Avid gym enthusiasts, who paid their pensioner neighbour £53,000 to construct a luxury workout room at their £560,000 home in Pinner, Middlesex during the lockdown in 2020, have taken legal action against him, alleging that they were forced to demolish the structure due to its substandard quality.
Paras Dodhia, an accountant, and his wife Devina filed a lawsuit against Tommy Joyce, 66, claiming that the building was "shoddy" and lacked proper workmanship.
They are now seeking £215,000 in damages, including £160,000 for legal fees.
The dispute centers around the alleged poor construction of the gym, which the Dodhias believed would be their ideal fitness space.
According to Dodhia, the gym room had to be completely gutted due to its atrocious workmanship, and he criticised Joyce for hiring workers with questionable skills.
Their barrister argued that Joyce had represented himself as experienced and capable of building the gym.
The Dodhias want him to be held accountable for his alleged gross negligence.
The dispute arose after the Dodhias received a handwritten quote from Joyce in September 2020, but by February 2021, they complained that the works were far from complete and that the costs exceeded the original estimate.
Two builders hired by Dodhia assessed the project and quoted around £20,000 to rectify the defects and poor workmanship.
An independent surveyor confirmed the poor quality of the construction and recommended gutting the entire building, except for the block work walls, slab floor, and roof.
The estimated cost of remedial works was £55,858. The gym has since been rebuilt after being demolished.
Joyce's defense argued that he should not be held responsible for work carried out by others, as he presented himself as a retired groundworks foreman and machine driver.
He claimed that he was assisting Dodhia in realising his vision of constructing a home gym during the lockdown, and denied offering to design and construct the outbuilding.
The judge reserved judgment in the case after two days of court proceedings.
