Go Get A Cup Of Tea

This will be a pretty long and ranting rant from Ranty Ranterstein from Rantbaden.

Even judged by the successive nadirs set by previous "Handwerker" (tradespeople), this has plumbed (how ironically apposite) new depths.

G got the first annoying surprise when nobody at all turned up this morning.  They were supposed to be there at 7:30 and we had hoped they'd be there for half a day and then gone. 
Until they came to finish the tiling. 

She phoned the company at 9.  "Emm, where is our plumber?"

CompanyGettingNoRecommendationsFromUs "Oh, is he meant to be at your house today?"

He turned up 30 minutes later (so, 2 hours late).  No apology.  What were we thinking?

And so here you're looking at our new shower. 

It's walk-in shower with a gently sloping floor to ensure the water drains away and doesn't flood the bathroom.  "Ah but" I hear you say "You're a tall chap, Peter, and surely when you stand under the shower the water is simply going to bounce off you over that wall and all over the bathroom."

You're absolutely correct.  That's why, when we first designed the bathroom with the Master designer about 4 months ago, we opted for a glass wall from the top of the small wall with tiles up to the ceiling - that way it would be nice and bright in the shower.

It was, therefore, a bit of a surprise when the latest multi-untalented Handwerker (one of the ones who was 2 hours late) asked G what she wanted to be built on top of the small wall (with tiles).

"Eh?" she said.

"I can build a cheap plexiglass wall if you like" said Herr Ohnefreunde* "I have plexiglass and it'll be in really quickly".

"Umm no" said G "We'd agreed on a glass wall."

"Ah" said Herr OhnefreundeabermiteinerneuenFeindin** "that'll cost extra and we'll have to order it.  It'll take a while."

There's something you want to hear when the project has run over time and you're heartily sick of everyone associated with it.

We have ordered the glass for the wall.  It will come.  Sometime.  You can't possibly say exactly when.

You might think now "Gosh what an unfortunate series of mistakes.  However, they can move on now."

But we're not finished.  Oh no.

They've also managed to put the pipes for the shower in the wrong way.  So when you turn the mixer in the direction that's ALWAYS hot in Germany, we get cold and obviously, vice versa.

They offered to hack out the tiles and plumb it properly.  That would only take another 2 weeks, because we'd have to order the tiles (again, at our expense) and then Herr Ichwerdedichignorierenwenndumirsagstdassichnichtimhausrauchendarf*** can come back and with all his subtle charm fix yet another cock-up.

This offer was politely declined.

So they started to clean up.  They lifted the protective floor covering that obviously wasn't protecting anything much.  "Oh would you look at that, some grouting has been spilled on your nice wooden floor.  I'll just chip it off.  Oh look at that big stain on your nice wooden floor.  The one that won't come out now.  That looks horrid, eh?"

Add in all the black scrapes in the stairwell, which will need repainted, and I think you can say that it has been a completely crap job really badly done.  They must be so proud.

And because they still have things to do, we're trying not to antagonise them.  But once everything is put to rights, there will be a conversation with the owner of the business.  And he will be told in no uncertain terms how unnacceptable the whole thing is and was.

Oh and in case you thought that was it, the plumber refused to rehang our mirror because it needed wired in and he "doesn't do electrics."

Monday - I salute you - you have excelled yourself.

There must be a beer somewhere in the house.  Would you like one too?  

*Without friends
**Without friends but with a new foe
**I will ignore you when you tell me that I'm not allowed to smoke in your house