy. Underneath was a layer of asphalt. Dig up the asphalt and under that was another layer of flags which was a bit of a bonus (these are inches thick jobs, worth a fortune).

But who the hell tarmacs over beautiful stone flags? Beggars belief!

The same people who boarded over Victorian fireplaces (or ripped them out) and covered ornate spindles and panelled doors in hardboard.

[AstonZagato]

Our kitchen floor (early Georgian) was a little bit surprising. Lifted tiles to find more tiles. Lifted those to find earth. To be fair, the house has been there for centuries and there was no damp or other ill effects. However, no longer compliant with Building Regs. Lots of work to kango the (rock hard) earth and a few tons of concrete later, we had a foundation we could lay our floor on. There also were no foundations under one corner of the house.

[Little Lofty]

AstonZagato said:

Our kitchen floor (early Georgian) was a little bit surprising. Lifted tiles to find more tiles. Lifted those to find earth. To be fair, the house has been there for centuries and there was no damp or other ill effects. However, no longer compliant with Building Regs. Lots of work to kango the (rock hard) earth and a few tons of concrete later, we had a foundation we could lay our floor on. There also were no foundations under one corner of the house.

My last house had no foundations at all, built straight off the clay that was holding up a few hundred ton of sandstone, it had slate damp course. It was as straight as a die.

[TimmyMallett]

FFS

[Ace-T]

dmsims said:

If that is yours and still there I highly recommend replacing that bent flexi pipe asap. Our en-suite loo (unbeknownst to us) had a similar bend. It burst and started emptying mains pressure water into the house. We were extremely lucky that we were at home, noticed it really quickly and the en suite floor tiles sloped back into the room (another bodge). Some water still escaped into the bedroom and stained the ceiling in the room below though. Doesn't bear thinking about if we had been at work and it had gone on for 8+ hours

We have had to deal with a fair few bodges in this house. Highlights that I can remember are all the windows (crap 90s double glazing) are not sealed around the edge, horrendous pipework coming out of the boiler into an un-insulated roof space with no pipe lagging (we may as well have had all the damn doors and windows open), alarm PIRs not removed when they re-plastered (neither was a mirror above a fireplace), the gas pipe to the library is a trip hazard on the cellar stairs, En-suite fan venting into the very small eaves roof space and the classic light switch in the hall the electrician put too near the architrave after the hall was plastered so the builder just cut out the (original edwardian) architrave and fitted it over the light switch.

Everything was done to the cheapest, nastiest but ok on first glance way possible. We think the previous owner was just clueless and just taken for a ride by whoever they got in to do it

We feel our current electrician is much more capable though...

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Lotobear said:

I have to declare an interest in that, amongst other things, I investigate dodgy building work on a professional basis, however this is a flavour of undoubtedly the worst ever attempt at roofing I have ever seen (not even travellers either) - on a high profile city centre building using very valuable green slate

Conical slating is certainly an art but one which had not been mastered on this occasion

Ooh, I can suss out which building that is Who did the bodge then?!

[Dog Star]

Ace-T said:

We feel our current electrician is much more capable though...

He’s hired!

[98elise]

Dog Star said:

Previous owner of our place is someone will know and always makes out he is “an engineer” and well qualified and knows what he is doing. (He actually a (very specialised and good) welder).

The bodges he has done on this place are extraordinary- any plumbing I see I literally rip out and redo neatly and properly.

I had replaced every socket and light switch in here bar one in the hall, which a few weeks ago the cleaner said was getting hot then cut out when she was hoovering.

I removed the faceplate. It was siliconed in. This is what I found....



Wires were not actually screwed in to the terminals, earth wires weren’t joined at all - just coiled up in the back box, not attached to faceplate or back box, no sheathing.

Bloke is an utter cowboy. “I’m an engineer, my arse!”

I have some belters of what was done to some joists - I’ll need to dig them out.

My father is genuinely a Chartered Engineer (Mechanical and Electrical). His DIY bodges are legendary and on a par with yours

Edited by 98elise on Friday 18th December 19:19

[Celtic Dragon]

I bought my first house in September this year, it was built in 2000, and in pretty decent state.

For some reason I went looking in the cupboard under the sink last night and found a live unswitched socket right next to the pipe work for said sink! I know it’s live as the washing machine is currently plugged into it. Will be tracing that this weekend and finding out what’s been bodged further.

[Fastpedeller]

Makes me feel lucky having seen the previous pages! Our previous house (owned by a so-called builder) had the 4m long curtain pole fixed to the wall with masonry nails, and because the heads on masonry nails are almost non-existent, he'd squashed 6mm nuts in a vice and used them under the heads. beggars belief as it would have been easier to just buy some screws even if it was a 3 mile trip on Sunday to the DIY store. The other bodge was a shower in one of the bedrooms.... when we removed the shower cubicle the tiling was onto 3 layers of wallpaper. Give him his due, he knew how to make wallpaper stick to the walls, as it took an eternity to remove. Oh, that reminds me, in the 3rd bedroom, removing the wallpaper also took the plaster with it.
We got off fairly lightly though.

