Opinion on decorating work please

[gregwatson]

Hi all.

We've just had some decorating work done - basically skimming and painting a couple of rooms and a bit of tiling. We're both pretty appalled at the quality of the work, and although the chap involved is a very nice guy - considering he's spent around 19 days doing it we think the results are unacceptable. I got him back in to discuss the issues and he says he prides himself on his cutting in and he's never had any complaints before. I kept telling him that I could (and have done in another room) a lot better myself and I'm not supposed to be a professional. He has offered to come back and spend another two days addressing the issues, but I have no confidence in him - if he couldn't get it right in 19 days why will he suddenly be able to now?

Also I suspect that some of the issues (such as blisters or patches where the undercoat is showing through) can't just be "patched up" - when I did our dining room a while back every time I found something that needed sorting I basically had to roller the entire wall again or else the patches would look pretty obvious.

In terms of cutting in he kept saying "if you really want me to come back with a fine artist's brush I can touch those areas up" - seems like madness to me. Whenever I've done it I haven't needed to use a flipping artist's brush - just us a normal brush (or a cutting in brush) and after a bit of practice you just.... well you just do it. Straight. And if you accidentally go across the line, you wipe it off and do that bit again!

I'm especially annoyed since some of these walls were freshly plastered as part of the job (by a plasterer he knows) and so I would have expected the finish on those walls to be, well, perfect.

You can see the photos here: http://bmhphotos.imgur.com/all/

There are quite a few but worth looking at them all since some of them are fairly trivial but some are (IMHO) appalling.

I would be very interested in hearing a few opinions (especially of course from professionals) as to whether or not

a) This is an acceptable standard of work for a professional decorator
b) It can be fixed piecemeal by touching up / patching etc or whether we will need someone to start the whole things again to get the best possible finish.
c) Is there any sort of independent assessment I can get done which would carry some weight in legal proceedings, especially if the verdict is that the whole thing needs to be done again from scratch to get the same result as if it had been done properly the first time

Thanks in advance. A headache we really didn't need.

 

[rob39]

Without actually seeing the work in person its difficult to fully understand the issues, what paint was used what brushes were used etc, but just looking at the pics, its pretty horrendous and he aint a professional. Idiots like this give the rest of us a bad name. There appears to have been minimal or no prep at all. The grit in the paint work is not cleaning down properly and the brush marks that have been left looks as if he used a yard brush. As for cutting in its pretty pathetic and totally unacceptable. The bubbling could be a number of things. Was a mist coat applied to the new plaster?? prior to the emulsion also this can be caused if the wall has not been cleaned properly with sugar soap. To be honest buy yourself some decent brushes, rollers etc and do it yourself in you can. Yes you can touch up the paintwork but will you be totally happy with the rest of the work what's left. Or get a profession in to overlook the work and ask them what they think. Join painters pit stop. Its a professional site but explain what has happened and the guys on their will point you in the right direction. If it was me Do it all again sorry

a) This is an acceptable standard of work for a professional decorator. NO

b) It can be fixed piecemeal by touching up / patching etc or whether we will need someone to start the whole things again to get the best possible finish. YES but would you be happy with the rest of the work what was left?

c) Is there any sort of independent assessment I can get done which would carry some weight in legal proceedings, especially if the verdict is that the whole thing needs to be done again from scratch to get the same result as if it had been done properly the first time. I'm guessing they are not a member of the decorating association. if so go to them and complain
http://www.paintingdecoratingassociation.co.uk/main/index.php?content=home .
If not citizens advice should be the first stop.



Read more: //www.diynot.com/forums/decora...ing-work-please.384032/#2945635#ixzz2lCgUmeGn

 

[footprints]

Hmm in my humble opinion it’s not great, some of the blisters and possibly the dips may be a fault with the plaster but until they are broken you will not know.

The cutting in is poor, some is due to rough wall/plaster underneath you can only get a sharp line if the “crease” between objects is smooth. The cornice needs a bit of filler to fill the gap in the corner.

Often "Big Wipes" are good for getting off paint splashes but go easy it will damage the varnish if you overdo it.

It is very difficult to get a clean line under cornice as the wall is usually wavy both up and down and in and out, I usually paint the underside bit of the cornice the wall colour giving me the nice sharp edge of the cornice as a clean finish, the ¼” or so of painted cornice doesn’t notice since it’s mostly in shadow.

A nice purdy brush makes cutting in quite easy.

It looks like water based paint which can be difficult to work with particularly when the heating is on. However on balance I would not be happy with it if I had done it for someone.

You say he seems nice and if he doesn’t want to charge any more, get him back to rectify as much as possible and although it rankles sort out the last bits yourself and bid him farewell for good.

I don’t think it’s worth pursuing it any further though, he has completed the work and it may well be that lots of his customers (often landlords) are perfectly happy with the job/price.

