Skim job - Am I justified in asking a plasterer to come back?

[rystaman]

I recently had my hallway, landing and stairs skimmed (as well as needing some new boards for a stud wall in the hallway) and the overall finish to me seems good but there are just some parts that I'm not completely happy with.

There are more than the below images but largely, there are some nicks here and there which I assume are from the trowel, there are rough areas that will need sanding before painting and some areas missed around a socket and switch.

I paid over £1200 for the job which included a day of prep (2 people) and then a day to do 2 coats.

 

[opps]

I am a decorator.

I routinely sand walls before painting them.

Doing so allows you to see high and low spots.

I can't tell what the plastering is like from your images, the photo of the socket however is rough. In defence of your plasters, the socket plate should have been removed before they plastered.

I can see some low spots, but again, as a decorator, I expect to encounter some.

On a hall, stairs and landing, I normally allow 2 days to sand the new plaster, and then half a day to fill and sand back. At London prices, that is about £500. The paint part is pretty fast there after.

 

[rystaman]

I am a decorator.

I routinely sand walls before painting them.

Doing so allows you to see high and low spots.

I can't tell what the plastering is like from your images, the photo of the socket however is rough. In defence of your plasters, the socket plate should have been removed before they plastered.

I can see some low spots, but again, as a decorator, I expect to encounter some.

On a hall, stairs and landing, I normally allow 2 days to sand the new plaster, and then half a day to fill and sand back. At London prices, that is about £500. The paint part is pretty fast there after.

So fairly common then to have to sand the walls even after a skim coat?

I'll share some wider pictures as granted these are close up of the bad areas. Re the socket plate, it was removed.

Downstairs is pretty much perfect especially the newly boarded wall

 

[opps]

So fairly common then to have to sand the walls even after a skim coat?

I'll share some wider pictures as granted these are close up of the bad areas. Re the socket plate, it was removed.

Downstairs is pretty much perfect especially the newly boarded wall

Not common, but it is something that I do. Sanding the walls also helps to deal with areas that are excessively polished.

If you use one of those Checka type sites, the decorator will probably paint over the walls with no prep.

 

[rystaman]

Not common, but it is something that I do. Sanding the walls also helps to deal with areas that are excessively polished.

If you use one of those Checka type sites, the decorator will probably paint over the walls with no prep.

I'll be using someone who did my friend's place so a word-of-mouth recommendation. I added in pictures of the overall finish to my previous comment

 

[cdbe]

If it feels as bad as it looks It's a crap DIY standard job, not the work of a professional plasterer. Personally I'd be trying to get some money back to cover the cost of a days sanding and filling. They can't skim properly so not much point getting them back to try again.

 

[rystaman]

If it feels as bad as it looks It's a crap DIY standard job, not the work of a professional plasterer. Personally I'd be trying to get some money back to cover the cost of a days sanding and filling. They can't skim properly so not much point getting them back to try again.

Oof really? It is two coated and the downstairs feels like smooth like glass on 95% of it. It's just a few problem areas I've seen, think the upstairs was done by one guy, downstairs by the other.

What sticks out as making it look like DIY standard job?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Call him back for his opinion/comment 1st

Show him the good bits and bad bits so he knows your not just a complainer

 

[rystaman]

Call him back for his opinion/comment 1st

Show him the good bits and bad bits so he knows your not just a complainer

Yeah I will do, at least it's good to know I'm not just being overly pedantic on this

 

[rystaman]

Call him back for his opinion/comment 1st

Show him the good bits and bad bits so he knows your not just a complainer

So they did and went round and used some fine polyfilla to fill in the gaps and then said get the decorator to sand it down...

I don't know about you but after paying £1300 for the job which was the average quote I got, I'm feeling a bit let down if I'm honest...

 

[SpecialK]

It is very difficult to tell from pictures how good the finish is. You will always need to do some prep work before painting even with the best of plasterers.
It will be much easier for you to see the finish once the white wash has been applied... I'm sure your decorator will make it look amazing...

 

[carmanmemoranda]

So they did and went round and used some fine polyfilla to fill in the gaps and then said get the decorator to sand it down...

I don't know about you but after paying £1300 for the job which was the average quote I got, I'm feeling a bit let down if I'm honest...

I'm guessing you asked for some money back to pay the decorator ?

 

[rystaman]

I'm guessing you asked for some money back to pay the decorator ?

I haven't yet, going to try and maybe get sections re-skimmed first?

 

[opps]

I'm guessing you asked for some money back to pay the decorator ?

As a decorator, I can confirm that the filling part is the quickest. The sanding takes longer and the dust clogs the bags in my dust extractor.

 

[opps]

I haven't yet, going to try and maybe get sections re-skimmed first?

Will the re-skim be any better than the first skim?