Hello all,
I've recently had my bathroom redone and the plastering they've left "ready for painting" isn't as smooth as I would have liked. They've said that it needs to dry off and then be sanded down.... does this sound reasonable?? I have no idea myself...
Also, in another area that's been recently plastered (by a different set of builders), soon after the plaster had been laid (like a couple of hours), it looked quite smooth and straight and I was quite happy with it, but after a couple of days when it was properly dried, it came out all lumpy and cracked. Is this normal?? What could have caused this, does anyone know?
Grateful for anyone's input!
Claire
Have my builders done a rubbish plastering job?
-
claireclaire
- Posts: 44
- Joined: 8 Jun 2006 13:52
- Location: Sydenham
Plastering
Hi Claire
Sorry to say, your builder was probably named John Wayne.
No! plaster should have a reasonably smooth finish prior to painting. You should never have to sand it down.
With regards to your lumpy cracked plaster, it sounds to me as if it wasn't properly mixed. When wet it gives the appearance of a smooth finish, however when dry, the poor mix creates bubbles, lumps and cracks. the lumps are usually large bits of un-mixed plaster and the cracks are caused by too much water.
Overall sounds like you'll need the job(s) done again.
sorry again
Sorry to say, your builder was probably named John Wayne.
No! plaster should have a reasonably smooth finish prior to painting. You should never have to sand it down.
With regards to your lumpy cracked plaster, it sounds to me as if it wasn't properly mixed. When wet it gives the appearance of a smooth finish, however when dry, the poor mix creates bubbles, lumps and cracks. the lumps are usually large bits of un-mixed plaster and the cracks are caused by too much water.
Overall sounds like you'll need the job(s) done again.
sorry again
claireclaire
Seems like you've had bad plasterers twice over. If you want to get it fixed - I have used a guy called Adam 07956 908 910 and he did an excellent job. Some other sydenham friends used him twice and he has done an excellent job both times. There was a thread about recommended plasterers a while back if you have a look through there are a few numbers on it of local plasterers.
Seems like you've had bad plasterers twice over. If you want to get it fixed - I have used a guy called Adam 07956 908 910 and he did an excellent job. Some other sydenham friends used him twice and he has done an excellent job both times. There was a thread about recommended plasterers a while back if you have a look through there are a few numbers on it of local plasterers.
-
claireclaire
- Posts: 44
- Joined: 8 Jun 2006 13:52
- Location: Sydenham
-
Greg Whitehead
- Posts: 474
- Joined: 11 Apr 2005 15:44
- Location: SE26 5RL
Hi claireclaire,
Not sure what joy you had with this in the end. For future, I'd like to recommend a plasterer who had done quite a bit of work on my house. He's been brilliant for me - his name is Dave and he lives on Kent House Road - 07956 818694
Could you list the name and number of the people who ripped you off? At least that way you'll get to name and shame the cowboys...
Not sure what joy you had with this in the end. For future, I'd like to recommend a plasterer who had done quite a bit of work on my house. He's been brilliant for me - his name is Dave and he lives on Kent House Road - 07956 818694
Could you list the name and number of the people who ripped you off? At least that way you'll get to name and shame the cowboys...
Plastering
What a good idea!Greg Whitehead wrote:Hi claireclaire,
Could you list the name and number of the people who ripped you off? At least that way you'll get to name and shame the cowboys...
Re: Plastering
Please don't. While it sounds a great idea it is also an open invitation for a bad builder to slag off his better competition.
Trading standards are the people to complain to. Get support from them and we will be delighted to splash the story on the frontpage.
Admin
Trading standards are the people to complain to. Get support from them and we will be delighted to splash the story on the frontpage.
Admin
Harder than it sounds admin.
If you try to contact Trading Standards you are diverted to a government agency, claiming to be regional, which insists it must have details of your complaint and then it will decide whether your complaint should be referred to your local Trading Standards office (despite the fact that the latter have the legal responsibility).
When it comes to builders (and allied) the local authority are supposed, now, to be keeping a directory of them... I can find no evidence Lewisham do.
I have used the same plasterer for a number of years. His work varies from average to excellent. I experienced two others before him. The first lesson you have to learn, in this world, is that perfection does not exist. You have to learn to guage the ability of a given tradesperson and weigh that against the price he/she charges. Too many people expect the tradesperson to pay for their own lack of foresight.
Tradespeople I have employed have made errors. When they have I had a discussion with them. An observant manager will notice the flash of fear cross the tradesperson's face as the prospect of bankruptcy (should remedial work prove too expensive) looms.
A strict interpretation of the law requires they should put it right.
Sometimes this is beyond the means of a small businessperson and you, the employer, have to take a business decision. Should I go part way (towards the cost) and make it possible for this accident to be remedied or should I demand my rights and force him out of business with the result the job is not completed and other tradespeople will refuse to step in to do it, or certainly not without ripping me off to the nth degree!
