Owning your own home

Really naive question to anyone that's done a conversion before, I'm sure , but here goes...

We've agreed with lead builder that they would provide a fully plastered room and hallway, ready to paint. It's all finished now, save for snagging, and I don't know if issues I'm finding are 'nervous first timer issues' or something more substantial.

Eg. Subbed plastering team have left splodges of plaster on door frames, skirting, windows etc. There were a couple of dents and divots in the plaster too. Lead builder has come in and patched up with filler, but any decorator (or me) is going to have to sand back filler now. Is that normal/right?

Other minor issues including large gaps between skirting and the walls, and architraves and walls. Obviously some decorator's caulk will be needed, but some of the gaps are pretty substantial. Ply underfloor is patchwork, gappy and uneven.

I think we've been good clients - let them get on with the job etc - but increasingly it feels like slapping on filler is a metaphor for how they're trying to get to the end of the job. Maybe it's just me though?!

Been extended by a year apparently - yes seen it has been absolutely slammed today which is completely unsurprising. Will go on a fishing expedition tomorrow and see if anyone's willing to come and take a look.

Ah classique, I shall look forward to the many rejections over the next few days!

'There were more than 123,000 applications for the grant by the end of February, according to data released last week by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but only 28,000 vouchers had been issued and only 5,800 measures had been installed'

fairly damning stuff

You might find that any installation just happens to be £grant more expensive than it would be without the grant.

And the other bit I heard is that many of the certified builders would just bump their prices up and trouser the supposed savings themselves.

Poorly thought out scheme is lots of unintended consequences.

Have you fully paid them? If not, I would be withholding money until you have a level of finish you were expecting which should at least include smooth plastered/filled walls, with any dents/damage caused by the sub-contractors put right (more filler). Likewise the gap between skirting and wall should be relatively consistent with excess gaps suggesting sub-par plastering, or sub-par skirting installation. It sounds like it should all be pretty quick to rectify so hopefully something you can strong arm them to do by holding back on payment?

How bad is the ply flooring?

My cooker extractor is still running, but only at low speed. Are there any obvious things to check apart from the switch being gummed up with grease?

I don't own the house I rent but helping the live in (when he's not in Portugal, so 2 weeks of the last 6 months) Landlord with a soundproof quoting. Had a quote of 5k ISH to do 1 wall in Bristol (front of the house is just corridor, so leaving that, and upstairs backs on to a spare bedroom and bathroom only which is fine). Does that seem reasonable? Plus the cost of having someone replicate the cornice. Victorian terrace, 5 bed student maisonette next door with the kitchen on the other side of this wall. Hear every conversation which isn't their fault, but gets stupid when they get loud. Will be a student let for the next 10 or so years.

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Second what @EstelleGetty says
Hopefully you still have the final balance in hand before it’s completed to a standard you’re happy with.
You’ll easily get an answer on here within a few mins so don’t be afraid to post a pic.

Don't know if it's reasonable but my gut feel is its expensive, however if the work is done well then it may be worth it because I suspect getting the soundproof right is going to be dependent on both detailing and execution of the work. Also, it's probably going to not work as well as you want even if it's done very well. I've tried doing this and it helped to some degree but didn't solve the issue completely.

[Editied to make concise]

Bristol folk... best streets in Easton to me look like Stanley Park, Chelsea Park, Colston Rd and a few others around there. I think Easton specifically because walking distance to staple hill station for getting to clifton down station. Saw this on Saturday and it was immaculate inside, as it is in the photos, but the outside and outbuilding need work. The road also isn't great and there are 3 flats to one side.
But it is 15% more expensive than this, which to me looks like it is on a much better road.

Number 1 above however was owned by a cyclist and the outbuilding had serious potential

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@Cupcakes cheers for the input. Just re-read the quote and knock ~2k off that - there are 2 options to go for and I added both up. Helping a bit would be good because it is awful at the moment. Not my problem long term though

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@EstelleGetty @Tenderloin thanks both. Yeah, 10% withheld, so have some bargaining power. I suppose it's not knowing what is/isn't normal at the end of a build. I'm expecting a decorator to come in and be able to crack straight on, without needing to sand walls or fill skirting, but not sure if I'm right?

Yeah, that’s just shit work.

Good luck! I think there are some example details in the building regs which might help you understand what they're doing and how many dB reduction you could expect if they do it well.

When I had a similar problem by far the biggest change was from my neighbours moving out. Landlord sold the flat and the new buyer rented it to the quietest tenants I've ever (not) heard :)

That's my gut feeling - explaining it to a group of slightly annoyed tradesmen when you're a layperson like me is a whole different ballgame. Definitely feel like I've been pushed around a little. Time to step up I guess!

That is terrible, lazy workmanship.

Imagine that being your job and being comfortable walking away from your own work like that...

They probably rushed to finish so they could get onto the next one. I wouldn’t pay for it without it being rectified. Nothing wrong with ‘Lads, there’s a few bits I’m unhappy with’.

Thanks, appreciate the input.

Don't suppose anyone would be happy to take a brief PM with some more examples? Not that keen to share more in public, but would really appreciate a more knowledgeable opinion!

Feel free to pm me

We’ve covered this sort of thing before I think with @Cupcakes ?

But that is a joke

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What did they cut that mitre with, a bread knife?

Theres leaving a gap and taking the piss, thats bloody taking the piss.

That's actually quite reasonable. The MuteClip option will give much better performance than a typical resilient bar system so worth the extra IMO. Make sure they use nice thick acoustic plasterboard and preferably two layers.

As @Cupcakes says it won't work as well as you'd want however well executed, so it's always wise to go for the upgraded options if you can. I'd expect a good outcome in your case being not able to fully hear conversations (muffled considerably) and less stupid when loud if far from ideal still.

Is the noise just coming from directly behind the wall? Not from above or to the sides?

@allsop that isn’t designed to make you feel bad btw just a bit shocked at the finish there