Painter/decorator left the place in a state

jimjam83

Hi all. We have just bought our first home, a Victorian terrace. We hired a painter/decorator to strip the wallpaper throughout and repaint. He quoted us £3,500 to remove the wallpaper, skim the walls and repaint. He has left the walls in an absolute state and we are heartbroken. At the end of the job he told us that we'd have been better off getting it all replastered. We have had to go over some particuarly dreadful sections with filler and repaint and it has come up 10 times better than what he did all over the house. 
We paid him as we just wanted to see the back of him and we needed him out so that the floors could go in the day after he finished. 
I've attached some samples of what the current situation is. This is an indication of what's been done throughout the property. He has managed to get primer and paint over multiple surfaces, including the gas fires, kitchen floorm sockets, light switches...got 

I'd really appreciate some advice on what to do - should we accept it and move on or is there a course of action we can take?

TELLIT01

Now you have paid him, and I understand the desire just to see the back of him, there is very little you can do to recover any of the costs.  If he is on any of the trade sites you could leave a review along with accompanying photos.  That has to be the worst plastering job I have ever seen.

jimjam83

TELLIT01 said:

Now you have paid him, and I understand the desire just to see the back of him, there is very little you can do to recover any of the costs.  If he is on any of the trade sites you could leave a review along with accompanying photos.  That has to be the worst plastering job I have ever seen.

Thanks for commenting. To clarify, he did not replaster - he removed the wallpaper and "did what he could with the walls". 
We found him on a well-known site for traders...I think we're gonna have to get the whole place replastered then start again. Are we gonna have to put it down as a very expensive lesson learnt?

SaverRate

That's a mess!! Would love to have seen what it was like before! If he had actually skimmed the walls and ceilings properly then it would be nice and smooth without chunks taken out of the walls! Doesn't even look likes he's skimmed! Re the paint spills, did he not tape or cover anything when carrying out the works, was this included in his works? Did you not attempt to cover over the gas fire etc before his arrival? You have paid up so that would indicate you were happy with the job he had done, doesn't look like you can go back on trying to reclaim? Did you express your disappointment with his work to him or just accept what he had done, paid up and kicked him out?

SaverRate

Also, what is the big wet like thing in this photo? Why do all of the walls look soaking wet? Did he change the skirting or retain existing?

jimjam83

HarryDavies01 said:

That's a mess!! Would love to have seen what it was like before! If he had actually skimmed the walls and ceilings properly then it would be nice and smooth without chunks taken out of the walls! Doesn't even look likes he's skimmed! Re the paint spills, did he not tape or cover anything when carrying out the works, was this included in his works? Did you not attempt to cover over the gas fire etc before his arrival? You have paid up so that would indicate you were happy with the job he had done, doesn't look like you can go back on trying to reclaim? Did you express your disappointment with his work to him or just accept what he had done, paid up and kicked him out?

I've attached some before pics. He "covered" everything up but I'm guessing he only did this from halfway through. He spray painted and I swear all things holy I will never consider this again!!! He instructed us that he would manage all of tne covering up and we approved money for the materials he needed for it. We expressed our disappointment and he, in turn, expressed his disappointment at our disappointment. 
We don't know what to do right now. We need to move in over the weekend as our lease is up. Should we be considering a replastering job on a room-by-room basis (budget dependant?)

jimjam83

HarryDavies01 said:

Also, what is the big wet like thing in this photo? Why do all of the walls look soaking wet? Did he change the skirting or retain existing?

This is a pie.......it was concealed behind wallpaper so we didn't spot it when we looked around initially. He retained the skirting, told us he'd caulk it all up to get it looking good. I can't comment on the wet-look, perhaps that's the way the paint dried over the filler he applied? We're also not convinced he sanded after filling.

SaverRate

jimjam83 said:

HarryDavies01 said:

Also, what is the big wet like thing in this photo? Why do all of the walls look soaking wet? Did he change the skirting or retain existing?

This is a pie.......it was concealed behind wallpaper so we didn't spot it when we looked around initially. He retained the skirting, told us he'd caulk it all up to get it looking good. I can't comment on the wet-look, perhaps that's the way the paint dried over the filler he applied? We're also not convinced he sanded after filling.

A pie?! Okay so if he had caulked properly and used proper undercoat and gloss you wouldn't have that crack where the skirting board meets. I would look at getting the whole place plaster skimmed (Doesn't look like you need to get it knocked back and replastered although get a builder in to get their recommendation as I cant see the whole house!). Skimming plaster will make a lot of dusty mess so be prepared for that. We moved in April to our First House, we plaster skimmed the upstairs whilst living downstairs (except the bathroom). Now we are just about to do the living room and hallway skimming after having completed upstairs. 

SaverRate

Also, if you do get it skimmed or plastered have you thought about doing the decorating yourselves? If its plaster skim or replastered please ensure you 'white wash' before otherwise the paint wont stick. 

jimjam83

HarryDavies01 said:

jimjam83 said:

HarryDavies01 said:

Also, what is the big wet like thing in this photo? Why do all of the walls look soaking wet? Did he change the skirting or retain existing?

This is a pie.......it was concealed behind wallpaper so we didn't spot it when we looked around initially. He retained the skirting, told us he'd caulk it all up to get it looking good. I can't comment on the wet-look, perhaps that's the way the paint dried over the filler he applied? We're also not convinced he sanded after filling.

A pie?! Okay so if he had caulked properly and used proper undercoat and gloss you wouldn't have that crack where the skirting board meets. I would look at getting the whole place plaster skimmed (Doesn't look like you need to get it knocked back and replastered although get a builder in to get their recommendation as I cant see the whole house!). Skimming plaster will make a lot of dusty mess so be prepared for that. We moved in April to our First House, we plaster skimmed the upstairs whilst living downstairs (except the bathroom). Now we are just about to do the living room and hallway skimming after having completed upstairs. 

Sorry - a "pipe"

jimjam83

HarryDavies01 said:

Also, if you do get it skimmed or plastered have you thought about doing the decorating yourselves? If its plaster skim or replastered please ensure you 'white wash' before otherwise the paint wont stick. 

We will absolutely do the decorating ourselves after this. We thought the spray paint job would leave it immaculate....you can imagine our disappointment.