[fuzzyyo]

Little Lofty said:

AstonZagato said:

Our kitchen floor (early Georgian) was a little bit surprising. Lifted tiles to find more tiles. Lifted those to find earth. To be fair, the house has been there for centuries and there was no damp or other ill effects. However, no longer compliant with Building Regs. Lots of work to kango the (rock hard) earth and a few tons of concrete later, we had a foundation we could lay our floor on. There also were no foundations under one corner of the house.

My last house had no foundations at all, built straight off the clay that was holding up a few hundred ton of sandstone, it had slate damp course. It was as straight as a die.

Once excavated the foundations of a 7 storey sandstone mill from the 1800s. It had a slight lip at the base of the wall before bearing directly onto clay...

(although admittedly not a bodge as it was more than adequate)

[fiatpower]

I've had a fair few in my house from the previous owner who was clearly a keen DIY'er. I'll have to see if i've got any pictures but for now here's a list:

- Used a hammer to put a hole in the plasterboard for a tv aerial in the spare room

- There was a thick power cable (for the shower I think) which was routed from the fusebox into the spare room where it came out of the wall half way up, then ran up the wall fully visible and then into the ceiling before going across to the bathroom. Amazingly that was the kid's room when we viewed the place!

- Built a pergola which was wonky but more importantly not secured in anyway at all. No glue, nails or screws. Discovered when it fell apart in a storm

- Laid a patio under said pergola directly onto soil so it just overgrew with grass. I didn't even know it was paved at first it was that bad...

- Changed the roof the garage but it leaked. That was solved by them putting a bucket under the drip on a shelf. Ingeniously disguised on our house viewing by putting a load more buckets on the same shelf so it looked like they were being stored there. At least they left us the important bucket.

- There was a small waist height palm tree type thing in the front garden which when I came to remove it discovered that it had been concreted into the ground.

- The tiling in the bathroom whilst so much a bodge is just appalling. So badly done, they didn't even smooth the silicone around the bath and shower.

- Installed a water pump to help the shower pressure which whilst did turn on didn't actually do anything as it wasn't attached to the water?

I'm sure there are others too which I can't remember right now!

[HaplessBoyLard]

Fastpedeller said:

when we removed the shower cubicle the tiling was onto 3 layers of wallpaper. Give him his due, he knew how to make wallpaper stick to the walls, as it took an eternity to remove. Oh, that reminds me, in the 3rd bedroom, removing the wallpaper also took the plaster with it.
We got off fairly lightly though.

I’ve never been so glad of a bodge as in our current house. There was horrible wallpaper in the lounge and bedroom that the previous owner had put on. When we stripped it the top layer of the paper pulled straight off in more or less one continuous sheet and the backing needed soaking with a sponge for 5 minutes and scraped straight off the wall with zero effort. The walls under it were so flat I filled what few flaws there were and painted straight on to them.

Apart from that I feel lucky having read and seen some of the horror shows here. Most things have been done badly in this house, but it’s just a bit of prep work to put it right.

They did refurb the en suite at one point though. One look at it and the whole lot came out. They’d overboarded the original wall mounted extractor and put a 100mm vent in the ceiling. Instead of core the gable end or put a soffit vent in they disconnected the ducting on the top of the soil stack that vented it through a roof tile and connected the extractor to the tile. Instead of spending 10 minutes fitting a durgo to the top of the stack, they just left it venting into the roof space. It dawned on me what they’d done when there was a slightly stty smell drifting into the bedroom through the open holes where the new spotlights were going. Sure enough, I pulled back the insulation in the loft to reveal an open soil stack venting the whole village’s stty sewer gas into my loft

[illmonkey]

HaplessBoyLard said:

I’ve never been so glad of a bodge as in our current house. There was horrible wallpaper in the lounge and bedroom that the previous owner had put on. When we stripped it the top layer of the paper pulled straight off in more or less one continuous sheet and the backing needed soaking with a sponge for 5 minutes and scraped straight off the wall with zero effort. The walls under it were so flat I filled what few flaws there were and painted straight on to them.

Apart from that I feel lucky having read and seen some of the horror shows here. Most things have been done badly in this house, but it’s just a bit of prep work to put it right.

They did refurb the en suite at one point though. One look at it and the whole lot came out. They’d overboarded the original wall mounted extractor and put a 100mm vent in the ceiling. Instead of core the gable end or put a soffit vent in they disconnected the ducting on the top of the soil stack that vented it through a roof tile and connected the extractor to the tile. Instead of spending 10 minutes fitting a durgo to the top of the stack, they just left it venting into the roof space. It dawned on me what they’d done when there was a slightly stty smell drifting into the bedroom through the open holes where the new spotlights were going. Sure enough, I pulled back the insulation in the loft to reveal an open soil stack venting the whole village’s stty sewer gas into my loft

I had similar once. A rather nasty smell appeared in the kitchen once summer came around. Tried everything. Figured it was a dead mouse or similar that the cat brought in.