If you refuse to let the tradesperson attempt to put it right then I think you are throwing away your legal rights. Of course if the tradesperson is reminiscent of one Frank Spencer then you have to be a lunatic to let him/her continue.
My approach has enabled me to have considerable renovation work carried out and when the unexpected has cropped up (as it always does) my tradespeople have treated me fairly in return and carried out additional work at remarkably low cost.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
One thing most people fail to do is to specify exactly what is required and the standard to which it should be completed, within the price quoted. I enter into a verbal contract with this particular plasterer but he always makes a point of producing a rough bill of works in writing before he proceeds.
If you try to contact Trading Standards you are diverted to a government agency, claiming to be regional, which insists it must have details of your complaint and then it will decide whether your complaint should be referred to your local Trading Standards office (despite the fact that the latter have the legal responsibility).
When it comes to builders (and allied) the local authority are supposed, now, to be keeping a directory of them... I can find no evidence Lewisham do.
I have used the same plasterer for a number of years. His work varies from average to excellent. I experienced two others before him. The first lesson you have to learn, in this world, is that perfection does not exist. You have to learn to guage the ability of a given tradesperson and weigh that against the price he/she charges. Too many people expect the tradesperson to pay for their own lack of foresight.
Tradespeople I have employed have made errors. When they have I had a discussion with them. An observant manager will notice the flash of fear cross the tradesperson's face as the prospect of bankruptcy (should remedial work prove too expensive) looms.
A strict interpretation of the law requires they should put it right.
Sometimes this is beyond the means of a small businessperson and you, the employer, have to take a business decision. Should I go part way (towards the cost) and make it possible for this accident to be remedied or should I demand my rights and force him out of business with the result the job is not completed and other tradespeople will refuse to step in to do it, or certainly not without ripping me off to the nth degree!
If you refuse to let the tradesperson attempt to put it right then I think you are throwing away your legal rights. Of course if the tradesperson is reminiscent of one Frank Spencer then you have to be a lunatic to let him/her continue.
My approach has enabled me to have considerable renovation work carried out and when the unexpected has cropped up (as it always does) my tradespeople have treated me fairly in return and carried out additional work at remarkably low cost.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
One thing most people fail to do is to specify exactly what is required and the standard to which it should be completed, within the price quoted. I enter into a verbal contract with this particular plasterer but he always makes a point of producing a rough bill of works in writing before he proceeds.
-
Greg Whitehead
- Posts: 474
- Joined: 11 Apr 2005 15:44
- Location: SE26 5RL
I disagree Admin. Surely this is exactly the environment for ClaireClaire to post the name of her cowboy builder/s? At least that way we will know exactly who to avoid.
For example I had Mark Downey fit my kitchen. He's from Liverpool and as it turns out dodgy as sin. I seem to recall he lived in Rotherhithe. If he's still touting himself around Sydenham et al avoid him like the plague. He still owes me for 2 x solid oak doors which were "in me garage la" - that's scouse for he ran off with them half way through the job and I never saw him again... I called him alot but he never returned with my property or to finish the job. I just wrote of the £300 it cost me to replace the doors as part of the learning curve. And no I didn't call the Police - it really didn't seem worth it.
I certainly learnt my lesson there. Buy cheap buy twice.
REMEMBER THE GUY - MARK DOWNEY - MID 30'S DARK HAIR - LEATHERY SKIN - WIRY - LIVES ON THE OXBOW IN ROTHERHITHE...AVOID !!!
For example I had Mark Downey fit my kitchen. He's from Liverpool and as it turns out dodgy as sin. I seem to recall he lived in Rotherhithe. If he's still touting himself around Sydenham et al avoid him like the plague. He still owes me for 2 x solid oak doors which were "in me garage la" - that's scouse for he ran off with them half way through the job and I never saw him again... I called him alot but he never returned with my property or to finish the job. I just wrote of the £300 it cost me to replace the doors as part of the learning curve. And no I didn't call the Police - it really didn't seem worth it.
I certainly learnt my lesson there. Buy cheap buy twice.
REMEMBER THE GUY - MARK DOWNEY - MID 30'S DARK HAIR - LEATHERY SKIN - WIRY - LIVES ON THE OXBOW IN ROTHERHITHE...AVOID !!!
No.Greg Whitehead wrote:I disagree Admin. Surely this is exactly the environment for ClaireClaire to post the name of her cowboy builder/s? At least that way we will know exactly who to avoid.
Let me be clear. This is a public forum where anybody may post. I don't know who people are. I do believe the vast majority of posts are genuine and made by responsible people. If what you posted is correct and you can prove it then there is no problem.
But I don't know that for sure. I don't have the time & competence to judge. If any post here provokes a litigious response - it is me, my family and business who are at risk. My first response would be to close this Forum. Period.
Which is why I ask you all to be very, very careful about slagging off cowboys. By definition they are anti-social animals and may unscrupously target those trying to expose them by closing them down. Our neigbouring Forums have an absolute prohibition on any comment in this area for this very reason. I ask that any derogatory comment should be clearly verifiable (like a certain doctor's surgery appearance) or the result of legal/pseudo-legal proceedings so we have a defence.
