Rogues' gallery and cowboy fitters
Click on any thumbnail to see the photo and caption

Careless work:
  • Adjacent brickwork disturbed, mortar joints opened up, lets the rain in
  • Flap is missing
  • Tunnel lined with cardboard!
  • Plaster inside is cracked
29 April 2024
Emma S, Walton-on-Thames KT12
Pet door wrongly fitted externally:
  • Microchip cat flap will not function to exclude neighbours' cats
  • Appalling attempt at lining with cement!
  • Gaps in brickwork allow rain in
Neighbours cat coming in through the cat flap currently fitted in our wall.
31 October 2023
Donna F, Worcester Park KT4
Cat flap leaking rainwater into the house:
  • Massively oversized hole cut through wall and filled with copious amounts of foam filler
  • The tunnel lining has been installed upside down!
We had a cat flap installed by our builders when they did some work for us, but they installed it incorrectly and damaged it in the process of removing it to do some other building work, so we are now without a cat flap.
4 October 2022
Philip M, Surbiton KT6
Messy installation in decorative uPVC door 
​17 April 2024
Gill L, Croydon CR0
Pet door wrongly fitted to exterior face of wall:
  • Microchip cat flap will not function to exclude neighbours' cats
  • Pet door controls not accessible from indoors
  • Pet door subject to the elements, damaged by rain
We currently have a Sureflap microchip pet door fitted which is no longer working.
15 July 2022
Mrs Z, Chiselhurst BR7
  • Pet door controls not accessible indoors
Untidy cutting through brickwork:
  • The hole cut through the brickwork is too large requiring the circular plastic adaptor to hide the cement filler
  • The plastic lining is distorted within the tunnel
  • The cat flap is not horizontal
  • There is overbreak of the plaster on the inside requiring filling and re-decoration
21 September 2020
Denise H, Lingfield RH7
Cat flap leaking rainwater into the house:
  • Sealant was omitted from critical locations
The guys who installed our glass back door installed a cat flap but the door is leaking and the sealant itself seems to be coming off.​
1 November 2022
David Z, Tooting SW17
Poorly fitted cat flap
Tunnel lining all to pot!
Tunnel through wall mis-aligned:
  • Plastic tunnel lining segments do not join up
6 October 2022
Notified by Steve M, Edenbridge
Picture
Shoddy workmanship!
Shoddy cat flap installation in Georgian glazed door

Ugly use of sealant to fill the gap behind the cat flap.

Peckham SE15
February 2018
Slap-dash workmanship and inappropriate materials revealed:
  • The tunnel was lined with flimsy packing material
  • A failed attempt was made to seal the gap between the 'liner' and the wall using excessive sealant
  • I upgraded the cat flap to a SureFlap DualScan Microchip model, installed a proper SureFlap tunnel lining and replaced the external cat flap with the Staywell Classic
6 November 2016
Mary B, Balham SW12
Poorly fitted cat flap
Gaps hidden behind duct tape!
Door damaged by cat flap installation
  • Oversize hole cut for cat flap leaves a wide gap at the top
  • The middle wooden slat has dropped down into the gap
  • The gap has been concealed behind duct tape
  • The gap has not been sealed against rain and draughts
Peckham SE15
October 2016
This SureFlap was installed by builders who were refurbishing the house, but the homeowner said they didn't do it very well:
  • The SureFlap has been mounted higher than necessary making it less comfortable for the cat to access
  • The circular mounting adaptor is not required except to cover up any untidy over-cut of the hole through the wall
  • The plastic tunnel extenders are badly distorted so it is quite unsightly
  • The gap around the tunnel has not been filled or sealed so rain can enter the wall
5 November 2018
Catarina C, SE19
Appalling wall installation!
Attached are the pictures as requested, as you can see it needs completely replacing including the tunnel as it's very messy, especially from inside & possibly not entirely waterproof! It is currently a Catmate in/out standard flap.
8 August 2018
Just got home & wanted to say thanks for an amazing job, it looks so much better!
We will be sure to leave good feedback on your site.
Thanks again,
17 September 2018
Lisa B, CR0
Picture
Not a credit to the cat flap fitting trade!
Slap-dash fitting of SureFlap

This is the hole cut for a cat flap by a specialist cat flap fitter.
  • The hole has been cut very roughly causing the uPVC to crack in several places
  • The hole is oversize and not central along the bottom of the door panel
  • Chunks have been cut out rather than holes drilled for the screws on either side
  • Unsightly sealant was needlessly applied around the outer frame
  • The gap between the hole and the cat flap tunnel was not sealed against rain and wind
  • On the plus side, I expect installation was carried out in very little time!
Addiscombe CR0
2 July 2018
Dangerous SureFlap wall installation refurbished

Hi Phil,
There isn't a flap at the outer wall, only the frame, which has slipped out of place, the screws aren't attaching to anything. As you can see, the inner flap fitting has fallen out completely. The tunnel looks very ragged as it's not lined. I have two cats, both micro-chipped. ...it's rather chilly with a big hole in the wall.
Lynda

9 January 2018
Lynda A, Gravesend DA12
DIY attempt to remove double glazing

DIY failure!
Careless removal of the plastic glazing beads resulted in damage to the beads.
Silicone applied willy-nilly making it very difficult to remove the beads.

17 November 2017
Rachael S, SE19
SureFlap wall lining failure

We have a cat flap already but it has broken and are looking to have a more stable tunnel put through the wall with a new microchip cat flap. ... the tunnel dips in the wall and we want to try and make the tunnel more solid this time.

9 March 2017
Lisa W, Morden SM4
SureFlap Pet Door nightmare fitting!
Need help urgently - thanks!
16 October 2015
Nicky T, Oxted RH8