Episode 4
10 October 2010 - Rugby
Dominic Littlewood and Sheree Murphy continue to track down renegade builders and rescue their unfortunate victims. This week, the pair head to Warwickshire to assist the Collins family. While Dominic embarks on an investigation to track down the cowboy, Sheree works tirelessly to rebuild the family home until it is once again a happy and safe place to live.
This week, it is as clear as ever that the damage caused by rogue builders runs far deeper than bad workmanship. In Warwickshire, Rob and Wendy Collins have had their home wrecked and their lives put at risk by an unscrupulous builder. Having been plunged into debt and lost countless nights of sleep over the state of their property, the couple do not know where to turn. Luckily, Dominic and Sheree are on hand to help. “She fixes the houses, I chase the bad guys,” explains Dom.
Upon arrival at the scaffold-ridden home, builder John takes a look around the loft conversion, which the couple had hoped would improve their lives by affording them more space. Instead, they have been left with trapped electrical wires that pose a serious fire risk, a vital supporting beam that is too small to bear the weight of the roof, and a fragile floor that threatens to cave in on daughter Amber’s bedroom. In fact, Rob’s cardboard model of the desired loft room is in better shape than the actual building. Without further delay, the family moves out and the team begins the mammoth task of rebuilding the botched conversion.
After salvaging what they can of the half-constructed floor, the builders get stuck into strengthening, boarding and insulating the loft room until it is finally structurally sound and ready for furnishing. Downstairs, Sheree races against time to redecorate the rest of the house. Furthermore, she faces a battle with chief builder John as she tries to stretch the budget to include another bedroom and the bathroom. "Cue the chaos! As our deadline draws near, we’ve got furniture to build, rooms to dress – and I’m sticking
to my word with the bathroom,” she declares.
In order to raise more funds, Sheree heads into town and throws herself at the mercy of local traders. “Four rooms to decorate now. No flooring, no carpet, no money,” she says. Luckily, local suppliers are more than happy to assist a family in need, meaning Sheree returns with flooring, carpets, wallpaper and furniture – all for free. But with only 24 hours left to go, will the renovation be completed in time?
While Sheree and the building team have been transforming Rob and Wendy’s home into the property they deserve, Dominic has been busy investigating the dodgy builder – who it seems has upset more than one family. The cowboy has been sued in the past and disqualified from running a company. As a sole trader, he has a history of leaving jobs unfinished, erecting unsound structures and avoiding all responsibility for the lives he has turned upside down. However, Dom is adamant that the builder’s trail of destruction will end here. Armed with a dossier of the builder’s shoddy work, Dom confronts him and exposes him to the nation.
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