Contractor admits preparatory flooring work ‘did not meet the standards we expect’

A TENANT says she was left “angry, stressed and upset” after work carried out on her wetroom floor allegedly caused further damage and raised concerns about potential flooding.

In an email complaint seen by The Herald, Katie Louise-Howells, from Milford Haven, said her wetroom floor needed replacing after anti-slip flooring “blew”, allowing water to seep underneath the material and into the concrete base.

She claimed a contractor from Cardo was assigned to the job and was in her home for around 30 minutes, leaving behind what she described as an “appalling” standard of workmanship.

The tenant said she contacted Cardo the following morning to complain and requested that a supervisor attend to inspect the work.

She alleged the contractor returned before the supervisor arrived, but she refused to let him continue until the standard of work had been reviewed.

According to the complaint, a supervisor later attended and agreed the work was not to the “best of standards”, but the tenant claimed it was dismissed as a “work in progress”.

The tenant alleged self-levelling compound had been poured over old anti-slip flooring and trim without proper preparation.

She also claimed the material had been spread over her threshold and toilet, and that product had been left outside her home.

She added that her daughter stepped into a half bag of mix which had allegedly been spilled on the driveway.

Drainage concerns

The tenant said she later sought advice from WB Griffiths and another self-employed contractor.

She claimed she was told there was now “no other choice” but to have a tray fitted, as the floor had not been properly feathered and there was no proper run for water to drain away.

She said this could potentially lead to flooding issues, and added that she would now like a surround fitted around the tray to help prevent spillages.

“I am so angry,” she wrote.

She said she was not asking for compensation, but wanted the work completed to a “high and good standard” to prevent further problems.

The tenant also claimed Cardo had not admitted fault or apologised.

Cardo response

Responding to the concerns, Rhydian James, Managing Director of Cardo (Wales & West), said: “Cardo carried out preparatory flooring works on behalf of its client.

“We recognise that the work undertaken did not meet the standards we expect, and we are sorry for this.

“Due to scheduling and access challenges, it was agreed with the client that the remaining works would be completed directly by them to help minimise disruption to the resident, and we were therefore unable to return to site to address the issues.

“We have addressed this with those involved to ensure this does not happen again.”

Tenant remains unhappy

After being shown Cardo’s response, the tenant said she remained unhappy with the way the situation had been handled.

She claimed there had been a lack of professionalism throughout and said she felt she had been left to do “all the chasing” because of what she described as vague communication.

She also criticised what she described as poor working practices, claiming the floor had not been properly prepared and that dust sheets were not used while wet mix was brought into her home.

She further alleged that rubbish and leftover product were left outside her property and on her driveway.

“There was no pride at all,” she added.

The tenant said she is now waiting for the remaining work to be completed and hopes the issues can be resolved quickly to ensure the wetroom is safe and properly finished.

A TOWN or Community Councillor in Pembrokeshire is being sought to fill a vacancy on the committee responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct across the county.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Standards Committee currently has an opening for a representative from a Town or Community Council.

The committee plays a key role within the authority, including reviewing reports from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales relating to alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct.

To be eligible, applicants must be a serving member of a Town or Community Council within the Pembrokeshire County Council area.

Anyone interested in applying is asked to contact Kate Matthews from the council’s Democratic Services team via email at [email protected]. An application form will then be provided.

Completed applications must be returned by Friday (June 12). Interviews are expected to take place later that month.

The time commitment for the role can vary, although the Standards Committee typically holds four scheduled meetings each year, along with additional meetings if required.

The successful applicant will serve for the remainder of the current council term, until the local elections in May 2027, with the possibility of a further five-year extension.

An appointment panel will conduct interviews and make recommendations to the full council based on set criteria.

A VOTE for Reform will end in chaos for the Welsh Government if they gain power, and Plaid Cymru’s childcare proposals are “unsustainable without swingeing cuts,” Labour Senedd hopeful Eluned Morgan has warned.

The May 7 Senedd elections will see 44 candidates fighting for your vote in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion in the new Ceredigion Penfro constituency stretching from north of Aberystwyth to Angle in the southwest and Llanteg in the southeast.

There are six Welsh Conservatives candidates, Plaid Cymru has eight candidates, Wales Green Party has six candidates, Reform UK also has six candidates, Welsh Labour is fielding seven candidates, Welsh Liberal Democrats have six candidates, one candidate is standing for Gwlad, and one for Heritage Party – Keep Our Countryside Green, along with three independents.

If a party wins enough votes, they will win one or more seats in the Senedd; if an independent candidate wins enough votes, they will win a seat in the Senedd.

Seats will reflect the percentage of votes each party or independent candidate gets.

One of those standing is Labour’s Eluned Morgan, most recently First Minister, who spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in Narberth recently.

Many polls have suggested Labour is going to be hit hard by the ballot box on May 7, Eluned Morgan responding: “Polls are massively challenging, but nobody’s cast a vote yet, there’s a lot of undecided people out there.

“One of the things that comes up a lot [in canvassing] is the NHS, we need a sustainable offer in the future, at the beginning of the campaign there were a lot of scare stories about Withybush’s emergency department being closed, every election they say the same: ‘Withybush will close,’ and it never does.

“If we get in, we’ll have a £4bn programme for hospitals; there needs to be a new hospital in west Wales.

“We’ve spent a lot of money – £12m – on supporting Withybush, you don’t do that if you want to close a hospital.”

Polls have indicated one single party may not be able to gain enough votes to govern.

On the issue of a potential coalition or working closer with another party like Plaid Cymru, she said: “I’m not making promises on anything until after the election, what I will say is we won’t under any circumstances work with Reform, it’s important our values are clear and we wouldn’t work with them.”

On Reform she added: “People should think carefully about the services that they rely on and ask the question can they be assured they would continue if Reform were in power? They are untested, they have no coherence as a group.

“I know a win for Reform will end in chaos for the Welsh Government if they are the majority party.”

Plaid Cymru has pledged to provide universal childcare for children aged nine months to four years if the party forms the next Welsh government.

Responding, Eluned said: “Plaid are making promises way beyond what is affordable, their childcare offer we know is simply unsustainable without swingeing cuts in public services.

“I think that if Plaid is the majority party there will be public sector pay freezes for around 350,000 people in Wales if they fulfil their promises around childcare. We’re talking nurses, teachers, binmen, council office workers; because I can’t see where the money’s coming from.”

On her recent call for the controversial DARC ‘space radar’ proposals at Brawdy to be halted, she said: “During an election people need to know where you stand; Trump’s behaviour recently and his criticism in particular of the British armed forces has been unacceptable, his insults to people who served in Afghanistan really cut people.

“Until we get more clarity on whether he is a reliable partner I don’t think it is time to start a new defence project.”