Not happy with the quality of a decorators work - Where do I stand?

Trewwwy

Hi, 
This is quite a long story, so I will try and condensed the main points/issues. 

A decorator was carrying out works in the communal areas of the building I live in. After weeks of trying to find a decorator with any availability, I asked the decorator whether he could wallpaper and what his availability was like for the coming weeks. 

He inspected the works needed doing - 1 x feature wall wallpapering and 1 x complete room wallpapering. 

He provided a quote for the works and labour. His fee was £560 and could begin the works in 4 weeks. 

He arrived with a colleague to start the job, beginning with the feature wall. I'd asked him prior to starting should he need anything just to ask, he said he was fine and set about on the wall, shutting the door to work behind. I couldn't see much progress throughout the day, with his tools blocking access to the room. Upon finishing he left hastily to get to another job, upon first inspection with the busy print the works looked ok. Until I noticed the paper had been hung upside down and the finishing was a little questionable in places, with visible joints, tears etc. 

I called the decorator straightaway to flag the issue of the paper being hung incorrectly, he tried to make excuses though ultimately agreed to reimburse us for the cost of the paper and rehang it. The paper was somewhat expensive (£475) and meant once subtracted from his fees he wouldn't be making much money on this job. I felt for him in that sense but he could have asked if unsure at any point before starting, and instructions for hanging were provided by the manufacturer in the rolls themselves. First red flag. 

We ordered new rolls of the paper at an additional cost of £475 and had to wait for them to arrive from the manufacturer. 

The second day he returned to make a start on the second bedroom, this was a busier print and more complex job - though after yesterday's mishap I expected him to take extra care with the hanging of this paper and the quality of finishing etc. Again as with the day before, I didn't have much access to the room until the works were completed with the two decorators having to rush to another job at the end of the day. On first inspection the room looked good, however the following day on closer inspection I noticed a large amount of issues with the poor quality of work completed, the joints between each roll were very noticeable, there were several tears in the paper itself, there were areas when the paper doesn't align to the skirting board, the corners were rounded and hadn't been cut sharply and there was wallpaper paste over large amounts of the woodwork, fixtures and paper.  For reference the cost of the wallpaper in this room was £350 

I decided to get a second professional opinion on the work completed in both rooms before confronting the decorator. Two professional decorators came to view the rooms and confirmed the work was completed to a terrible quality, and that both rooms would need to be stripped, walls finished, woodwork repainted and wallpaper rehung. 

I called the decorator to discuss my concerns and with the hope to find a potential resolution that would work for us both. Up until this point I had had a very positive relationship with the decorator and had given him the benefit of the doubt for most of the errors made. I had just begun raising some of the noted issues on the phone when the decorator interrupted and said "sue me then" and abruptly hung up. 

I tried to call back with no avail, so sent a text message explaining I was disappointed with his response and felt it was fair to raise these concerns and had hoped we could find an amicable resolution to the situation. I received no response to this. 

I then sent a detailed e-mail outlining the issues with the work I had, and that I would appreciate a response to find a resolution to those issues. Again no response. 

Where do I stand going forward with this? 

I have not paid the decorator for his services (£560), though find I am now having to repurchase the wallpaper for both rooms (£825) having to restrip and re-finish the walls and woodwork and then pay another professional tradesperson to complete the works that should have been done in the first place. I am considering taking the issue to the small claims court, though wonder whether I have a leg to stand on with my assessment of the quality vs. his? I think at this stage even if he agreed to fix the works I am now not confident in his ability to do the work to a professional standard. 

Any advice, as always, is appreciated.

m0bov

You will have to indeed sue him, not sure why you had him back again after the first bodge. You will have to claim for the wallpaper cost back via small claims court.

Jumblebumble

m0bov said:

You will have to indeed sue him, not sure why you had him back again after the first bodge. You will have to claim for the wallpaper cost back via small claims court.

I hope you are not  suggesting the OP should hand over the £560 to the decorator and then take a chance that the decorator will actually pony up for the cost of the wallpaper in due course 
I only ask because we have had posters in previous threads thinking this is a good idae

Laz123

Years ago I did decorating work and the hardest jobs involved wall papering because of the space required to slap on the paste on the trestle table, then transfer to the wall usually up a ladder, to line up exactly to the last strip, then brush out all the air bubbles and lastly trim. It seems your landlord's decorator is only good at painting.

Personally I'd put it down to one of life's rich tapestry events and move on. If you sue him it will be stress, hassle and if he's got no money disappointing.

couriervanman

OP......move on its a lesson learnt

Tell the decorator to do one and that he's not getting paid as his work is terrible as for the cost of all the paper wasted you could try and sue him but......don't waste your time