After a while I thought it maybe a slight leak in the soil pipe in the corner of the kitchen. Smoke bombed the nearest drain and within seconds the kitchen was full of smoke. Once it died down I could see it was coming from under the kitchen units. Kick board off and I found an completely open soil pipe level with the floor. Which was only probably 2m to a junction outside. I’d been smelling my neighbours st for the last 6 months.

Threw some expanding foam down it and the rest is history.

Same house, we had a very small leak sometimes, from the upstairs bathroom. Water would appear in the corner of said kitchen. Figured it was the bath. Took it all apart and turns out it was a screw in the waste pipe from the sink. That took some effort to fix, removing tiles, side of the bath they’d not left an access hatch to. I dread to think what else I’d have found.

[Fastpedeller]

Went to a customer's house a couple of years ago and found the following:;-
leaking heating pipe under floorboard near radiator - Builder had secured floorboard using screw which he's put straight into pipe! he must have seen what was under the floorboard as he laid it (clearly the last board to go down). Steel screw had sealed the leak for eight years, after which time the screw rusted away creating our 'delayed leak'

[hotchy]

I got left a tv in the spare room. Thoughtful.


Hole the size of tv behind it. Then tv wire extended via dodgy wiring, down hole in wall into cubby hole and hole near plug for the wire to go through. He took the actual plug end with him though. Thanks.

Edit. Come to mention it I'm sure I said about that before.

Although i have since discovered the plastic fascias around the eaves of the house, are just plastic stuck over rotten wood so needs redone before it all falls off.

Edited by hotchy on Saturday 19th December 10:28

Edited by hotchy on Saturday 19th December 10:29

[LaurasOtherHalf]

illmonkey said:

I had similar once. A rather nasty smell appeared in the kitchen once summer came around. Tried everything. Figured it was a dead mouse or similar that the cat brought in.

After a while I thought it maybe a slight leak in the soil pipe in the corner of the kitchen. Smoke bombed the nearest drain and within seconds the kitchen was full of smoke. Once it died down I could see it was coming from under the kitchen units. Kick board off and I found an completely open soil pipe level with the floor. Which was only probably 2m to a junction outside. I’d been smelling my neighbours st for the last 6 months.

Threw some expanding foam down it and the rest is history.

Fix a bodge with a bodge!

[illmonkey]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

illmonkey said:

I had similar once. A rather nasty smell appeared in the kitchen once summer came around. Tried everything. Figured it was a dead mouse or similar that the cat brought in.

After a while I thought it maybe a slight leak in the soil pipe in the corner of the kitchen. Smoke bombed the nearest drain and within seconds the kitchen was full of smoke. Once it died down I could see it was coming from under the kitchen units. Kick board off and I found an completely open soil pipe level with the floor. Which was only probably 2m to a junction outside. I’d been smelling my neighbours st for the last 6 months.

Threw some expanding foam down it and the rest is history.

Fix a bodge with a bodge!

Fair point! I couldn’t cap it as it was flush. Didn’t know what to do and had expanding foam at home. Done deal!

[B'stard Child]

illmonkey said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

illmonkey said:

I had similar once. A rather nasty smell appeared in the kitchen once summer came around. Tried everything. Figured it was a dead mouse or similar that the cat brought in.

After a while I thought it maybe a slight leak in the soil pipe in the corner of the kitchen. Smoke bombed the nearest drain and within seconds the kitchen was full of smoke. Once it died down I could see it was coming from under the kitchen units. Kick board off and I found an completely open soil pipe level with the floor. Which was only probably 2m to a junction outside. I’d been smelling my neighbours st for the last 6 months.

Threw some expanding foam down it and the rest is history.

Fix a bodge with a bodge!

Fair point! I couldn’t cap it as it was flush. Didn’t know what to do and had expanding foam at home. Done deal!

You can get internal or external caps if next time you are under there and want to do it properly

I bought one when I did the first bathroom refurb and I've used it for each subsequent bathroom refurb - much better working environment when you have the soil pipe closed to the room

[ruggedscotty]

just this week, went to a house that they had a burning smell from the consumer unit.

Opened it up and the cooker cable had been extended to the cooker MCB by a chock block and short length of cable. cable insulation was melted and the breaker heat damaged. turned out they are making cakes for xmas, the kettle was on the cooker switch socket the hob and oven both on. decent chunk of amps flowing. Had to move breakers about and replace the cooker breaker.

they had a gs cooker replaced to electric and got a hommer of a guy who worked with the womans husband to connect the new cooker up.