newly re skimmed walls

worried123

Furts, thank you......I dont think that i will be able to get hold of trade but will look for the crown cover matt....thank you....

I think also that because i am a woman on her own he prbably feels he can pull the wool over my eyes....I am sure that when i point out all the faults and problems he will come up with an insulting excuse and reason for it all......telling me thats how the finish should be etc...i havent spoken to anybody that has had re skimming done that hasnt said their walls were silky all over to touch and they had absolutely nothing to do but decorate......

Furts, could I just ask you please.......I have the emulsion - its a farrow and ball matt..........should I sand the walls down first to try to get rid of the rough bits.......then mist them with watered down ordinary emulsion and then two coats of the crown cover matt and then my farrow and ball emulsion......or should i water down the cover matt for the intial misting???

Many thanks

pelo_2

How big is the wall?
Tell him you are not happy and want it re doing.

Furts

worried123 wrote: »

Furts, thank you......I dont think that i will be able to get hold of trade but will look for the crown cover matt....thank you....

I think also that because i am a woman on her own he prbably feels he can pull the wool over my eyes....I am sure that when i point out all the faults and problems he will come up with an insulting excuse and reason for it all......telling me thats how the finish should be etc...i havent spoken to anybody that has had re skimming done that hasnt said their walls were silky all over to touch and they had absolutely nothing to do but decorate......

Furts, could I just ask you please.......I have the emulsion - its a farrow and ball matt..........should I sand the walls down first to try to get rid of the rough bits.......then mist them with watered down ordinary emulsion and then two coats of the crown cover matt and then my farrow and ball emulsion......or should i water down the cover matt for the intial misting???

Many thanks

Save your expensive Farrow And Ball for your top coat.

Use a suitable scraper to remove snots and you could rub down bad points. But the trick is to apply a coat of paint - it is far easier to see defects when a coat of white or magnolia has been applied. You would need at least two coats so rub down between these coats.

Use a good micro fleece roller - dirt cheap at Toolstation. I use medium but you may want a thick fleece. Work the paint and use as a filler to fill the indents - work across the defects .

Screwfix and B&Q do what you need. I do not use Super Leytex - too expensive IMHO but it is your choice. Leyland Contract Matt is available there for around £20 which is ideal. They also do bare plaster paint and Contract Matt in the No Nonsense ranges. These should be fine, but I cannot vouch for them - I stick with a known trusted brand for this.

Do not use Vinyl, or Silk, or Eggshell for the repairs to your walls. It must be a high opacity Contract Matt.

amerste

You have employed a bodger to do this work. I have had 5 rooms skimmed, ceiling & walls, 4 rooms took 1 day 2 men, cost of each room £350. The 5th room required some bonding due to chimney breast removal so drying out was left overnight, same cost. The finish was glass like, plus cleaned up afterwards. Only stipulation was that I applied a green/blue type of grab adhesive 24 hours before which saved them time by not messing around with PVA. Everything supplied in the price. I would not be looking to employ him for other work and get him to sort out the mess he's left you with.

Dan-Dan

Get him back to sort it!!!!!

worried123

Many thanks everyone - very grateful.....and thank you Furts for all the helpful information.

All the best

worried123

So sorry

Can I just ask - Furts, I dont know if you are around at all......

This guy is on holiday at the moment due to call me on wednesday (only time will tell whether he does so) to come in and do something else).......

The more I examine the walls and the ceiling the more upset I become. In my heart I feel its an unacceptable job - to the extent that had I not already paid them I wouldnt do so.

Alesson learned from all of this is not to pay for plastering until it is fully dried because initially i was delighted with it and told him so....

I would say that about 75% of the work is unacceptable it is extremely rough every trowel mark and water run is rough there are little bits to fill in - mostly its like stroking sand paper (if i try to make this good myself it will take ages as every little part of it needs attention and i am going to have a house full of dust and i have sinus and allergy problems....and one small section is sooo unacceptable that i am going to have to get somebody in to redo it......i am not well off and its taken such a long time to get this place together and i was so looking forward to decorating this lounge and now i am just heart broken......I paid them - in cash - no receipt......what i have to work a long 40 plus hour week for and i cannot afford to get somebody else in to rectify.....

Do you feel it is reasonable to ask him to do it again....fully....but properly this time?? They did only one coat anyway.....should it be two? also should the metal beading down all the corners show?.....i have a line of metal running down every corner........

Should i ask him for a refund (i doubt he will give it to me but in my heart i feel that i want to ask for my money back and him do it all again `properly` and then i will pay him......

This guy is in his fifties and been doing it all his life.......his son works with him but they just seemed in such a rush - never met the man before and know everything about his broken marriage and his life and they must get off on holiday.......i bought them lunch and plied them with constant cups of tea and even cleaned up after them as they were trying to do a quick job of doing it moving my furniture back on top of mounds of plaster....so i said i would do it........he fitted me a new ceiling light - the wire - the rose and the inner coloured wires are showing half an inch out of the light - just bish bosh and we need to get home to pack.............i am to be honest heart broken and had a good cry over it all........

Can anybody in the know of the building trade tell me what is acceptable to say to him - obviously my first words will be that i should have reserved judgement until this was dry and i so unhappy with this.....(this is a little guy on his own and all i have is his phone number..teh crazy thing is they are busy.........this job was squeezed in......

I am sure this chap is going to insult me for being a woman and tell me this is how it should be and look.......please can anybody advise - i dont think this needs patching up and repairing and sanding - i think it needs redoing.....and i suppose that i stand nowhere by giving him cash with no receipt.....

Please can anyone advise....what should i do and say please that will give a positive result in getting this rectified. I cannot afford to get somebody in to do it all again and i also feel so stupid as a friends son was going to do it and i dare not tell her this is sooooo bad.....

Thank you so much.

Dan-Dan

any chance of some pictures?

it is normal for the beading edging to show , as far as i know

worried123

no - i only have a basic mobile and cant do uploads...thanks for the info about the beading though - all the best

Furts

worried123 wrote: »

no - i only have a basic mobile and cant do uploads...thanks for the info about the beading though - all the best

The beading should show as a clean, usually galvanised, metal line . Each side of this should be smooth and true. Often with poor plastering there are indents or proud edges at the beads. So it is a useful way to weigh up the quality of a job.

If the walls were scimmed it would be one coat. If it was new work on brick or block walls it would be two coats.

I recently had a plasterer do work for me on recommendation. He had been plastering all his life and now did plastering as an odd job a few days a week between rounds of golf. His work was cr-p.

So a lifetimes experience does not always equate to good workmanship. But, with rubbing down and a couple of coats of obliterating emulsion it was transformed. Still not brilliant, but the client was happy with it.