When renovations go bad
Michelle Slatter, 30, was left with a badly broken nose and her young son, Cody, narrowly escaped serious injury – or worse – when this overhead kitchen cupboard full of glass and crockery came crashing down just before dinner time.  The cupboard had been put up illegally in the northern suburbs home by unlicensed builders as part of a $12,000 kitchen renovation.

When renovations go bad
DAVID NANKERVIS
August 13, 2006
IT was meant to be a dream kitchen – but it went disastrously wrong when a bogus builder turned it into a nightmare.

Michelle Slatter, 30, was left with a badly broken nose and her young son, Cody, narrowly escaped serious injury – or worse – when this overhead kitchen cupboard full of glass and crockery came crashing down just before dinner time.

The cupboard had been put up illegally in the northern suburbs home by unlicensed builders as part of a $12,000 kitchen renovation.

Building industry experts say the makeover disaster is part of a growing problem of bogus "tradesmen" ripping off homeowners.

"The cupboard had only been put up three days before it came crashing down, shattering my nose and then smashing into the floor just centimetres from my son Cody," Mrs Slatter said. "My face was a mess. I had to go to hospital and missed eight weeks' work, but thank God the cupboard didn't kill my son."

Mrs Slatter was also grateful her other son, Jamie, now 12, and husband Brad were not in the kitchen.

Brad later told a building consultant he heard the crash and rushed into the kitchen and saw "all the broken glass ... and her nose was pushed over to the side of her face and bleeding very profusely."

Consumer Affairs said the frightening experience of the Slatter family was a warning to homeowners to check builders and tradesmen were officially licensed.

JD Stylus Home Renovations, the company responsible for the dodgy renovation in April 2004, was convicted in the Adelaide Magistrates Court this week of offences relating to unlicensed building and electrical work. Owners Jai Billy Henderson and David John Costi were fined $8500 and $7500 respectively, plus legal costs.

The company – which had a history of bad debts and was trading despite being declared bankrupt in Queensland in 2003 – was one of 14 builders prosecuted by Consumer Affairs in the past 12 months.

A false licence number had been used by Henderson and Costi on the company letterhead to fool customers into believing they were licensed.

Peter Jankovic of SA Building Consultants, who investigated the renovation, said the cupboard could have killed Mrs Slatter or Cody, who was 18 months at the time.

He said the collapse was due to the use of short, incorrectly installed and unsuitable screws and plugs to support the weight of the cupboard and crockery.

"With the amount of building work being done in the past five years there certainly has been an increase in the number of cowboys in the industry," Mr Jankovic said.

The Master Builders Association agreed.

"There has been an increase in bogus builders because some people don't want to wait for legitimate tradesmen, but not only can they get an appalling job, they miss out on any warranty or insurance for the work," chief executive officer Robert Stewart said.

Consumer Affairs Commissioner Mark Bodycoat urged homeowners to be careful who they employed to do renovation work.

"One of the main reasons builders and tradespeople have to be licensed is to protect consumers against sub-standard work," he said.

Since the renovation disaster Mrs Slatter has had another kitchen installed – after double checking the company's qualifications.

She hopes other families could learn from her bad experience.

"You can never be too careful when checking someone's credentials," she said.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20106900-2682,00.html