Employing Tradesmen

purt

evoke wrote: »

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!

Any suggestions on how to approach things?

cyclonebri1

purt wrote: »

Hi all,



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

..

which is why I said things should go swimmingly, or words to that effect

We all have bad days, the champs are the guys that fix their screw ups:T:T

evoke

purt wrote: »

Any suggestions on how to approach things?

As the dishwasher is quite new, it will be still be under warranty. The panel is likely to be replaceable and a simple job. First thing i'd do is get an estimate from the manufacturer on getting it repaired. It's very unlikely they'll do it under warranty so just get an estimate for parts and labour.

You then need to speak to the tradesmen about the scratch. They may become defensive and even aggressive, but as they were recommended to you, they will probably feel guilty.

Tell them that it's a newish dishwasher and how much the estimate to fix it was for. If you're 100% sure that they caused the scratch then I would have thought you'd be entitled to withold that amount when you pay them. It's best to be friendly but firm in these cases.

Once the scratch has been pointed out you need to tell them to be a little more careful to stop further damage occurring. They should be using dustsheets. If you have some old sheets then just tape them onto anything that might be affected by dust and scratches using masking tape.

As for the door, you can simply state it doesn't look right and point out what the issues are. Perhaps then can realign the frame and rehang the door to improve things?

I've had a few issues when I was having my house refurbished. A few times i've had to stand there with the builder and show him what the issue is. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't.

McKneff

[QUOTE=purt;62937501]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?[/QUOTE]

You said in your first post it was a 'small scratch' ???? but noticeable.

purt

McKneff wrote: »

You said in your first post it was a 'small scratch' ???? but noticeable.

It's relatively small, but deep.

cyclonebri1

If you keep changing the goal posts, ie, small, relatively small, big small, you are going to lose sympathy.

It a dishwasher, it still works, you will have worse in your home ownership.

Claim from them if they have insurance, but don't fry yourself over it

purt

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

If you keep changing the goal posts, ie, small, relatively small, big small, you are going to lose sympathy.

It a dishwasher, it still works, you will have worse in your home ownership.

Claim from them if they have insurance, but don't fry yourself over it

My apologies. I ought to have been more specific. It's a relatively small scratch in length terms, but quite deep. Something would have had to be pressed quite hard against it to cause it.

It annoys me as they've been quite careless. Of course it still works, but the depth of the scratch is such that it really makes me wonder how it could have happened (i.e. what they were doing to do such damage).

cyclonebri1

purt wrote: »

My apologies. I ought to have been more specific. It's a relatively small scratch in length terms, but quite deep. Something would have had to be pressed quite hard against it to cause it.

It annoys me as they've been quite careless. Of course it still works, but the depth of the scratch is such that it really makes me wonder how it could have happened (i.e. what they were doing to do such damage).

Yes, I'm afraid that is always the concern if you can't be there to house sit, so to speak.
I don't mean that workers should be watched over and scrutinised every minute, but a presence in the home can be beneficial.

Have you approached them yet?

osdset

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.

Chippie has planed through the door edging and the core is visible. Smack wrist for the chippie he should have known better, most doors aren't solid anymore even the £120 ones, there is about 6mm of meat on either side of the door under that nice veneer that looks like solid timber for scribing into frames, many old frames are out by more than that.You are unlucky that the problem is on the sides rather than top/bottom.

Can the door be fixed? Yes, I could do it but the job would not be cost effective, to repair that kind of damage properly would cost nearly as much as the door, so unless the door is to be painted then it's a new door and the frame will need sorting out or replacing first or it's back to square one again I'm afraid, don't let the contractor tell you any different.