Strongly advise avoiding Buildtech
I have to strongly recommend that clients and contractors avoid working with Buildtech. My experience dealing with Buildtech was extremely poor.
Some of the main issues I experienced were:
- The extension design that Buildtech went to site with was unbuildable as it encroached on the shared boundary wall. When this was discovered the extension design was significantly changed and the foundations were poured for this new design without any consultation or approval by me. When I pushed back on this, work was stopped and delayed. Buildtech put forward several solutions that didn't seem workable. In the end we proceeded with a solution that I proposed.
- Originally the project was meant to be completed within 4 months. The project was still ongoing over 9 months later. Beyond the approximately two-month delay relating to the foundations, I was not given any satisfactory explanation for the remaining delays other than the work not progressing to the agreed schedule. According to Buildtech these delays were caused by me and they are charging me more for the work, even though they have not produced any evidence showing how I delayed the project.
- Throughout the project delays were also attributed to subcontractors hired by Buildtech, but when I contacted these subcontractors the explanations for the delays differed significantly from what I had been told by Buildtech. Despite Buildtech managing the project and engaging these contractors, I was also repeatedly directed to resolve problems with the contractors myself.
- At the end of the project before all agreed work had been completed, snagging had been carried out, or the required certificates had been provided I received an email telling me they were finished working on the project. Since then, I have repeatedly tried to get the outstanding work completed and obtain the certificates and documentation agreed in the contract. My attempts to resolve these issues with the company have been unsuccessful. After multiple emails and phone calls only one member of staff has been in contact with me and although they have told me they are trying to resolve the issue, they have also clearly told me multiple times that this is not their job. In particular, I have been unable to get meaningful engagement from the company director for over a year regarding these issues and others that arose during the project.
As of writing this review, more than a year and a half after the originally agreed completion date, I am still trying to obtain important documentation that formed part of the project, including my engineer's certification and completed SEAI documentation.
Because of these issues and many more besides I would have to strongly advise clients and contractors against working with Buildtech to avoid the many issues and stresses that I faced working with them.