Even the pros can't get a builder

[Owain]

couples on the best way to turn their homes into the epitome of style comes easily to TV makeover expert Anna Ryder Richardson. ... But now the Changing Rooms presenter has told how her dream of transforming the former headquarters of the Scottish Football Association into her own home has turned into a nightmare. Ms Ryder Richardson bought the five-storey terraced property in the West End of Glasgow for £600,000 with the intention of turning it into a dream home for her and her partner, Colin MacDougall. But two and a half years on, she is still living in a rented house because she is unable to find builders willing to take on the mammoth renovation. ... Ms Ryder Richardson said: "Two and a half years ago we bought this huge terraced house in one of Glasgow's loveliest crescents from the SFA - and I admit I have definitely bitten off more than I can chew. I don't regret it, but it's been an enormous learning curve and the builders are only just going in now. "Initially it was such a big project we really didn't know where to start. But now we have a quantity surveyor in charge and he's put it into perspective for us. One of the biggest problems has been finding a building firm that's large enough to take on the job - builders kept saying it was too big for them. But our surveyor has put it out to tender to six different builders, work is set to begin any minute and it's actually going to happen."

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Suppose there might be little between the average jobbing builder who works on ordinary houses and the large companies who do new builds, etc?

[Al Reynolds]

Nah - I reckon the builders would have loved the job but got cold feet when they realised that any mistakes they made might well end up on TV...

Al

[Chris Doran]

I am reminded of a story told me by a retired builder:

It seems his wife got tired of the fact that he never got around to any of the repairs required to their own home, so in exasperation she 'phoned another builder for a quote. Naturally, the person who answered the call was the other builder's wife who said she had the same problem. So they agreed to do each other's repairs as normal work jobs, an arrangement which lasted for years.

Chris