Joiner did shoddy job and ruined doors

ellie95

A joiner came today to hang 5 internal doors. We supplied the doors at a cost of £430 and paid the joiner £320 for his work.

The joiner was a young lad who seemed hardworking, friendly etc - not a cowboy by any means. He worked hard all day to hang the doors and I paid him in full before he left. 

When my husband later looked at the doors he discovered that the work was extremely shoddy (I didn’t know what I was looking at when I inspected it earlier). The doors have been unevenly planed, leaving large gaps in places, and some of the hinges haven’t been recessed etc. Unfortunately this means that the job is beyond fixing - the doors have been ruined and we will need to buy new and start again. 

I rung the joiner and explained we were unhappy with the work and he is coming to discuss tomorrow. Am I being unreasonable to request that he refund us £750 to cover his work and the doors?

Aylesbury_Duck

It will come down to exactly what was agreed, but at the very least he should be given the opportunity to put things right.  He may be able to do so for less than the £750 you might ask for.

Where did you find this chap and exactly what did you ask him to do?  "Hang these doors" leaves room for a little interpretation but of course that can't be an excuse for poor workmanship.

tacpot12

Take photos and measurements asap, before he tries to rectify the work. As the doors are ruined in your opinion it is a moot point as to whether he should be allowed to try. If he tries and succeeds, clearly the doors were not ruined and your assessment was not good enough. You are not being unreasonable in expecting him to refund the cost of the doors and his labour if he wasn't able to do the job correctly. Hanging a door is a very basic task for a trained joiner, and no joiner would fit a door without recessing the hinges. If he has done so, then he is a cowboy, despite the obvious lack of hat, lasso and pony.

However, it is best not to accuse people of being a cowboy. It would be better to treat them as you would any professional - point out whether their work is not up to a professional standard, let them consider what they will do and make an offer, explain why that offer is not acceptable, and push to have them do what you want. If you think the doors can be rescued, try to negotiate and come to a fair settlement, e.g. if he can re-do the doors to a better standard, would you compromise and pay him £320 for his work anyway. You would owe him something, probably £200+ for the work he did, so it's not worth haggling over the difference. If you think the doors cannot be rescued, explain that you expect him as a professional to have professional indemnity insurance for when things go wrong as they do when you are in business.