Builder Cutting corners please help

[Gillyx]

all, really appreciate any help and advice.
I believe the builder I have for my side extension has consistently cuttting corners and not followed plans. I feel like I have been manipulated when raising issues but because I am not an expert I finding hard to challenge and stand my ground.
Possible incorrect sized bi-fold doors ordered and installed - builder stated that insulation between the steel and the top of the door frame was required as per building regs so we nw have a large piece of plastic give the door fame. Approx 20cm
Suspended timber flooring - no battening used to support insulation foam. Foam simply wedged in / DPM not anchored down / no concrete sub floor in places due to drainage installation / air bricks appears to have been an after-thought
Plastic water pipes under the floor not insulated. Is there a risk of possible freezing in future?
No prep work on existing walls prior to 'dot-dabbing' plasterboard on. Adhesive placed directly onto old wall-paper on main kitchen wall
imitation yellow stock to build the exterior wall when he had stated he would be re-using the bricks from the old wall plus any additions neeeded implying he would be using reclaimed London stock - I ended up cleaning the old bricks myself so the wall would look consistent and according to the plan for a conservation area.
Builder stated he was going to skim the existing kitchen ceiling, which was in bad condition. he stated 'the kitchen ceiling was not part of the extension' so not included in the quote. I stated that this should be included as you taking lots of the ceiling down as part of the works.
Builder stated moving the existing external tap would cost extra. I stated this should be part of the works as it was pre-existing.
Steel post positioned on edge of private manhole - footing width increased after dispute. Weight of house would have been on air. Again wasn’t following plan.
Inadequate clearing between suspended floor joists and concrete sub-floor - pointed out to - no action taken
Heating to house cut off due to thermostat being disconnected for a week now. House freezing.
Extension not water tight until at week 10 roof tiles still not on but they have started plaster boarding and decorating inside.
At first we asked building control for help but the builder and control who is private have we ogetherr before so I don’t know who to trust. I’d like some independent advice. Only one weeks left on job. The builder has threatened his builders may do bad work on purpose if we don’t pay next invoice in advance.

It’s so stresssful and I’ve found it hard to stay on top of as have been in and out of hospital after a late baby loss. The last thing i want is confrontation and dispute. People are saying should not pay m9ore until finished and fixed. We followed addvice when finding him but he does not do the work himself has others doing it.

Thanks for any advice.

[Job and Knock]

Only one weeks left on job. The builder has threatened his builders may do bad work on purpose if we don’t pay next invoice in advance.

As a tradesman myself, that comment alone raises my hackles and tells me that the man is a unprincipled cowboy! Any tradesman worthy of the name would walk off a job if given such an instruction if only because they might well be held personally liable for acting on such instructions. I think that all payments should be witheld until you have had an independent building surveyor (one who doesn't know or work for this guy) inspect the work, but I'd also be talking to the local council's Trading Standards and possibly representativers from any trade organisations he belongs to (e.g Federation of Master Builders, etc). If all else fails there's always BBC Watchdog (I'm only half joking making that suggestion). Without seeing the work first hand it's always easy to offer criticism, but from what you say it does seem that you have some well-founded concerns. I hope for your sake that you have a sufficiently large retention to ensure some sort of compliance on his part

[Gillyx]

Thank you for coming back to me.
I will contact the LA tomorrow. I had been looking for a independant witness to come and inspect everything. I just feel at such a loss.
Have you ever heard of needing insulation above a bi fold door?
Have you every heard of not insulating water pipes? Wish I was a building regs expert myself. He belongs to the FMB. I called them this week for advice but didn’t tell them his name as I’m still hoping to resolve without needing to involve their disputes team.
It has just felt like one thing after another going wrong. I don’t know any builder who would make a threat like that so now also feel worried that things might be done wrong and we’d never know but things could come back to haunt us.
We have 15% left to pay. I hope so too.

[Job and Knock]

Have you ever heard of needing insulation above a bi fold door?

No. Completed a £12m build last year where we had an absolutely massive multi-folder on the top floor. The need for support of the top track of the door meant that the track was directly bolted to a UB (i.e. universal beam = rolled steel joist). In fact all the folders I've ever worked on seem to have been top suspended - the track needs to be fixed to the lintel or ceiling joists or a steel or a framework of some sort to make it work. On that one there was a mass of insulation in the walls and ceiling around it, but all installed afterwards

Have you every heard of not insulating water pipes?

Again, no.

We have 15% left to pay.

I think that you need to sit down as soon as you can and set down in writing a "chronology" of the build to date, noting your concerns. The builder needs to be informed in writing of your concerns and that before continuing you intend to seek independent professional advice. At the start of the build did you have a written contract with a clearly defined schedule of works and timetable? If you did it will make arriving at a resolution much easier.

At the end of any build there are always unresolved issues. These would normally need to be resolved before the final stage payment is made. But in the environment I work in (mainly commercial) there is always a retention which is held for up to 12 months against unforseen or undiscovered defects and issues. Do you have a written agreement which covers this?

[Gillyx]

We do have a contract which sets out payment terms and a schedule of works with an end date of 10th December. The schedule of works did not go into much detail though and the work seems to have been conducted in a really odd order which has made it harder for them. The dainage work for example was not done at the same time as the foundations. I’m not sure if he was planning to further cut corners but we pulled him up for not following the drainage plans and building over our old drains and manholes with no action. The internal decoations and plaster boarding has started when the roof isn’t on. Just the felt layer.

He says he will be finished this Friday but we’ve already discussed that we think he will be about three weeks. I don’t mind the job going over time wise but I do mind things not being done properly.

He actually sent us an email saying that the build had been going smoothly which is completely untrue there has been so much we have needed to question and ask to be rectified. I need to get it all in writing as you suggest but have been trying to avoid confrontation. I do have a lot of evidence in text message form though.

The last payment would be 5% for snagging but we seem a long way off snagging discussions and I don’t think 5% is enough to hold back to get everything done properly.