Joiner made mess of kitchen - what are we entitled to?

njp28

We bought a kitchen from B&Q and asked a joiner we've used before if he'd be able to fit it. He said it would be a doddle, we agreed a price and he came to put it in. He hasn't finished it all because the last bit needs a plumber to come in alongside, but all of the units bar one and about 70% of the worktops are in. There are lots of little bits wrong with it:

There is glue all over the worktops that we can't seem to remove

The pieces of wood that run along the top of the wall units are all messed up - the corners do not align (really noticeably) and there are globs of glue sticking out of the corners. In some parts it looks like there has been messes of glue and he's tried to scrub it off, only to leave a load of scratch marks all along the wood.

Handles have been installed wonky on two doors

1 scratch in the worktop

1 scratch in drawer front

2 noticeable chips in one door, 1 noticeable chip in another door

Broken the chipboard base of a drawer where it was screwed together. Is fine now but will lead to premature weakening of the drawer

Broken the chipboard base of a wall unit, leading to misalignment of the entire run of wall units as he's shoved bits of wood in random places underneath the wall units to try to straigten it out (and failed).

On both corner units, the piece of wood that attaches to one door to act as a pull out handle, he has screwed these messily to the actual base frame. These can be easily fixed but will then leave messy holes in both the pieces of wood and the base frames.


They all seem like small things, but put together they make the kitchen look like a right state. I am not at all happy. As the job isn't finished (because of the other worktop and unit needing doing), we haven't paid him yet.

What should I do? I suppose I should give him a chance to put his mistakes right but I am loathe to imagine the end result. Some of his mistakes will involve new parts needing to be bought. Am I in my right to ask him to pay to replace these? All items were still in the packaging and he was the only one to open them and work with them so they were either like that from the factory (in which case he should have told us so we could return them) or he's done the damage.

What I'd really like to do is just work out how much it will cost to replace and pay someone else to repair and just deduct this from what we owe him because I don't want to give him the chance to make things worse when he tries to repair it. But I don't know if this is acceptable.

Any advice please?

keystone

njp28 wrote: »

He said it would be a doddle, we agreed a price and he came to put it in.

How many base units, how many wall units, how many lengths of worktop, how many cutouts for sink, hob etc, miter joints for worktops? How much, roughly, is he charging you? How long did he say the job would take and how long has it taken him so far?

He hasn't finished it all because the last bit needs a plumber to come in alongside, but all of the units bar one and about 70% of the worktops are in.

Seems a bit a about f but thats Project Management for you. He arranging the plumber or are you?

There is glue all over the worktops that we can't seem to remove

You shouldn't have to - he spilt it he clears it up. If you interfere he could find something to say you did. This is self preservation if nothing else.

The pieces of wood that run along the top of the wall units are all messed up - the corners do not align (really noticeably) and there are globs of glue sticking out of the corners. In some parts it looks like there has been messes of glue and he's tried to scrub it off, only to leave a load of scratch marks all along the wood.

The cornices should have been cut with a proper mitre saw. Glue (not sure why thats needed but never mind) should be removed whilst its still damp to avoid this.

Handles have been installed wonky on two doors

If so thats incompetant but are you siure its not just because the hinges haven't been finally adjusted yet?

1 scratch in the worktop

Thats possibly a problem depending on how deep it is and what the material is. A small scratch in a laminate worktop can be rendered virtually invisible with colorfill but you'll still be aware that it was there. Worst case its a new length of worktop.

1 scratch in drawer front. 2 noticeable chips in one door, 1 noticeable chip in another door

1 new drawer front and 2 new doors then.

Broken the chipboard base of a drawer where it was screwed together. Is fine now but will lead to premature weakening of the drawer

New drawer.

Broken the chipboard base of a wall unit, leading to misalignment of the entire run of wall units as he's shoved bits of wood in random places underneath the wall units to try to straighten it out (and failed).

replacement wall unit carcass. Note that if the wall is uneven and depending on the type of unit hangars he has used its not that unusual to see small wedges used to space all units out from the wall evenly.

On both corner units, the piece of wood that attaches to one door to act as a pull out handle, he has screwed these messily to the actual base frame. These can be easily fixed but will then leave messy holes in both the pieces of wood and the base frames.

More new bits then.

They all seem like small things, but put together they make the kitchen look like a right state. I am not at all happy. As the job isn't finished (because of the other worktop and unit needing doing), we haven't paid him yet.

No they are not small things and you have to live with this for as long as it lasts before replacement or you move so you have a right to be happy. Granted we've only heard one side of the story (and there are always two) but he sounds more like a wood butcher than a joiner.

What should I do? I suppose I should give him a chance to put his mistakes right but I am loathe to imagine the end result. Some of his mistakes will involve new parts needing to be bought. Am I in my right to ask him to pay to replace these? All items were still in the packaging and he was the only one to open them and work with them so they were either like that from the factory (in which case he should have told us so we could return them) or he's done the damage.

Yes you must give him the opportunity to recify the faults/snagging list. You should write to him (not email and not a telephone call) listing all the 'faults' (whether perceived or not) in detail and giving him a finite time in which to a) respond and b) get it right. If the goods were not damaged out of the packaging and he is the only one who has touched them then yes its down to him to procure and pay for replacements. The supplier will not accept complaints of short shipment or damaged goods if they were not notified straight away.

What I'd really like to do is just work out how much it will cost to replace and pay someone else to repair and just deduct this from what we owe him.......

You must give him the opportunity to put it right.....

....because I don't want to give him the chance to make things worse when he tries to repair it. But I don't know if this is acceptable.

.....Thats completely understandable on your part and from what you say he was just not up to the job in the first place but I'll say it again there are always two sides to a story. Remember if you haven't paid him anything yet then you have the biggest bargaining chip in your hand right now. If he fails to put things right to your satisfaction (not his) then you should not withold the entire payment because he has done work for you. I take it it was a fixed price quote? Don't forget one of his fixit options is to bring someone else in himself to help him out but at his cost. Have the discussion first, find out what he suggests then we can look at how to take it from there. Its too early to be starting to think about getting someone else in yourself unless he chucks his hand in, admits he can't do it, negotiates a substantially reduced fee and walks away. Its waaay too early to be thinking trading standards, small claims etc too.

Bon chance

Cheers