www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi all, advice would be really appreciated.

We have a decorator here at the moment and he has charged loads of money so far and as it was an estimate (7.1k)for a 2 bedroom small house, has no hallway, just a front room, kitchen, small bathroom, upstairs landing and 2 airing cupboards and a staircase to paint and has said now on top of the 5 weeks he has taken it will be another 2 and will offer us 50% off and charge 1350 to finish the job, but we are concerned about his work after talking with a neighbour.

In the first bedroom he did all sanding ect then the paint all came off the walls as it had never been primed he said when house was built so he spent a couple of days then removing it all, then lined it all with lining paper which took him about 6 days total work, then painted and the room looks lovely, the paint is all flat and smooth.

Then doing the other rooms he said to try to avoid us any extra costs he would try to ensure not much more paint came off and filled and sanded ect as expected, but not sure if he sanded all of the walls where there wasn't filler or not. The walls do not feel flat and smooth, instead they feel all bumpy and rough to the touch with lots of obvious bits lumps and bumps all around.

I asked him about it and he said there is nothing you can do because it's how the wall is, but talking with a neighbour I am concerned now he has done a bad job, I took the pictures when the rooms were dark so sorry about that and the walls are tivoli blue little green intelligent paint ie top quality (he provided it)

As this is a DIY forum we would always advocate you try to do the work yourself. We can always help and guide you to do the painting, what are the products to consider etc. Sack this bloke, and finish it yourself, we will help you.

DWD

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 6:00 am As this is a DIY forum we would always advocate you try to do the work yourself. We can always help and guide you to do the painting, what are the products to consider etc. Sack this bloke, and finish it yourself, we will help you.

DWD

Oh my mistake I'm really sorry I didn't realise. Unfortunately I have arthritis in my spine and fibromyalgia and I can't do many physical things for long.

We saved up for 6 months plus borrowed quite a bit from my mum to be able to afford this guy and the neighbor told us he knows a decorator who would do a much better job, so wasn't sure if the best route was to pay this guy to finish, there's a couple of unpainted areas, or save the 1,350 we haven't given him yet and put it towards a different decorator but that guy has an 8 month waiting time, however we have had no door handles and have been stuck In our recliner chairs in our bedrooms now for a few weeks and it's stressful, he's been off this week with a bad back

So the only option unfortunately is to pay to get it done :(.

Please delete the thread if you need to

If you are able to guide me, I've taken a few more pictures now the lighting is better because it's sunny

Some cutting in pictures

I could do a long-winded reply to many of the points you've made, as there are so many areas this 'decorator' is falling very short in, but I'll offer 2 words of advice instead...........

Trading Standards.

The end result doesn't reflect the price he's wanting, IMHO. Nowhere near it. The preparation looks pretty minimal, there are missed bits, indicative of only giving a surface one coat (you don't miss the same bit twice) poor cutting, lack of sanding...... I could go on. This has all the appearance of a shoddy, amateur job, and a call from Trading Standards would likely put the fear of God into this character, and get you some sort of redress and satisfaction.

I really hate seeing this sort of thing, as it tarnishes what is generally a pretty decent trade, but there are travelling circus shows and chancers out there, sadly.

I am glad you answered Dyno, I did not know what to say. Looks like a Trustauslesstrader jobby.

DWD

As Dynamod said.