If not - please don't make it here. If you still believe something should be said in the public interest - do contact me. There may be better/safer ways to publish it.
Admin
-
claireclaire
- Posts: 44
- Joined: 8 Jun 2006 13:52
- Location: Sydenham
My bathroom - a happy ending (mostly)
Hi all,
thanks for all the posts... yes, I was sorely tempted to publish the details of the rubbish builder, but wasn't sure what the protocol was on the site. I'm more than happy to discuss with anyone privately, so just email me if that's the case.
Point of interest... this rubbish builder, call him Mr X.... I actually got his details through what appeared to be a "recommendation" on a community website like this one. One of the users was asking for good builders to do her bathroom, and there was a reply from another user saying, "You need Mr X. He's been doing kitchens and bathrooms for 20 years and he is the top man." I thought this sounded like a great recommendation so I called Mr X and he duly came round and we eventually hired him for the job. In retrospect, I realised that he put that posting up himself... (he basically admitted as much when I asked him about it).
Anyway. Yes, he probably would have agreed to come round to improve anything we weren't happy with, including the plastering... but the real problem I had with him is that he had been dishonest with me, and I just did not want to see his face again. He installed a shower pump that requires a 50 gallon cold water tank, although we only had a 25 gallon tank. It's a long story, but basically we used the shower with pump, and the tank ran completely dry and then we ended up with no water, air in our pipes, major hassle etc etc ... and he tried to evade responsibility.
Like I say, it's a long story, but the bottom line is that I did not want him back in my house. So I paid our Polish builders for two days to replaster and paint and generally tidy up, and I paid another builder two days to replace the water tank.
I would have loved to have not spent the extra money, and some would have argued that I should have got Mr X to put right whatever he did wrong. But I'm not a builder or a plumber, so I'm in the position where I have to trust that the tradesman I hire knows what he's doing and will be honest with me.... once I realised I could not trust Mr X, there was no way I could let him do any other work, because he might just be making everything even worse...
So... the happy ending is that the bathroom is now finished and the correct size water tank has been installed. We paid a bit more than we originally planned, but at least it's all done now and we're happy with the finished product.
Thanks again for all the tips... much appreciated. I'm finding this site to be very useful!
Claire
thanks for all the posts... yes, I was sorely tempted to publish the details of the rubbish builder, but wasn't sure what the protocol was on the site. I'm more than happy to discuss with anyone privately, so just email me if that's the case.
Point of interest... this rubbish builder, call him Mr X.... I actually got his details through what appeared to be a "recommendation" on a community website like this one. One of the users was asking for good builders to do her bathroom, and there was a reply from another user saying, "You need Mr X. He's been doing kitchens and bathrooms for 20 years and he is the top man." I thought this sounded like a great recommendation so I called Mr X and he duly came round and we eventually hired him for the job. In retrospect, I realised that he put that posting up himself... (he basically admitted as much when I asked him about it).
Anyway. Yes, he probably would have agreed to come round to improve anything we weren't happy with, including the plastering... but the real problem I had with him is that he had been dishonest with me, and I just did not want to see his face again. He installed a shower pump that requires a 50 gallon cold water tank, although we only had a 25 gallon tank. It's a long story, but basically we used the shower with pump, and the tank ran completely dry and then we ended up with no water, air in our pipes, major hassle etc etc ... and he tried to evade responsibility.
Like I say, it's a long story, but the bottom line is that I did not want him back in my house. So I paid our Polish builders for two days to replaster and paint and generally tidy up, and I paid another builder two days to replace the water tank.
I would have loved to have not spent the extra money, and some would have argued that I should have got Mr X to put right whatever he did wrong. But I'm not a builder or a plumber, so I'm in the position where I have to trust that the tradesman I hire knows what he's doing and will be honest with me.... once I realised I could not trust Mr X, there was no way I could let him do any other work, because he might just be making everything even worse...
So... the happy ending is that the bathroom is now finished and the correct size water tank has been installed. We paid a bit more than we originally planned, but at least it's all done now and we're happy with the finished product.
Thanks again for all the tips... much appreciated. I'm finding this site to be very useful!
Claire
-
Illuminance
- Posts: 84
- Joined: 14 Mar 2005 16:49
- Location: Tunbridge Wells
Re: My bathroom - a happy ending (mostly)
Since 1st January 2005 it has been a legal requirement for all electrical work in a bathroom (amongst other locations) in domestic properties to be notified to your Local Building Control by either an Approved electrical contractor or the householder. The notification costs using the first method is considerably cheaper.claireclaire wrote:
He installed a shower pump ...
...and he tried to evade responsibility.
Claire
This applies to everybody, whether it be professional or DIY work.
Being Approved means that the Contractor must issue a warranty, certify the installation and have a written Complaints policy should anything go wrong.
Personally, I'd contact Trading Standards and your local BC. Rumour has it they're actively pursuing prosecutions at the mo.