We're 5 months into a '3 month' house renovation and I feel like I would struggle to recommend any one of the tradespeople who have come through our door. We've had issues with the plastering, tiling, carpentry, electrics and decorating. Even the stone worktop company- somewhere which installs high-end stone worktops- left a big gap between upstand and wall and only offered to come back and fix it when chased.

I basically feel like I'm babysitting the main contractor at this stage, asking him to put out fires (e g. leaks, rain ingress, faulty workmanship) that would never have started had he maintained proper oversight of the project and site.

Is this a normal experience? There's definitely been good stuff amidst the bad and no one's been a complete cowboy or anything, and the end is in sight. Sometimes I think maybe I'm too particular but then again it's our life savings plus a remortgage so why wouldn't I be?…