builders in bulgaria

twinklecaz wrote:

Thanks for the feedback. We have an English bloke who lives permanently  in Bulgaria  overseeing the work  thatthe young lad does, but I would be happier if we had an English builder instead. the frustration for me is that I am a builder but don,t  get enough annual holidays to do the work myself.

This sounds so familiar.....

I am not sure if this will help but you can decide. Have a look at www.workaway.info

@twinklecaz

It is important to know that BG 'meisters' are not even as skilled as DIY enthuisiasts in the UK. It is also important that they are vat registered as a bare minimum of professionalism.  Even hiring those, we've had very very many problems.

We have lost thousands of euros hiring idiots who do everything wrongly.  They can't even paint properly, or lay laminate correctly.  We have had off vertical walls, and adjoining walls early in the build, with no right angles and windows at differing heights. etc. and all had to be redone (pay the imbeciles twice and buy materials twice.)   We got them to lay cut stone on the petchka wall in our kitchen, and one day when we were absent they decided to paint the sides of the stone.  Now it looks like imitation stone wallpaper . I have never seen such stupidity or incompetence anywhere.  BG builders are probably the worst in Europe. Buyer beware.

It's the same everywhere!  I've lived in various countries around the world, latterly in England for decades.  I had renovations/improvements carried out in the properties I owned, and quickly realised that the most important single item to install at any new home is a hitching-rail for the local cowboys' horses...

I spent years trying to find a good builder here, just as I did in the UK; I did eventually manage it but even he has his own foibles and sometimes-crackpot ideas.  At least it usually costs you less here in BG to discover that you've managed to find yet another shamateur, despite glowing recommendations from people who either don't know what decent building work looks like or are happy to let other unsuspecting fools join them in their misery..

Not restricted to Bulgaria sadly. Perhaps standards across Europe have slipped. My husband worked as an electrician in France for 9 years and some of his work was correcting major messes that others had done. Good tradesmen are like gold dust across Europe.