Poor plastering and uneven finish. Please help!

Our lounge was replastered this weekend and I'm not happy with the results. Its my first time having any plastering done, so can I get some advice on whether I'm being unreasonable.

This is the first time I've had any plastering done.

I agreed £600 for the lounge to be replastered. It's 5m x 4.5m with a bay window (but he said above and around the window was too hard so I agreed to leave that part).

I expected the walls to be smooth and flat afterwards, ready to paint.

Instead there are many uneven and bumpy parts. The exposed chimney arch is particularly bad and I think painting will make it even more obvious. The skirting boards used to have a neat line and are now blurring into the walls in places.

I asked if he would remove the plug sockets before plastering and he said he would, but didn't, so they look a mess with plaster smeared against them. If I change the socket front I worry the plaster will crack?

As well as the uneven finish he left a real mess, with chunks of plaster stuck to the radiator and log burner that I installed last week, and plaster ground into the wood floor.

I've paid half so far. The other £300 is due today. Am I right to be annoyed at the poor finish?

I don't know what to do now. I can't paint it like this. But there are so many uneven parts. If I send them all and polyfilla can I still get the perfect finish I am after?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

Truly horrible job, that......ask him to sort it to your satisfaction (if he can). That includes backing off the sockets, and cleaning all the crap away.
Whatever he is, he aint a plasterer!
John

 

Thanks. Yes, I am quite upset. I've not had a bad experience till now.

I spoke to his boss and he did say he's never had a complaint about this guy before, but I've sent the pictures above to him now so hopefully he will come around and make it better. His CheckaTrade page has really good reviews so I think I just got unlucky.

How would I remediate this in the areas where there is far too much plaster around the skirting? Does it need to be chipped off and done again?

 

I'm the worlds worst plasterer so I can't say (other than incompetence) why it is so bad......maybe the mix was wrong, or the plaster was too old or whatever.
I wouldn't try to rectify this myself.....maybe his boss can send someone else round?
Personally, all the plastering I've had done has been perfect and ready for paint after it has dried - a good plasterer deserves much admiration in my book.
John

 

Thanks John! Yes, I agree. Plastering is a high skill and I have great admiration for those that can do it. Out of all the DIY jobs I attempt plastering is one I wouldnt even try to do myself.

The boss is on his way around now. I just hope he is able to make it look great, rather than just patching the worst bits.

 

Let us know what happens ..... that's barely £300 worth even in London. Ask if they know what angle beads are. Have a listen to the checkatrade theme tune - and have a think what old TV series used to play it .I give you a clue kimosabe

 

Yes - I think I am paying too much. But I did get another quote and he was £700 so thought it was the going rate. I'm in Croydon, so not exactly Mayfair.

For 600 I was expecting two days work and an amazing finish. Instead he did it in one day and did not do anything like an amazing finish!

 

I wouldn't even bother telling him you want it sorted .Tell him you want your £300 back and you are going to take him to petty debts court if he doesn't give it you back and you will name and shame him if he doesn't, and never put any money up front again till you are either happy with someones work or you get it checked out by a reputable plasterer. That is on a scale of 1 to 10 a -11 really really bad, and the other lads will tell you the same....

 

He's been around today and says it is all good now. I havent seen it yet but fingers crossed. He's chasing me for the remaining £300 already - though of course I won't pay until I've seen it.

Problem with not paying in full is he knows where I live... I have heard first-hand stories of people who have had their drains filled with cement after questioning bad workmanship.

 

As soon as you said 'checkatrade' all our eyes rolled round and round. That's just had one coat and no polish. I'm not the world's fastest plasterer but I get perfect results.
Two day job for me and around £450/480.

 

Why? You mean because people on CheckATrade overcharge?

For me, buying my first house, I don't have a lot of knowledge of who the good tradesmen are in my area. With checkAtrade at least I thought I would always get a basically decent service, on the basis that they care about the reviews they receive? Though I am sure most of the reviews on there are fake!

 

The plasterers that use checkatrade have to pay for the leads that they get. A good tradesman is in high demand. I've not advertised in over 25 years. I know a few travellers that use those sort of services. It's the old 'Bodge-it-and-scarpa' gang. If they start getting nasty you'll know for sure.

 

An absolute rubbish job,, and the "plasterer" said "he couldn't plaster above and around the window, because it was too hard", says it all. It looks like a job done by an amateur rather than a firm. A real/good plasterer would NEVER "plaster in" any socket the way yours are. A real plasterer would "at least" loosen the socket and get behind it. Cleaning off skirtings, sockets, ceiling lines etc as you go is paramount in a good tradesman too,, clean/tidy. A real plasterer would "never" go into any room and tell the customer "well, i can do this and i can do that, but i can't do that over there because it's too hard",,, dohh. CheckATrade in my opinion, means absolutely nothing really, I mean, who wants to pay someone to get work. Your plasterers can't be much good if they have to pay CheckATrade to find them work. As Joe90 said, a good tradesman doesn't have to rely on CheckATrade to get work,, building a reputation gets you work. If you can't sort out this mess with the firm that did your job, then get an opinion from a "reputable" local plasterer and take it from there. As I said at the begining, "it's a rubbish job", and an insult to the plastering trade.

 

jesus mary and joesph,THATS CRAP.
looks like its been put on with a broom.

 

Thanks all. I'm quite upset by all this so to hear from you that I am not crazy does help me a lot. Maybe I was naive in choosing this guy, but his reviews were so good, and his quote was consistent with the others. I don't know anything about plastering other than what I have read online, but he seemed knowledgeable and a good guy.

He came back yesterday to "put it all right" but really only spent an hour cleaning (and not at all well). The surface is still very lumpy on two walls (the first two are fine) and the corners are all very rough. He told me that it is the decorator's job to put right not his (but I am the decorator!).

The chimney breast arch he repaired with polyfilla, but it still looks not at all smooth or even. Shouldn't this be done with some kind of edge bead?

What to do now? He's chasing the other £300. I know I will have to spend at least that to put this right. I feel like the £300 I paid already is already more than enough for one man for one day and a shoddy job (given that the quote was based on 2 men for 2 days).

Below are pictures taken after he came back and fixed it yesterday. Not much better.