Most know by now just how I feel about the two different teams of 'builders' I had working in my house.
Unsatisfactory would be kind.

I can do a much much better job.......but it takes time. I really can't work fast in this climate.
Nevertheless, I can get jobs done so much better by doing them properly.

Even a simple task like repainting seemed to be beyond the capability of the folks I hired.
Of course I know i have responsibility as I hired them, but I just can't be watching over them every minute of every day.

I did learn though that they will cut corners as soon as they can. Why I just can't figure.

You'd think they never heard of primer for new wood.

Anyway this story begins with a leak in my kitchen.
In very heavy rainstorm I noticed pools of water on my kitchen worktop. Over a period of time it became clear that water was streaming down between the wall and the side of the kitchen wall cabinet.

No choice, I'd need to rip out the side of the cabinet and try to find just where the water was getting in.

It's not going to be easy to visualise what I found.
There was a window in the corner wall of the kitchen. The glazed window frame was removed and the side of the kitchen cabinet (3/4in marine ply) was just nailed up on the wall to cover the opening in the wall..
That's it. That was really what they did. They made no attempt at all to fill the opening with hollow block or cement.

OK, lets remove all the wet and rotting wood and get this window opening properly closed up and weather resistant.
Well it took me the whole day and the following morning to block up the window.

However, disaster struck.
We discovered that somehow a RAT had used the opportunity to enter the house.

The triumph story will follow ........