Skimming gone wrong - help!

urban_spirit

Hi guys, I wonder if you can help?

I've got a builder in who's plastered round a door frame and skimmed the hall walls downstairs ready for painting. There is no way they can be painted as the surface isn't at all flat and what were straight edges on walls now bulge out.

I've lived with the walls since Thursday, I thought 'let the walls settle and dry out' but tbh they're a mess.


Can badly skimmed walls be fixed? Is it expensive to do??

If they can, who's the best person to do it??

I have another question - should I pay my builder any more? I've paid for the door frame and part-paid for the skimming - ??? If it's going to cost to fix should I keep the cash to pay the guy who fixes it???

The builder is experienced (20 years) and is a friend of a friend (he is a nice guy). He's also cut my phone wires to the upstairs phone (need it cos of a disability), got plaster on 4 foot of living room carpet, TV, new cabinet and lamp. I understand building work is a messy job - I provided several old curtains and lots of newspaper to cover everything. There is so much plaster around my front door it wont close properly.

I did make it clear at the beginning that the walls are being skimmed ready for painting, and that I have a disability so cant clean up after them - what else do I do? I'm on a very limited budget.

Many thanks for your help

nomoneytoday

Call him up and give him the chance to fix it first.

If this fails, then look at getting in someone else.

urban_spirit

He's due back here tomorrow. I don't think he can fix it cos it's all the plastering he's done not just bits. I don't think he can skim.

I did speak to him on wednesday and thursday last week about the walls and ceiling and he did go over bits again - but they still look awful.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

Plastering walls is a skill ! I know it can't be repaired sorry to say

Plastering is an old trade and there's not enough young guys picking up a trowel these days, all you seem to get these days are people who think they can plaster ! I see it every day:mad: :mad: :mad:

If you can't paint the walls ,don't pay him, also a good tradesman would clean up afterwards !

ritesh

Hi Urban Spirit

Really sorry to hear of your dilema. Now that he has plastered your walls, and assuming that it is polished off, you can not get this reskimmed with out keying the original surface i.e scratching it so that the new plaster sticks.

My honest opinion in this situation is to withold payment to the builder, even if he is a nice guy as he should realise how bad a job he has done, but ask him to make good the surafces so that they are even and to to ensure all the mess has been cleaned up. If he does apply a second coat of plaster the first coat he has done would need to be scratched, as mentioned above, and coated with PVA prior to a fresh coat of plaster going on.

If the plastering is as bad as you mention then putting a second coat may not be adviseable as door frames etc would no longer be in line and in this situation you would be best advised to hack of the plaster and start again.

Hope this helps and I really do wish you well in getting this sorted

urban_spirit

ritesh wrote: »

Hi Urban Spirit

Really sorry to hear of your dilema. Now that he has plastered your walls, and assuming that it is polished off, you can not get this reskimmed with out keying the original surface i.e scratching it so that the new plaster sticks.

My honest opinion in this situation is to withold payment to the builder, even if he is a nice guy as he should realise how bad a job he has done, but ask him to make good the surafces so that they are even and to to ensure all the mess has been cleaned up. If he does apply a second coat of plaster the first coat he has done would need to be scratched, as mentioned above, and coated with PVA prior to a fresh coat of plaster going on.

If the plastering is as bad as you mention then putting a second coat may not be adviseable as door frames etc would no longer be in line and in this situation you would be best advised to hack of the plaster and start again.

Hope this helps and I really do wish you well in getting this sorted

OMG-really!!! He hasn't polished off(?) - the walls and ceiling are very rough and are mottled with water(?) and plaster dust, and dents. He's already applied two coats of plaster to different places but didnt do all you said needed done - I SO want to swear. In one particular corner he said the wall wasnt straight and has applied 3 or 4 coats within about an hour!!!!!!!! The wall now bulges out for about 4 inches then goes back in sharply :rolleyes:
Above the door frame he applied one coat of plaster which cracked badly and lumps fell out - so he applied a second coat.

The door frame he's put up isnt straight (new builder came with a spirit level), he hasnt countersunk the screws and has bent one over as he couldnt get it in. He's put 3 down one side of the door frame - two line up, one is about 3 inches to the right of the others


Knowing this guy was due to come round tomorrow, i've spoken to a builder tonight and he was shocked at how bad it is and said it needed to be taken down (?) to be put right. What used to be straight-ish walls (as straight as walls get ) are a rollercoaster mess. The builder went mad because this guy has plastered around or up to (?) the gas meter which they said was illegal (?) and he shouldn't touch anywhere near there. He also said don't let him carry on cos its that bad they'd only have to take it down to make it good.

