Should a newly boarded and plastered wall be level?

littlemiss19

Hi everyone,

We are at the end of a new kitchen being installed in our Victorian terrace.   After removing 1970's fake wooden panelling one of the walls was in a terrible state as it had some of the brickwork showing so it was agreed we would have this wall replastered. 

At the end of one day we could see the builders had stripped the top part of the wall to the brickwork and the bottom half still had a layer of old plaster on. The next day the boarding went on and then the plasterers came to skim the boards.  Yesterday the fridge freezer was installed.  It is at this point that we realise the wall is not straight. We took some measurements and there is 1.5cm difference between the width of the wall at the top of the fridge and the floor. At the moment the skirting does not fit in. 

The kitchen has taken 4 weeks and we are exhausted from having to live on microwave and takeaway food. Part of me thinks just see if we can get a discount and the other half of me wants to fight it out to get it redone. 

There was no conversation about whether the wall would be straight or not with the builders we assumed it would be as all the other work done (with other builders) has resulted in straight walls. 

So, Are we within our rights to ask them to redo it or should we try to get a discount or should we not expect it to be level?

jonnydeppiwish!

Is the fridge level?

jcb208

You need  to put a level on the wall it may be the floor out

ThisIsWeird

If it's the wall that's off, then yes, no question whatsoever, they should have levelled it - a doddle to do when they dabbed the new plasterboard in place.
If...

Eldi_Dos

Make your own plumb line with a board pin a length of string and a light weight. That will help you see what is true.

pramsay13

Ask them the question but be prepared to be disappointed.
Is the wall to the far left level, what about the floor? 
You will be able to adjust the legs on the fridge so it's less obvious. 
We live in a house built in 1827 and nothing is straight or true, so everything we get installed or whenever work is done there needs to be compromise. 

stuart45

That's the problem when you work on old houses, especially if you are used to working on new builds. Using levels doesn't always work, as the old saying is ' if it looks right it's right'. For example putting up a level shelf will look out of level if the ceiling line is out. 
Looking at the photo again, it looks like they've leant the wall out a bit that way, so it could be the floor is well out.

TELLIT01

Until the OP comes back to show that the freezer is truly upright there's not much to say other than the new wall should be vertical.

ThisIsWeird

stuart45 said:

That's the problem when you work on old houses, especially if you are used to working on new builds. Using levels doesn't always work, as the old saying is ' if it looks right it's right'. For example putting up a level shelf will look out of level if the ceiling line is out. 
Looking at the photo again, it looks like they've leant the wall out a bit that way, so it could be the floor is well out.

This refinished wall should be plumb. End of.

If there was good reason to not do so, the explanation and alternatives should have been run past the customer first. 

stuart45

ThisIsWeird said:

stuart45 said:

That's the problem when you work on old houses, especially if you are used to working on new builds. Using levels doesn't always work, as the old saying is ' if it looks right it's right'. For example putting up a level shelf will look out of level if the ceiling line is out. 
Looking at the photo again, it looks like they've leant the wall out a bit that way, so it could be the floor is well out.

This refinished wall should be plumb. End of.

If there was good reason to not do so, the explanation and alternatives should have been run past the customer first. 

Not in all cases. Sometimes you have to build a wall out off plumb to match it's surroundings. For example, if that freezer had to be at that angle, even if it was out of plumb, the wall should have been battered over to match it.
Tradesmen who are used to new builds have to learn that building everything level and plumb can still get you fired.

ThisIsWeird

stuart45 said:

Not in all cases. Sometimes you have to build a wall out off plumb to match it's surroundings. For example, if that freezer had to be at that angle, even if it was out of plumb, the wall should have been battered over to match it.
Tradesmen who are used to new builds have to learn that building everything level and plumb can still get you fired.

Ha-ha, yes, of course. Some situations will dictate that - as in the possible rebuild of the wonky pub (extreme example).

But - seriously - if you have a boxing-in, boarding, shelving, a wall to build, or whatever job to do on a house, you do it level and plumb, or you discuss why not with the owner first.

If the plasterer in this case purposely or accidentally got this wall off-vertical, he should put it right if asked. End of.

I totally get what you say - if you are, say, putting up a shelf and it 'looks more right' in a wonky room which you know to not be level, then fill yer boots. But you do not do that in anyone else's home without explaining why first; "Do you want this shelf dead level like this... or slightly off which you may prefer 'cos it fits in better?"

Of course there are exceptions, but not the rule.

To answer the OP's question, "Are we within our rights to ask them to redo it...?" If the wall is off-plumb, then the answer is 'yes'.