Plasterer did a bad job

Help1234

Hi we hired a plasterer in February. This weekend we changed the plug sockets in the room he plastered only to realise he had plastered the plug sockets into the wall. We have therefore damaged the wall all round the plug socket where we had to dig it out. We had some rust in one of the plug sockets so we had to get into it and sort it out.

We have told him and sent him a photo and he said he has never experienced that before.

Can we recoup some of the money we paid him for this job or is it too late? We won't be paying out to rectify it - rather my dad is using filler.

ssparks2003

How much is a tube of filler? How much is your time worth chasing him for some loose change?

Imperial1847

To be fair to the plasterer the socket fronts should have been at least unscrewed from the back box to allow him to plaster sufficiently up to them and then fixed back once complete so not really his problem.

Carrot007

topley4718 wrote: »

To be fair to the plasterer the socket fronts should have been at least unscrewed from the back box to allow him to plaster sufficiently up to them and then fixed back once complete so not really his problem.

And to be fair back he should have rasied it as an issue if they were not unscrewed and he did not want to touch them.

Help1234

topley4718 wrote: »

To be fair to the plasterer the socket fronts should have been at least unscrewed from the back box to allow him to plaster sufficiently up to them and then fixed back once complete so not really his problem.

And because I didn't do that he decided rather than to ask me he would just plaster them into the walls. I'm a young girl and this is my first home. I've never hired a plasterer before and didn't know that the customer needed to do this. If he had any pride in his work he would have unscrewed them or asked me to do it not just proceed with plastering them into the wall so that they can only be opened by digging them out. This could have been a fire safety issue as when I finally got into one of the sockets there was rust.

marliepanda

Carrot007 wrote: »

And to be fair back he should have rasied it as an issue if they were not unscrewed and he did not want to touch them.

Well I mean that entirely depends on how much you're paying them...

My friend paid to have his house plastered and decorated. The state was ridiculous. Paint on the light sockets, paint on the skirting boards, it was just crap, and this was from a 'professional P&D' Ive also seen some fairly shoddy work from other P&D who are considered decent.

Where as my dad, after years of perfectionism drummed into him by my Mum, does a spot on job ( for free if you buy him a beer) everyone has a different level of what they want, the friends who I spoke about above were very happy with the work theyd paid for....

marliepanda

Help1234 wrote: »

And because I didn't do that he decided rather than to ask me he would just plaster them into the walls. I'm a young girl and this is my first home. I've never hired a plasterer before and didn't know that the customer needed to do this. If he had any pride in his work he would have unscrewed them or asked me to do it not just proceed with plastering them into the wall so that they can only be opened by digging them out. This could have been a fire safety issue as when I finally got into one of the sockets there was rust.

Unlikely to be a fire safety issue purely because of rust. It is quite a basic thing to do but, I guess not everyone knows these things.

Plasterers are there to plaster and won't necessarily have tools with them to unscrew and rescrew fittings.

Probably a case of he didnt ask, you didnt ask, dads fixing it for free, end of?

unholyangel

Help1234 wrote: »

And because I didn't do that he decided rather than to ask me he would just plaster them into the walls. I'm a young girl and this is my first home. I've never hired a plasterer before and didn't know that the customer needed to do this. If he had any pride in his work he would have unscrewed them or asked me to do it not just proceed with plastering them into the wall so that they can only be opened by digging them out. This could have been a fire safety issue as when I finally got into one of the sockets there was rust.

Tbh it all comes down to whether he's failed to carry out the service with reasonable care & skill.

In other words, if other professionals may have done the same thing in the circumstances or whether they'd be of the opinion it should never be done like that/is a shoddy way to do it.

unholyangel

marliepanda wrote: »

Well I mean that entirely depends on how much you're paying them...

My friend paid to have his house plastered and decorated. The state was ridiculous. Paint on the light sockets, paint on the skirting boards, it was just crap, and this was from a 'professional P&D' Ive also seen some fairly shoddy work from other P&D who are considered decent.

Where as my dad, after years of perfectionism drummed into him by my Mum, does a spot on job ( for free if you buy him a beer) everyone has a different level of what they want, the friends who I spoke about above were very happy with the work theyd paid for....

Imo the issue is that people think "I'm happy with the standard I done my own house to, I'm going to become a professional".

A friends partner is a bricklayer. Offered to tile my kitchen at nearly the same price as a professional tiler. His previous work might look okay from a distance but when you look at the details (like tiling around a recess or sockets), its clear its not a professional standard. I think thats the difference between amateur and professional. The work of a professional holds up in the detail, not just from a distance.

marliepanda

unholyangel wrote: »

Imo the issue is that people think "I'm happy with the standard I done my own house to, I'm going to become a professional".

A friends partner is a bricklayer. Offered to tile my kitchen at nearly the same price as a professional tiler. His previous work might look okay from a distance but when you look at the details (like tiling around a recess or sockets), its clear its not a professional standard. I think thats the difference between amateur and professional. The work of a professional holds up in the detail, not just from a distance.

Honestly I cannot believe some of the stuff my friends have paid for and are happy with. I’m lucky (my dad maybe not) that my mother is so fussy! Although maybe not cos I can see all the flaws yet to be sorted.

Help1234

Maybe they just tell you they are happy because they don’t want to be seen as complaining and think you, a guest in their home probably won’t notice or point it out. Perhaps behind closed doors they are fuming.