I agree with NMKC regarding using a project manager. I might have spared myself some of the hell I'm currently going through. True, it's an added cost, but I suspect they pay for themselves in terms of getting the project over the line in a reasonable timeframe, not to mention the preservation of one's mental health.

Interesting, yet depressing comments regarding new builds. I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference between a good quality job and a poor one, which I'm sure is true of most people, and how the developers get away with it.

Being able to punch your way through a wall is one sign, but might not go down well on the viewing. My early 1960s house, for all its foibles, my electrician described as "the fortress", as chasing new wires through the walls was apparently a bone breaking experience, although he was doing that in an old fashioned way for some reason, I think to avoid excessive mess. He was one of the good guys I've dealt with.

Another anecdote recently came from a family member who is a quantity surveyor for a big house builder. They discovered, as an apartment building was under construction in London that, from the communal hallways, it would be possible for an intruder to break through the walls into apartments, using an axe or similar. The building had all the right amount of insulation and appropriate structural soundness etc to pass muster, but would've included this security flaw nonetheless. They resolved it by running plywood boards through the walls as well as the insulation to provide more of a barrier...

There are definitely good examples of new builds, but as suggested, will likely depend on the type of builder and the nature of the development, and will be added to the end cost to the buyer.

Housing isn't a very fun story in this country a lot of the time, especially considering what it costs. I can't see it getting better for the foreseeable.

Wet plywood is almost certainly a wipe out. If you can dry it out something like Sadolin may give you a few years.

It’s really for internal use in the dry. MDF and chipboard are fun when they get wet and those skirting boards made of mush which I have next to a shower are shite.

There’s a row of houses just down the road, built about 1840 with the original windows. They are being painted at the mo. Talking to the builder, he said they are fooked. However 200 years of treated pine tells us something. Sills we’re beach tho by the look.

If you can thoroughly dry the plywood, and you must to prevent further deterioration. I recommend this product it does work, but I guess it depends how far the wood has deteriorated already.

https://www.ronseal.com/...893eda8aa6/Clear/~/250ml