Opinions on carpentry please

[MarkSmith]

Hi all,

My girlfriend has just had a loft ladder fitted by a professional carpenter. Could we have your opinions on the workmanship please?

Please ignore damage to the plasterwork, as this was understood and agreed "out of scope" before the job started.

Thanks,
Mark

From beneath

• MarkSmith
• 31 Jan 2011
• 1

Rear corner mitre

• MarkSmith
• 31 Jan 2011
• 1

Front corner mitre

• MarkSmith
• 31 Jan 2011
• 1

From above

• MarkSmith
• 31 Jan 2011
• 1

 

[big-all]

not bad for £80- 120 poor for £130 180 not acceptable for £190+

installation only

 

[Monkeh]

I'd do a better job than that in an afternoon for 60 quid..

 

[big-all]

i am assuming he had to make the opening
otherwise why would he need to install architrave

bl00dy awfull job by the way

 

[gregers]

well imho he hasnt really given much finesse to the job,
archs should be a lot better then they are.but a bit of chaulk and paint then it should look ok.

so how much did the job cost?

 

[Symptoms]

Mark - it looks pretty shoddy to me. A decent pro wouldn't clagg-on all that filler to the corners ... they would have been accurately cut and not needed filler.

If in this day and age he insists on using oval nails to fix the trimming (that bull-nose architrave) then he should have 'set' the nails below the surface ready for decorator's filler and he should have avoided bruising the trim's surface will badly aimed hammer blows. He should have considered fixing these with screws so as not to further disrupt the plaster ceiling (a good rule is when fixing above or below plaster ceilings is to use screws as hammering causes vibration which can dislodge plaster). Actually, a decent pro might have used an air finishing (brad) nailer to fix these trims. He would have attempted to scribe them into the ceiling contour to avoid those gaps ... failing that he could have considered applying some quadrant, or similar, beading to cover the gaps.

Did he structure with that 4 x 2 in the loft space? Is that (what looks like a large oval nail) splitting the timber near that knot (top left). Did he fabricate that framing in situ just with nails ... any screws used? He should have considered fabricating the frame elsewhere, with screws, then lift it into position for fixing (with screws).

How much is it costing? Have you paid him yet?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Christ! I could do better than that and I'm sh**e at carpentry!

 

[^woody^]

Hi all,

My girlfriend has just had a loft ladder fitted by a professional carpenter.

No she hasn't

 

[gregers]

Hi all,

My girlfriend has just had a loft ladder fitted by a professional carpenter.

No she hasn't

 

[MarkSmith]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

He asked for £210 for the job (£170 labour, £40 materials) and we bought the ladder kit (B&Q). He had to enlarge the existing hole. Hasn't been paid yet.

He arrived this morning and is fixing it as I write. We'll have to see what sort of condition it ends up in. He was full of excuses and the impression I got was that he could talk the talk but perhaps it ended there. But we'll see - give him the benefit of the doubt.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[foxhole]

Did he bring his guide dog? he may charge extra for that.

 

[big-all]

looking at the picture looking down through the hatch on the left hand side where the timber transferring the load for the joist that's cut short looks like there is a gap how is it fixed to the parallel joist

 

[MarkSmith]

looking at the picture looking down through the hatch on the left hand side where the timber transferring the load for the joist that's cut short looks like there is a gap how is it fixed to the parallel joist

Ah, yes I see what you mean but that's the shadows in the photo. It's the right length, touching the joist, but it's fixed with its top about 1cm lower than the top of the joist. It's level with the ceiling below, apparently. It's secured with one nail to the joist, and one nail to the packer adjacent&parallel to the joist.

The other side is beautiful and neat as you can see - all level, no nail heads sticking out or even visible. I asked why the left side couldn't be like that, but he didn't really latch on to it, said some stuff about the ceiling which I couldn't relate to the question, and that he'd bang the nail heads down. Lovely.

I'm sure CheckATrade will be eager to hear my feedback. Oh, no, wait...

 

[big-all]

the nail to the packer is supporting the packer

should always have 2 fixings to stop twisting and in case off failure even if its skew nailing [at an angle] from the other side

 

[curium]

I'm sure CheckATrade will be eager to hear my feedback. Oh, no, wait...

These sites are nothing more than a phonebook for trades.

In my opinion, they mislead the public by suggesting that tradesmen from their site are of repute due to the 'reviews' present.

I myself had a bad experience when I got a tradesmen through them to tile and fit my bathroom. The standard of tiling was poor, the shower leaked, he refused to return to deal with the problems and the site did not display my negative feedback against the tradesman.

Avoid!

I'm now in the position where I don't trust any tradesmen (apart from a plasterer who I know has done good work). My tactic is to spend a couple of weeks researching what I want doing and collecting opinions on how it should be done before attempting it myself with the aid of the advice, a DIY book and Youtube videos. It's slower but you'll be surprised how for many tasks the only difference between you & a pro is the speed (or lack of ) with which you're able to complete the task.

As a last resort, I will get a trade in after having researched how it should be done and outlining to him in advance exactly how I expect it done and then agreeing a price. I'll only pay if it is completed to my satisfaction.

It's the times we're in I'm afraid