Sounds like he knows what he's doing. Fingers crossed.
Months Of DIY Work Destroyed In 2 Days...
- Thread starter Spuggy1uk
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I hope so!
Remember that a skim is no more than 1-2mm thick. It is supposed to go on really thin. The base structure needs to be completely flat and clean; any imperfections on the substrate will come through and will need correcting beforehand. You need to make sure whoever does redo the job fixes all the imperfections before skimming. Knocking down the high points and re-leveling the wall with some bonding and a straight edge for non-flat walls is standard practise for a perfect skim - plasterers will take shortcuts and your best counter is to know what needs doing. Youtube is your friend.
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You don't need a written contract. Contracts can be verbal. Plus, you expect a professional job from a trader.
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What’s the new bloke charging? You can knock that off of it for a start and if it comes to more, send him a bill for any extra.
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one thing I learned (the hard way) is to always check that the person quoting for the job will be onsite doing the job and managing it.
Twice people said they would do something and then somebody else turns up and messes it up.
But muggins here just paid up and tried to forget about it!
Will wait and see what he comes back with. There will be two jobs priced for; the plastering that was not completed before I sacked off the original 'plasterer', and the rectification work.
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OK, legally you should have given plasterer no1 an opportunity to correct his bad workmanship, but we know this isn't going to happen. This does put you somewhat on the back foot, so there may have to be a certain amount of bluff in your response - i.e. challenging plasterer no1 to sue you for his bill. All the advice out there will suggest you have to give him an opportunity to correct.
Wait and see what plasterer no2 comes up with to correct the work. If it is less than plasterer no1's bill then you should pay him the difference. I suspect it won't be.
Rather than just sit on plasterer no1's bill, and not pay it, you are going to have to start creating a paper trail to justify why you are not going to pay it. Perhaps you need to respond by saying something along the lines of " I employed you to do a professional job with skill and care and it isn't because [specific documented reasons and photos]. I am employing a new plasterer to correct your bad workmanship. He is going to charge me [££] to correct your poor work". then if this is less than his bill "I will only pay you the difference between your bill and plasterer no2's bill" or if it's more "I am not going to pay you for poor and totally unsatisfactory workmanship. I am entitled to recover my additional costs from you in the form of damages. I reserve the right to do this in the future".
Easy for me to write - not so easy for you at the coal face of this problem, so it's also going to depend on the actualities and personalities, but whatever you do try and do it by email not verbally so you have a record just in case this ends up in county court. Also take photos of all the remedial work required.
gw.legal
Wait and see what plasterer no2 comes up with to correct the work. If it is less than plasterer no1's bill then you should pay him the difference. I suspect it won't be.
Rather than just sit on plasterer no1's bill, and not pay it, you are going to have to start creating a paper trail to justify why you are not going to pay it. Perhaps you need to respond by saying something along the lines of " I employed you to do a professional job with skill and care and it isn't because [specific documented reasons and photos]. I am employing a new plasterer to correct your bad workmanship. He is going to charge me [££] to correct your poor work". then if this is less than his bill "I will only pay you the difference between your bill and plasterer no2's bill" or if it's more "I am not going to pay you for poor and totally unsatisfactory workmanship. I am entitled to recover my additional costs from you in the form of damages. I reserve the right to do this in the future".
Easy for me to write - not so easy for you at the coal face of this problem, so it's also going to depend on the actualities and personalities, but whatever you do try and do it by email not verbally so you have a record just in case this ends up in county court. Also take photos of all the remedial work required.
Building claims: How to challenge shoddy building work
Having work done of your home is an exciting time but it can also be incredibly disruptive – from surviving without a bathroom for a couple of...
gw.legal
How many walls did they
When I confronted the original plasterer, I gave him several opportunities to get the work sorted, but he just stood there looking shocked saying "What do you want me to do?" When I replied "I'm not a plasterer, what do you think you can you do?", he just repeated over and over "It's within tolerance, what do you want me to do?"OK, legally you should have given plasterer no1 an opportunity to correct his bad workmanship, but we know this isn't going to happen. This does put you somewhat on the back foot, so there may have to be a certain amount of bluff in your response - i.e. challenging plasterer no1 to sue you for his bill. All the advice out there will suggest you have to give him an opportunity to correct.
Wait and see what plasterer no2 comes up with to correct the work. If it is less than plasterer no1's bill then you should pay him the difference. I suspect it won't be.
Rather than just sit on plasterer no1's bill, and not pay it, you are going to have to start creating a paper trail to justify why you are not going to pay it. Perhaps you need to respond by saying something along the lines of " I employed you to do a professional job with skill and care and it isn't because [specific documented reasons and photos]. I am employing a new plasterer to correct your bad workmanship. He is going to charge me [££] to correct your poor work". then if this is less than his bill "I will only pay you the difference between your bill and plasterer no2's bill" or if it's more "I am not going to pay you for poor and totally unsatisfactory workmanship. I am entitled to recover my additional costs from you in the form of damages. I reserve the right to do this in the future".
Easy for me to write - not so easy for you at the coal face of this problem, so it's also going to depend on the actualities and personalities, but whatever you do try and do it by email not verbally so you have a record just in case this ends up in county court. Also take photos of all the remedial work required.
Building claims: How to challenge shoddy building work
Having work done of your home is an exciting time but it can also be incredibly disruptive – from surviving without a bathroom for a couple of...
It was clearly going nowhere, so at that point I invited him and his labourer to leave.
We have already sought the advice of a second plasterer. He has seen the work, confirmed its way out of any NHBC tolerance and well below the standard of any professional plasterer. We are currently awaiting his quote to remedy the awful quality work, but he has said it will definately involve ripping out and re-boarding two entire window reveals, moving two door frames outwards, possibly new fire-rated cement boards in the fireplace (if I cant chip off the non-compliant rubbish which was put on there), and knocking off several blown corners and bodged internal corners. He also confirmed that the whole lot was plastered in one thick coat, rather than two thin skims as normal. This means that as it continues to dry, more cracks will appear as the outer face dries faster than the inner face. Indeed, cracks are still appearing one week on, and since the original post of this thread, two entire corners have broken away.
Thank you for your useful advice and link, I will take a look tomorrow on my day off.
I feel your pain.Just an observation on plaster bubbling on the cement board, Ive found that if its not primed with sbs any plaster seems to bubble and peel off because it dries too fast. Is there going to be a live flue and what kind in there
Yes, typically 2mm then 1mm and it’s typically trowelled about 6 or 7 times.
I hope grit will seal it properly, if it was me I would coat it with undiluted SBR. Multi finish once dried is a high suck finish and the new layer will dry out really fast if it’s not fully sealed
Mate, I feel for you. That is some shoddy work and it looks like the tradesman has gone off and left the apprentice to do the job. I feel for you, as I also got so called professional people in to build my garden room. At first I thought fine, but on closer inspection, it’s rough as. As others have said, you expect a level of professionalism and that doesn’t meet it, so no pay.
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