Poor workmanship and no responsibility afterwards
I am extremely disappointed and angry about how this issue was handled.
When we moved into the property in April 2023, I noticed that the external opening for the kitchen extractor was only 100mm, despite the manufacturer’s installation instructions clearly specifying a 150mm duct/outlet. The manufacturer’s guide also indicates approximately 100% performance with 150mm, 80% with 125mm and only 65% with 100mm.
I raised this with the builder and he agreed to come back and rectify it when he had time.
I trusted him. I waited.
I followed up on 9 May 2023, 29 May 2023, 10 July 2023, 22 March 2025, 21 September 2025 and 26 September 2025. On 1 October 2025, he finally replied and said that he would come when he had time.
He never came.
I then contacted him another eight times. He did not respond to a single one of those messages.
Meanwhile, we continued to live with an extractor that performed extremely poorly. Smoke and cooking smells would spread throughout the house and upstairs. This was not a minor inconvenience — it went on for years.
I even obtained a quotation from another contractor and offered him a straightforward solution: if he was too busy to come himself, I would arrange another contractor to carry out the work, with the cost covered by him.
He ignored that as well.
Eventually, I had to arrange for the problem to be dealt with myself.
And this is when I discovered just how poor the original installation actually was.
If I had not noticed the 100mm opening in the first place, I would never have asked for it to be corrected, and I would never have had any reason to open up the extractor and see what was underneath.
Once the cover was removed, I found several excessive bends and twists in the ducting, rather than a reasonably direct route. The duct was further restricted at the internal connection, and the ducting appeared to have been secured using ordinary adhesive tape rather than proper duct clamps. Part of the ducting had also become loose/disconnected.
Seeing the workmanship behind the cover was extremely disappointing. It gave me the impression that the installation had simply been completed and covered up, without proper attention being given to the quality and standard of the work underneath.
This was not what I expected from a professional installation. The manufacturer’s instructions clearly provide guidance on the required duct size and routing, yet what I found inside was a very different story.
The remedial work has now been completed. The ducting has been rerouted much more directly, properly connected and secured, and the external opening has been corrected.
What makes me most angry is not simply that the original installation was poor. It is the complete lack of responsibility afterwards.
I gave this builder years to put the problem right. He agreed to come. He did not come. I followed up repeatedly. He stopped responding. I even offered a practical alternative so that he would not have to come himself.
At some point, “I’ll come when I have time” has to mean something.
Instead, I was left to live with the consequences of the installation for years and eventually deal with the problem myself.
I find this extremely disappointing and, frankly, very frustrating. A professional should not simply walk away from a problem they have agreed to rectify.
Poor quality of work is unacceptable. Ignoring the customer, failing to honour your commitment and refusing to take responsibility are much harder to accept.