Painter/decorator left the place in a state

SaverRate

jimjam83 said:

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"

Okay might also be worth either boarded over that wall to hide the pipe or box the pipework in. Both will probably involve skirting removal though

welshmoneylover

Did you check the work before paying him?

jimjam83

welshmoneylover said:

Did you check the work before paying him?

Yes...as I said, we needed him out as the floors were going in the next day.

SaverRate

Also if you don't mind some more advice, when painting yourself use washable paint such as the one in the link below. We decorated the bedrooms in normal dulux matt then used this in our dining room and it makes the world of difference as you can just wipe off any marks and fingerprints so we are now using it for the rest of the house (except kitchen and bathroom). Definitely worth the higher cost  https://www.diy.com/departments/dulux-easycare-brilliant-white-matt-emulsion-paint-10l/1759074_BQ.prd 

jimjam83

HarryDavies01 said:

Also if you don't mind some more advice, when painting yourself use washable paint such as the one in the link below. We decorated the bedrooms in normal dulux matt then used this in our dining room and it makes the world of difference as you can just wipe off any marks and fingerprints so we are now using it for the rest of the house (except kitchen and bathroom). Definitely worth the higher cost  https://www.diy.com/departments/dulux-easycare-brilliant-white-matt-emulsion-paint-10l/1759074_BQ.prd 

We actually went with Dulux Vinyl Matt - he said this could be wiped clean over and over again.....that' s probably BS too?!

SaverRate

jimjam83 said:

HarryDavies01 said:

Also if you don't mind some more advice, when painting yourself use washable paint such as the one in the link below. We decorated the bedrooms in normal dulux matt then used this in our dining room and it makes the world of difference as you can just wipe off any marks and fingerprints so we are now using it for the rest of the house (except kitchen and bathroom). Definitely worth the higher cost  https://www.diy.com/departments/dulux-easycare-brilliant-white-matt-emulsion-paint-10l/1759074_BQ.prd 

We actually went with Dulux Vinyl Matt - he said this could be wiped clean over and over again.....that' s probably BS too?!

Thats a Trade Paint but he is correct it can be wiped over and over again https://expandusceramics.com/qa/is-dulux-trade-vinyl-matt-wipeable.html#:~:text=Based on unique AkzoNobel technology,busy household and commercial environments.

es5595

I think your plan to re-skim each room as and when you can afford it is realistically the only thing that will give you the finish you’d like. 

I’m in a similar Victorian terrace and I had the stairs, lounge and dining room done at the start of the year. Plasterer wasn’t the best, but it was ~£400. I’ve got a nasty feeling that you would have spent less to have it all skimmed. You could get some quotes to find out. 

You could write a letter to him requesting a refund. Did you get a written quote? Explain the finish wasn’t anything like what you’d been led to believe it would, and to recommend it’s skimmed AFTER he’s finished is a load of codswallop. 

If he more used to working on new-build houses? Or possible with a plasterer? They skim and he finishes? It might explain how you’ve got such wildly differing expectations. 

AskAsk

when you strip wall paper and paint, you always have to re-skim before you can do so.  walls are wallpapered for a reason, that is their surface is poor, so it would never have been acceptable to paint them without a re-skim.  even if they were in a good condition, they still would not look great enough for painting straight onto.

the quote he gave you would never have covered for the job to be done properly.  it would have only covered stripping the wall paper and the painting at a stretch, not the re-skimming.  he is a cowboy builder for sure, and there are many on the trades site, even if they have hundreds of good reviews.

Jeepers_Creepers

What a shame you paid him, JimJam.

As always, the devil is in the detail, and by 'detail' I mean what was agreed from the outset? What does his quote actually say? 

You said in your first post "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." 'Skim the walls' - are you saying that skimming the walls was absolutely meant to be part of the job? And he hasn't done this - one of the biggest parts of the quote?

In which case I believe you have grounds for a small claims against him. Seems 'open and shut' to me; (a) he quoted for something he didn't do, (b) the standard of work is atrocious, (c) he over-sprayed on to fittings, (d) he hasn't caulked the skirting boards... Should he have the audacity to try and challenge the case, your photographs (take more - of every shoddy part, including the 'mess' bits) will be utterly convincing, and I don't believe he has a chance. 

What has he done that's of use? Removed the wallpaper? Cool - that's a hellish job. But how much is this worth from that quote? Surely under £1k? So he needs to hand back over £2k. End of.

And he sprayed the walls?!! Spraying is done for two reasons; one is to get a perfect, flawless finish on your walls, but this demands a perfect flawless surface on which to spray. Spray paint is thin, and will show up every imperfection underneath it. For him to try spraying on to these walls is insane. Oh, and the other reason is 'speed' - to just get the job done quickly. Guess which reason he used?

What is the condition of the actual plaster on your walls? Is it solid and securely fixed? If so, I personally wouldn't bother with skimming due to the additional cost and mess. Instead - and, yes, it's labour intensive - go over all these surfaces with a coarse grade ali-oxide paper, say 80 grit. Do this using a large comfy-handled sandpaper block. Sand lightly - the purpose is not to necessarily sand all the surface, but just remove the high spots and gets things flat. (Prob worth investing in a two-handed 'pole' jobbie). Then you apply an easy-to-sand fine-surface filler using a wide filling knife over every rough part - ie rough due to hollows (you've removed the peaks, remember?!). Let dry, and sand over it again - perhaps now going for 120-grit - stuff like Roneal F-S filler sands really nicely. Do this a few times if needed, and you'll end up with a wall surface that's perfectly good enough for rollered paint. (And, yes, Dulux vinyl matt is good stuff.)

I'd be tempted to do the first couple of coats using Trade matt white - non-vinyl - just to get the walls fresh and even, ready for the top coats. Once coated, you'll be surprised at how good it'll look, and any obvious hollows or ridges can still be skimmed with more filler, and it'll still sand all completely flat, blending in with the paint. 

Norman_Castle

jimjam83 said:

 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.

Why would a decorator skim the walls, that's a plasterers job? What's the grey stuff he's covered the walls with? I've tidied up some tatty walls for painting but if a decorator considers them too bad they should leave it to a plasterer or advise papering.

I'm no professional but is spray painting the woodwork in a Victorian house right? Its seems like a lazy bodge to me.

It's not clear what the grey stuff is, some fillers sand easily. If money is tight I'd try a mix of sanding and filling then papering over.