Employing Tradesmen

purt

Ok, first time buyer, purchased a flat recently and have enlisted some tradesmen to finish a kitchen installation. My dad started it off but was unable to finish it.

I leave them to get on with the work whilst I'm at work, come home this evening to find they've scratched my dishwasher. It's only a small scratch, but noticeable and since the dishwasher is only a few months old, it's annoying.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Kernel_Sanders

purt wrote: »

have enlisted some tradesmen

You've failed to say if they are temporary employees or contractors. If the latter, point this out to the business and tell them you expect a top quality finish, on time, otherwise you'll be pressing for compensation.

purt

Temporary.

McKneff

If its a relatively small scratch, could you not point it out to them and buy an appliance white pen, cover it and see how it goes. And tell them to be more careful in future

cyclonebri1

Whatever you do get the job finished before you raise the actual issue, you could have a walk out.

But I would impress on them the need for care, even if not directly regarding the dishwasher.

I'm thinking along the lines of let them finish it, raise the issue in a reasonable manner, and suggest they make some small adjustment to the bill you have just received

purt

McKneff wrote: »

If its a relatively small scratch, could you not point it out to them and buy an appliance white pen, cover it and see how it goes. And tell them to be more careful in future

It's not a small scratch though. My dishwasher is graphite grey in colour and the part they scratched is the plastic panel. It's quite a noticeable scratch.

In addition to the scratch, one of the jobs they were tasked with was sanding a door down and hang it. They've sanded too much off the door at either end and now it looks a tad silly. It's a solid wood door which wasn't cheap. I've already raised it with them, they say the door post is out of line, which it is, but they've still sanded off much more than they needed to. (The door edge curves at the top, such is the way they've sanded it). Is it realistic to expect them to replace the door?

keystone

I'm sorry but I don't agree with Cy at all. These things need addressing at the time they occur and not waiting until the rest is done.

Its already eminently deniable on behalf of the contractor and may be too late. If they were responsible but won't admit it then it could get attritional. Deducting money from the final bill is not an option if you can't prove it was them. But as Cy says if yuou can raise it in a reasonable way then they might be reasonable too but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Of course f they did do it then they should have owned up at the time before you found it but it sounds as though they might not be built of that sort of stuff.

I would say theres more chance of getting the door replaced if they've ruined it than getting the scratch sorted.

Cheers

evoke

You need to nip the issues in the bud. How much more damage are you willing to put up with? They sound like careless workers. The dishwasher is quite new and they should be more careful (like covering it up when they're working).

I would point out the scratch to them. The fact they haven't owned up to it also speaks volumes about their integrity.

As for the door, if they've cut off too much then they've cut off too much. They could improve things by fitting a brush draught excluder as the bottom. To be honest, if the frame was bad they shouldn't have tried to hang door. A decent carpenter would fix the frame first! He should have noticed this before trying to hang the door.

Nip it in the bud before you start adding more problems they've caused to this thread!

cyclonebri1

Well my opinion is now changed given the fact that the OP has said it is a much larger scratch than I was imagining, and, the fact that they have now done other damage.
Yes you need to address it now, (nods to KS and others).

The real issue here is yet again how to find and employ a decent tradesman, regardless of the specific task.

I have to say personal recommendation is the only way I know that has a good chance of a successful outcome.

As KS said, they may well deny it as they didn't own up to it when it happened, I was thinking the same way but was hoping it was a simple mistake they hadn't noticed they had done.

Any tradesman should be covered by insurance for any inadvertent damage caused ask them if they have.
And look for a different outfit next time, they do exist but are usually busy

keystone

evoke wrote: »

The fact they haven't owned up to it also speaks volumes about their integrity.

Absolutely - if they did it of course.

To be honest, if the frame was bad they shouldn't have tried to hang door. A decent carpenter would fix the frame first! He should have noticed this before trying to hang the door.

Its a BS excuse though isn't it? No frame is ever truly square or straight. You always trim the door to fit. They've FUBAR'd it.

Nip it in the bud before you start adding more problems they've caused to this thread!

+1

Cheers

purt

Hi all,

I have challenged everything but the dishwasher. I'm baffled as to how they've managed to scratch it so badly (it's almost as though someone has chiselled into it!). The door they've fixed, but it's still had too much sanded off it. the damage is at the sides, not the bottom, and it looks stupid. At £120, the door wasn't cheap.

They were recommended to me personally. Which is what compounds things.

You will have sensed I'm not experienced in employing tradesmen...