I'm sorry to hear that your building project is causing you stress. It might be difficult to cope with builders' difficulties, even when experts are involved. Though doubtful, I wonder if a project manager could have made things easier. Just remember that getting counsel may help you overcome these obstacles.

If only it were that easy, as quite a few ‘professionals’ are more than a bit crap.
Currently 1.5 years into a single storey extension that ‘the professional’ said would take 6 months.
Been going to the launderette for over a year now as we have no kitchen. Our 12 months with no heating thankfully finished 6 months ago.
Bifold company came to fit today after a failed visit 2 months ago - yes failed again, we have bifolds but they sound like a strangled cat every time you move them.
Spouse on anti depressants with high blood pressure and every week we get a little closer to death while living on a building site with no builders. When they do turn up it is usually to ***k something else up.

I have used professionals and taken professional advice throughout - architect, engineer, quantity surveyor, builder, electrician, roofer. Everyone will be polite whilst taking your money and generally taking responsibility for nothing, as all issues get handed back to the customer to resolve. All have 5 star reviews of course.

What you find is that in the end nobody else gives a monkey’s - it isn’t their house and it is no skin off their nose however long it takes or however many ***k ups have to be redone to put them right - or indeed whether it works, or falls down, is set at a jaunty angle etc. They generally all bugger off at 3:30 in the afternoon to take their kids bowling or get to the first tee on time. That’s when they turn up at all.

Don’t get too tetchy with them or they will walk off the job alltogether (not that you would notice much difference).

If you are lucky you might find a good builder, better still be young enough to do it yourself, because in my experience the intelligent amateur will do a far better job than most ‘tradies’.

It is a sad reflection on today’s world where making money by screwing other people over is the key value, and taking care and pride and satisfaction in a job well done are to be laughed at loser.

Rant over for today.

NMKC, I'm sorry you are still going through this... As you say, you can do everything right and still end up getting ripped off.

Yammer, that's spot on about using a Project Manager - that's my biggest lesson.

Getting on for 18 months since work first started on my future home, I can finally glimpse the finishing line. My new builders have made more progress in the last 8 weeks than the previous bunch of crooks did in 9 months. The extension is water-tight, kitchen & bathroom almost done, and the flooring is down. Hoping to be able to move in around the end of next month, and keeping everything crossed that the sale of my current home proceeds to completion (having fallen through on two previous attempts). The bad news is that I'm out of pocket by a 6-figure sum, along with other clients and suppliers of the previous firm.

Managing the finances has been a nightmare given the constant expense and failure to sell my house sooner (though at least I've not had to rent somewhere), and my pf is looking quite unbalanced and sickly as a result. I thought I had prepared for every eventuality, but this was one tail risk I did not anticipate. Weirdly, it has knocked my confidence as an investor, even though the two things are not related. I've become much more wary and afraid of losses than I was before all this. I feel like I'll have to go back to basics and relearn it all...

Not for me I am sorry to say.
This week will be 2 years since the builder first started. He said the schedule was 21 weeks.
I have just signed a settlement with him to end the unfinished contract. I did have another builder lined up to finish the work - but he has recently pulled out because he has ‘taken on other work’ - thanks for that - just another ****.

The plumbing doesn’t work properly, the kitchen is in storage, still washing up in a bowl of water filled from the bath. Still going to the launderette. Mentally destroyed and exhausted.

I have someone coming soon to build the soakaway that should have been done 2 years ago when the foundations were dug.

Will take many more months now to get another builder in.

Worst decision I ever made. Never employ a builder. Life destroyed, whole family badly impacted.

I'm disheartened to hear of all the distress you have undergone during this project NMKC, many have of us have followed your path and there's few extra words of comfort over and above already mentioned that I feel I could add.
Sara I'm glad to hear your homing project has come to a conclusion for you albeit this too has not gone stress free either.
There's obviously an element of gambling where planning to undertake a project no matter how small or large with the result of having to employ a contractor of some sort.
My recent tale of woe is small fry and almost insignificant in comparison to yours NMKC and Sara which came of having to employ a gardener, so he purported to be, to cut a lawn and remove some plants whilst I bide my time for my spinal surgery appointment to arrive. The brief was quite clear, remove all the wallflowers but take care not to pull up any of the Iris's and Daffodils that lay around the periphery. The latter were sentimental as they were amongst some of the last garden planting jobs that my dad was able to supervise me prior to him passing away. It came as a shock to me that having paid him cash whilst he was loading his equipment into his van on the road outside my property and then venturing into the back garden to inspect the work he'd done only to discover that he'd removed all of the Iris's and Daffodils. He had long gone by the time I rushed back to flag him down and he also went on to ignore all of the calls and texts having left him a message on his answerphone of my dissatisfaction. The lesson I've learnt is that I'd neglected to do due diligence on what I'd consider a small(ish) and easy task for a so called person trading as up to the job. I also accept my responsibility for not checking his work prior to payment too.