Hi all
I was wondering whether I could gauge the pro's their opinions on a dcecorating job I've just had done. 2 bedrooms:
Bedroom (a) was 3.2m x 3.2m
Bedroom (b) was a box room - 1.8m x 2m
I had removed all wallpaper (right down to the wall) in both rooms (incl. ceilings). Job spec was:
1. Skim ceiling in box room and overboard / skim ceiling in larger room.
2. Prep, filler, sand and paint walls in both rooms
3. Prep, sand skirting and sills in both rooms (not doors as being replaced soon)
Price was £785 which included plaster boards and skim. I supplied all emulsion and gloss.
The price is what it is. I didn't shop around and on that point I'm mainly wondering whether that sounds 'about right'.
My main query is around the workmanship. The reason I used a decorator is because it took me ages to do the master bedroom myself and wanted to free up some time for the family. The walls in the room I did had all the holes filled / sanded to the point they can't be seen - I even chanelled out the light switch wiring and inserted trunking before covering back over in prep for a future re-wire, which you can't tell. There is no overlap between wall / ceiling paint in my own work.
The job took him 4 days, working 8am to 2:30pm each day. However it just does not look anywhere near as good as the room I did:
#The cutting in where the wall meets the ceiling is poor and just scruffy. I was under the impression that a professional would make it look like the 2 parts were painted separately then attached together. I'm going to have to touch this in myself.
#Similarly, where the wall meets the skirting - same issue. Emulsion on the skirting or not all the way down.
#Missed LOTS of obvious dents, etc. when filling. Simply painted over them. I paid him partly to get the prep right.
#Some of the filling looks just rushed - the dent / rawplug hole still visible yet the sanding so cr@p that the filler around the hole is also visible through the paint!
#Clearly not sanded the entire walls, only where he's attempted to fill (bits visible through the emulsion whihc would have burshed off easily with sandpaper, ie. a fleck of paper I'd missed when stripping here and there)
#Simply glossed over where various stray threads of the old carpet were touching the skirting rather than trim them off or masking tape the carpet!
#The overboarded ceiling - where he has skimmed over it, you can clearly see the shape of the plasterboards underneath, ie. the joins. Looks very poor
#Might be my naivety here (wondering whether you guys are allowed to loosen sockets?) but plastered / painted AROUND the bl00dy light fittings, switches and sockets instead of masking taping them, loosening slightly from the wall and 'getting in behind them'...
Sorry for the rant! I have this guy's invoice now but not yet paid. Reading the above, does it sound as though his work was genuinely not to the standards you'd be happy to put your name to as a pro? Or this this the generally accepted 'norm' in the industry? Were my expectations too high and unrealistic?
I just want to get an idea of this before I ring him about his bill.
Any help greatly appreciated!
Kind regards
W
I was wondering whether I could gauge the pro's their opinions on a dcecorating job I've just had done. 2 bedrooms:
Bedroom (a) was 3.2m x 3.2m
Bedroom (b) was a box room - 1.8m x 2m
I had removed all wallpaper (right down to the wall) in both rooms (incl. ceilings). Job spec was:
1. Skim ceiling in box room and overboard / skim ceiling in larger room.
2. Prep, filler, sand and paint walls in both rooms
3. Prep, sand skirting and sills in both rooms (not doors as being replaced soon)
Price was £785 which included plaster boards and skim. I supplied all emulsion and gloss.
The price is what it is. I didn't shop around and on that point I'm mainly wondering whether that sounds 'about right'.
My main query is around the workmanship. The reason I used a decorator is because it took me ages to do the master bedroom myself and wanted to free up some time for the family. The walls in the room I did had all the holes filled / sanded to the point they can't be seen - I even chanelled out the light switch wiring and inserted trunking before covering back over in prep for a future re-wire, which you can't tell. There is no overlap between wall / ceiling paint in my own work.
The job took him 4 days, working 8am to 2:30pm each day. However it just does not look anywhere near as good as the room I did:
#The cutting in where the wall meets the ceiling is poor and just scruffy. I was under the impression that a professional would make it look like the 2 parts were painted separately then attached together. I'm going to have to touch this in myself.
#Similarly, where the wall meets the skirting - same issue. Emulsion on the skirting or not all the way down.
#Missed LOTS of obvious dents, etc. when filling. Simply painted over them. I paid him partly to get the prep right.
#Some of the filling looks just rushed - the dent / rawplug hole still visible yet the sanding so cr@p that the filler around the hole is also visible through the paint!
#Clearly not sanded the entire walls, only where he's attempted to fill (bits visible through the emulsion whihc would have burshed off easily with sandpaper, ie. a fleck of paper I'd missed when stripping here and there)
#Simply glossed over where various stray threads of the old carpet were touching the skirting rather than trim them off or masking tape the carpet!
#The overboarded ceiling - where he has skimmed over it, you can clearly see the shape of the plasterboards underneath, ie. the joins. Looks very poor
#Might be my naivety here (wondering whether you guys are allowed to loosen sockets?) but plastered / painted AROUND the bl00dy light fittings, switches and sockets instead of masking taping them, loosening slightly from the wall and 'getting in behind them'...
Sorry for the rant! I have this guy's invoice now but not yet paid. Reading the above, does it sound as though his work was genuinely not to the standards you'd be happy to put your name to as a pro? Or this this the generally accepted 'norm' in the industry? Were my expectations too high and unrealistic?
I just want to get an idea of this before I ring him about his bill.
Any help greatly appreciated!
Kind regards
W