After digesting this information and reading your replies i've spoken to my builder tonight, explained that I wasn't happy and what the builder had said and asked for my money back. The guy said it's down to the walls and he needs his tools as he's got another job on friday. He has said he will give me the cash but i'm not sure tbh - he doesn't like confrontation and the tools left here are easily replaced, so i'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks guys for your replies - I hadn't a clue and you gave me some good info

PL - Yep, think this guy has picked up a trowel so thinks he can plaster :rolleyes: and totally agree that a good tradesman would clean up after - the builder tonight couldn't believe the mess he's made!

Ritesh - Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me. I hadn't got clue and being a girly have never done plastering in any way, shape or form before! Your post helped me understand whats involved and what he should have done. Many thanks for your time, much appreciated.

I am going to take pics and post them before new builder sorts the mess out.

Please cross your fingers that this guy does the right thing and gives me my cash back.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

A very depressing post this ! I have seen this many, many times before!


OMG-really!!! He hasn't polished off(?)

Correct ! he has not straightened the walls either !

The door frame he's put up isnt straight (new builder came with a spirit level)

That means nothing at all ! what if the wall is not straight (plumb)

The guy said it's down to the walls and he needs his tools as he's got another job on friday.

God help them !


i've spoken to a builder tonight and he was shocked at how bad it is


don't want to 'burst your bubble' but I have brought other tradesmen onto a bad job, and heard statements like 'he's havin a laff' and ' WOT A MESS' the work is carried out again, and have found it's not much better,(at times I wonder why I have not become a serial killer)


Tell your new man that you would prefer to pay after the plaster has dried, or even 50% That way you get a chance to apply some paint on it !

The biggest con with bad plasterwork is " it will be OK when it's dry " BULL****

If your new man is not prepared to wait for payment until the new plasterwork has dried , BEWARE


Fingers, toes and eyes crossed.:rolleyes:

misgrace

My heart goes out to you, and as nice as he seems to have come across, he cant bee that nice to leave your place in such a state knowing your not in the position to clean up.
The times I have had to go in and paint the new plaster etc, and have to spend a couple of hours getting the dried plaster of covings, windows, skirtings plugs etc before I can actually pick up a brush.
It does annoy me, as all they need is a damp cloth to wipe of the plaster as they go along, but oh no, its too much bother, as the majority want to get in and out to get to the next job.

I'm afraid you might have to be the bad cop here, and not pay a penny more, and get your money back, as tell him you have to have cleaners come in to clean up his mess.
Hold back his tools, and perhaps drop in the 'trading standards' name, as this is not right.
He should accept his mistake, and either put it right, or give you your money back so you can get someone else in to do it.
But, just a word of warning here, most tradespeople will charge a hella lot more to come in and put dodgy work right made by the bodgers.

Please let us know how you get on, if he doesnt play the game with you, then you must ring Trading standards.

jason_s_2

Its people like like that are killing us plasterers and giving us bad names :mad:

urban_spirit

Well the pants builder turned up at my friends yesterday morning with the cash:T - but made it clear he was only giving me the cash back because he knows my friend NOT because his work was bad :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Friend came round last night with it, and to pick up builders tools (he supposed to be starting a new job today) and still cant believe what this guy has done. He said every time he comes round he is still shocked at the state of it.

I am thinking of going to a small claims court to get the money back that it will cost me to take it down and put it right. I know getting money out of some builders will be impossible but I feel if I can find a solicitor who will help, i've got to try. It will help because this builder is a friend of my friend, and a customer so my friend has all his details.
What should have cost me a few hundred will now cost double that because of this pants builder, and i'm not in a financial position to chalk it up to experience.

Thank you for all your replies - and I totally agree its idiots like him that are are giving good plasterers an extremely bad name.
Thank you for sending nice thoughts misgrace - in this middle of all this mess they were very much appreciated.

New builder hasn't got back to me yet. He has done work for my neighbour (which i've seen and its good) so i'm hoping he's one of the decent ones, though i'll be EXTREMELY nervous of any builders at the moment.

jason_s_2

I suppose the only good side urban is it can be sorted as plastering is cosmetic,and not structral.You said on the 1st post can badly skimmed walls be skimmed,yes they can.may take abit of time to straighten them but its all fixable.If you are nervous about it all,tell the builder about the problems before and that you was ripped off,if he's a desent bloke he will understand(i would).See if you can get some references off him.And if you can dont pay till the jobs complete(i never ask for money till the jobs finished and the costumers happy).