STRONG WARNING NOT TO USE WHJ FOR ANY DEMOLITION WORK

STRONG WARNING NOT TO USE WHJ PROJECTS FOR ANY DEMOLITION WORK

We had a TERRIBLE experience with Wensley - and the raggedy team he brought onto our property - and would strongly recommend you do not touch this company! Please feel free to contact us for further information.

Should you wish to read the details – here they are.

1. We contracted WHJ Projects to fill in our swimming pool. This was based on the promise of professionalism and the assumption of the company being as ethical as you would conclude from their website.

2. Wensley assured us that he would be bring specialised demolition machinery to demolish our pool and even measured out the pathway to the pool several times before the work began, assuring us it was wide enough to take the machines. He led us to believe he was a professional demolisher with the right equipment which is why we gave him the job.

However, as soon as he was on site – he said he wasn’t going to bring in the special machine and when pressed by us as to why not, he said he had changed his mind - giving the strange reason “every pool is different “. Even though he knew at the outset that the pool was an 85 000 litre GUNNITE seriously reinforced pool, he then set out with a gang of three men, two jackhammers and one angle grinder to attempt to demolish the pool.

3. From day one, everything turned out to be a nightmare. He promised to be on site on the first day at 9 am. He only pitched three hours later. There was pitiful site set up, the pool emptying was without a plan and nerve wracking. He attempted to empty 85 000 litres in three hours over the garden and flower beds. It was apparent on day one that Wensley realised he had underquoted – and wanted to fill the pool with anything! He got a load of building rubble delivered that arrived which included painters’ ******* (old silicon guns), tree stumps, and some other filthy *******.

4. After realising that we did not have a professional demolisher - but an *********, low grade bakkie contractor – we then read reviews (like the one by Martinus above) and realised that we would have MASSIVE problems with sink holes and drainage if we allowed Wensley to carry on throwing all the demolished concrete from the sides of the pool and underneath the crazy paving. We informed Wensley we did not want huge chunks of concrete to fill the pool as it was very clear that we would have huge problems down the line. There is no proper compaction that can be done with massive chunks of concrete that fill half the cavity. We asked that the concrete that was demolished from the sides of the pool and under the paving , to be broken down into a much smaller size. Wensley was not happy about this instruction and downed tools after the fourth day and did not come to work on the Friday. 5. It was also apparent that Wensley cut the corners with the drainage holes. The pool had a flat surface area of 75m2 yet he only cut 6 small holes which of course would have been hugely inadequate in a very wet winter like we have recently had. 6. On day 2, Wensley realised that he had not calculated how much fill the pool needed and then started badgering us to order in topsoil and compost – even though he had quoted for this. He said on day 2 that he wanted the job done by the end of the week and that we had to get all the soil on site so that the workers were not held up waiting. This was hugely stressful as it was very clear that the job that they intended on doing was going to be very inferior – filled with huge chunks of concrete on top of inadequate drainage. 7. After Wensley downed tools on the Thursday and did not come back to site on the Friday, it was very clear to us that we needed to terminate the contract. We did not want to continue with a seriously sub-standard job that was going to lead to MASSIVE problems down the line. 8. A reckoning of the money we had given him as deposit was done, and Wensley committed in writing that he would refund us several thousand rands. Despite several excuses and recommitments to settling this debt, to date, this has not been done. 9. We had to get in a different contractor who removed EVERY SINGLE BIT OF RUBBLE, and put in drainage trenches every 40 cm that ran the breadth of the pool. We then filled up the pool with sand and topsoil. 10. It was an awful experience using Wensley and his team. In closing, Wensley is a blatant **** who does not follow through on his promises, constantly changes his story, and apparently has no regard for his professional reputation. Avoid, Avoid, Avoid!!!