 

[Bosswhite]

The decorating does appear to be rather sub standard , but then that may be reflected in the cost of the job,

The poster hasnt given us this information,As pointed out other customers appear to have been pleased with his work and prices.
There is an amount of making good and cleaning which the decorator is prepared to do,

 

[dcdec]

I second what bosswhite has said, before we condemn this 'painter' to burn in hell for eternity while listening to jessie j on loop, i would like to know :

Did he supply terms and conditions?
Through what channel did you hire him?
How much did he charge for the two rooms, did he give a written quotation with detailed specification and give an estimate of how long it would take?
How many quotes did you get?

 

[gregwatson]

We found him via checkatrade. We asked for 3 quotes; got 2 and he was slightly more expensive than the other one. We chose him because he was happy to do a few miscellaneous jobs like knocking down a small internal wall that was only there for a door we didn't need. Which he did very neatly.

He quoted in total I think 13 days for the work, which included knocking down a small wall, some tiling in the kitchen and some plastering (which a a plasterer did) and one or two other very small jobs.

But in terms of the painting and the cutting in - I did a better job that that on my own when I did the dining room. it took a long time.

 

[dcdec]

How much did he charge?
T's & C's ?

 

[gregwatson]

I don't really see what the price has to do with it. Either he's a competent / professional decorator or he isn't...?

 

[dcdec]

Price has everything to do with it, so how much did you pay?

 

[Bosswhite]

I don't really see what the price has to do with it. Either he's a competent / professional decorator or he isn't...?

These days, with people losing their jobs there are plenty of people that call themselves competent/ professional decorators and think it is easy working for themselves,
when the only real training they have had is which end of a Paint Brush to put in the tin.

 

[gregwatson]

Price has everything to do with it, so how much did you pay?

He wasn't a bloke I met down the pub who said he's paint the house for £50.

He was the most expensive of the four quotes (checking back we actually asked five people for quotes, got four back) but only by a little.

Since you'll think I'm hiding something if I don't tell you, the quote was £3,750 in total, which was very close to the others if you take out the other additional things he was doing that the others wouldn't, like knocking down the wall, tiling etc). And these are small rooms we're talking about.

It doesn't seem right that I can do a better job. I looked at some photos of the painting I did a year or two back in the dining room and that is infinitely better. That surely can't be right.

 

[Bosswhite]

How many rooms did he have to decorate and what was the general condition, was there a lot of preparing, was he given a strict time limit?
all these are relevant to the price.

 

[gregwatson]

How many rooms did he have to decorate and what was the general condition, was there a lot of preparing, was he given a strict time limit?
all these are relevant to the price.

The main room being done is about 4m x 5m. Then there's the rear lobby (smaller) with one wall being mainly an external door; the walls in the study (similar but have woodwork at waist height, a window and completely open-plan on one side so much less to paint) and the kitchen walls (again, only half height due to the kitchen counter), completely open on one side and a large window across the other side plus a larder and smaller window and cupboard to further reduce the amount of wall that needed painting. He did the ceilings too (managed to get paint on the light fittings), some tiling in the kitchen and a couple of odds and ends eg removing a small internal wall (only purpose was providing a door frame) and re-cementing a manhole cover and a small piece of render that had come off an outside wall.

No strict time constraints. He originally quoted 13 days but stayed for longer. Can't really understand why that was necessary.

I sort of see where you're coming from, but come on guys - if someone is a professional, it's up to them to quote a time and price that will allow them to do a good job. It's not like he said "Well, I can give you two quotes; one to do it properly and one to do a lousy job" and we picked option 2... The assumption has to be, surely, that whatever price was quoted, the end result should be of certain standard? And surely you'd expect a paid professional to do a better job that I could do myself with no training or experience??

If not, then things have got a lot worse than even I thought in this country and we really are doomed.

Far too many excuses being suggested here in my opinion. I cannot believe that any professional thinks that there's nothing wrong with that work. My 10-year old could genuinely, honestly have done a good as job on some of it (given a little practice). I certainly know I could (and have done in other rooms).

 

[Bosswhite]

I did say originally going by the pictures that I thought the work was sub standard, no excuse for leaving paint spots on the frig door handle or the Aga.

Being a member of Checkatrade dosent really mean he was a true professional, you would have done better asking around for people to recommend a decorator, or contacting your local Trading Standards if they run a "Buy with Confidence scheme" and have a list of decorators.

The price does seem rather high for what looks a poor quality job, as you are not satisfied get him back to make good the areas you are not happy with, or try to renegotiate the finances. If he is not prepared to do that get a professional second opinion and try small claims route.

 

[gregers]

in my opinion it looks shocking.
even if you have to surfaces wavey,why didnt he use masking tape and get a decent line,i know a so called pro shouldnt use tape but in this situation why not?
who shut the doors when they were still wet?
no excuse for getting/leaving paint on dark surfaces.

how long did it actually take him to do the decorating?
to me judging by your pics it looks rushed.