Woman who wanted to convert her bathroom into an office reveals she's been left with holes in the walls and a leaking ceiling

• Michelle, from Manchester, has struggled to find the right builder for three years
• READ MORE: Cowboy builder is back in business… and still ripping people off!

A woman has been left with holes in her walls and a ceiling on the brink of collapse three years after trying to start her renovations – and is struggling to find a decent trader to repair the damage.

Michelle and her husband Tom, from Manchester, were searching for a builder to transform their bathroom into an office, and after getting several quotes, they settled on one for the affordable price of £9,000.

But there was a catch – an 18 month wait – and the builder then pushed the job back by two months before eventually cancelling, because they had too much business to choose from.

Keen to get the work done, Michelle and Tom hired another builder from a recommendation, but again had to wait six months. However, when the work finally started, things went wrong and she was left with a leaking ceiling that blew the electrics.

Now, the mother-of-two has featured in a the ITV Tonight series Help! We Need a Builder: Britain’s Skills Shortage, to illustrate the severe shortage of quality skilled tradespeople in the UK.

The builders shoddy attempt to renovate Michelle’s house had the opposite effect, and caused the kitchen ceiling to start leaking

It is estimated that the UK requires nearly a million new recruits in trades and construction over the next decade, according to a recent survey by CheckATrade.

At the same time, demand for these services is soaring, creating chaos that threatens homeowners.

The national shortage of skilled tradespeople is estimated to cost the UK £12 billion a year, and one-third of skilled tradespeople 50 plus will likely retire in the next decade, according to InsightDIY.

As a result, nearly half of UK homeowners have struggled to employ a tradesperson for their projects or maintenance, with the top excuse cited as no availability.

Television presenter and journalist Michelle Ackerely set out to discover why in the documentary, and in doing so, delved into Michelle’s case.

The mother-of-two hired a builder to renovate her bathroom, but she was left with holes in her walls

Michelle likened her situation to a ‘mess’ and her renovations are still incomplete three years after she first started the process

Michelle moved into the house three years ago with her husband, Tom, and her two children.

The couple wanted to convert a small bathroom into an office and one of the bedrooms into a larger bathroom, but finding a quote seemed impossible.

Talking on the show, Michelle said: ‘People say try and get three quotes from at least three builders, but it is so hard.

She added: ‘When you do get people round, they spend time and then they don’t get back to you, and you just think: “Why are you wasting both are our time?”‘

Eventually, Michelle and Tom were recommended a building firm that offered an affordable quote of £9,000.

Michelle explained: ‘They said there was an 18-month wait, which at the time… we thought, “That’s ok, we can deal with that, we would rather wait for somebody good”.’

Michelle (pictured), from Manchester has explained her nightmare experience in a new ITV documentary, Help! We Need a Builder: Britain’s Skills Shortage

But the waiting time only got longer because the builder pushed the work back a further three months before finally pulling out of the job altogether.

‘I was really quite upset at the time, and just the thought of having to go through it all again, get people in, get quotes, and wait,’ Michelle said.

Two months later, the pair found another company willing to do the work.

Initially, the builder said work would start in four to six weeks. But once again, the couple were faced with an additional wait.

Six months later, the builder finally started the job in October last year.

But things only got worse, and Michelle quickly realised that the builder was doing a shoddy job.

Michelle explained: ‘I’m not an expert, but I know that a board hasn’t been put on straight, I can see that, a pipe hasn’t been put in the right place, I just felt really concerned with everything that he was doing.’

Three weeks later, the kitchen ceiling started leaking.

Michelle explained: ‘Water was leaking through the ceiling through the light fittings, it blew all the electrics.

‘We thought the ceiling was going to come in at one point. It was just the last thing that I needed.’

Given the poor quality of the work, Michelle and Tom requested that the builder stop the job and provide a partial refund of just over £5,000 for the damage caused.

However, once again, things went from bad to worse.

‘When we phoned to complain about the work, he was really abusive and threatening over the phone, I was in tears,’ Michelle said.

They failed to receive a refund and were told by a sperate contractor that the work must be started from scratch.

Three years on from when the couple first set out to get work done, the couple are left in a worse position from when they started.

Not only have they wasted time, but also £7,500 – the price the builder charged, despite creating a ‘mess’.

‘We’re just left with a room that we can’t use, got holes in the wall, holes in the ceiling, it’s just a mess,’ she concluded.

Now, the family must go through the entire process again in a bid to find a trustworthy tradesperson.

Help! We Need A Builder: Britain’s Skills Shortage – Tonight, ITV1 8:30pm and ITVX

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